Greek Pasta Salad

This Greek pasta salad with Barilla Better for You pasta is a healthy spin on the classic side dish and filled with fresh veggies!

When it comes to the typical American BBQ/cookout/summer picnic, I honestly hate just about everything about them.

Soda, pretzel and chip “appetizers”, flat as a pancake overcooked hamburgers and most of all, mayo laden pasta salads.

Mayonnaise is just gross.

It’s not even about its health factor (or lack there of ), it’s just nastiness in a jar.

And unfortunately, we think it’s a great idea to slather it all about perfectly good potatoes and pasta, shove it in plastic containers and call it a day.

Not my thing.

That’s just not how it should go down, people.

So as we go into the last “official” summer cookout weekend of the year, let’s do that pasta salad side some justice.

Let’s fill it with chunks of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, season it up with dill and lemon and most importantly, leave the mayo in the fridge and grab the Greek yogurt instead.

I did this with the classic creamy cucumber salad to give it a healthy spin and I’m doing it with this Greek pasta salad too!

If you prefer non-creamy pasta salads, take a look at this balsamic tofu pasta salad. Just as tasty minus the “gooey” part.

And since we’re getting all healthy, I loved using one of Barilla’s Better for You pasta options in this recipe.

They use whole grains to ramp up the nutrition factor and you can easily find them in one of your local stores.

You can use whatever pasta type or shape you like though.

For a gluten-free version of this pasta salad, try something like red lentil pasta or brown rice pasta.

In fact, speaking of brown rice, my brown rice penne with lamb and mint pesto is another Greek inspired pasta dish that’s absolutely delicious. It could be served cold too!

If you’re looking for a lower-carb side dish with all the same Greek flavors, try this keto Greek salad.

I’m betting no one will be complaining that the deli mush container of the usual stuff is MIA once they taste this Greek pasta salad.

Happy end of summer!

More Greek inspired recipes to try:
Greek Shrimp Skillet
Greek Brown Rice Bowls
Lemon Spinach Feta Pasta
Greek Stuffed Whole Red Snapper
Greek Potato Casserole

Greek Pasta Salad

Author: Gina Matsoukas

This Greek pasta salad with Barilla Better for You pasta is a healthy spin on the classic side dish and filled with fresh veggies!

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1/2 pound Barilla Better For You Pasta I used farfalle
• 1 cucumber chopped
• 1 small red onion finely chopped
• 3 medium tomatoes chopped
• 1/3 cup pitted kalamata olive chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
• salt & pepper to taste
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

Garnishes

• dill
• chopped green onions
• feta crumbles

Instructions

 

• Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and let cool.
• Combine cooled pasta in a large bowl with remaining ingredients and toss together until well mixed.
• Garnish the pasta with dill, green onions and/or feta cheese crumbles.
• Serve room temperature.

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1SERVING | Calories: 207kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 178mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For the most precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator based on the actual ingredients you used in the recipe.

Cuisine Greek

Course Side Dishes

Keyword Greek pasta salad

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Gina Matsoukas

About

Gina Matsoukas is the writer, founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients as much as possible. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.