This easy-to-make Mediterranean pasta salad is refreshing, satisfying, hearty, and filled with rich flavors and textures. Pasta tossed with fresh tomatoes, black olives, healthy spinach, and feta cheese, drizzled with dressing. It’s simple and blissfully delicious!
It’s crazy where you can find inspiration for making a recipe. I found inspiration to make this Mediterranean Pasta Salad for Meatless Monday from none other than a 7-Eleven convenience store!
I’m not trying to promote 7-Eleven, but they do have great products in their stores. David and I rely on the store when we take our canoe trips on the Shenandoah River. We stop by and get things to eat for lunch, rather than taking the extra time to prepare things at home to take. I like some of their prepared salads, so this summer, I decided to try a Mediterranean pasta salad that had everything you needed for the salad inside a packaged plastic bowl, including the spoon!
Since making that wonderfully delicious Tuscan Tortellini Pasta salad, I now realize that pasta salads aren’t all about cold, slimy noodles. Pasta salads can be warm or room temperature. Pasta salads don’t have to make you cringe; they can be good!
Ingredients Needed
- Pasta: use any type of pasta you like. For this recipe I used fusilli which really gives the salad texture and a place the dressing to collect.
- Veggies: sliced or quartered cherry tomatoes, sliced black olives, and baby spinach.
- Cheese: crumbled feta cheese
- Salad Dressing: Use your favorite. I love ranch with this salad, but others such as a creamy basil vinaigrette, creamy caesar, or ranch dressing,
- Seasoning: freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
How To Make Mediterranean Pasta Salad
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Allow it to cool slightly.
- When the pasta has cooled, toss with tomatoes, olives, spinach, and top with feta cheese and drizzle with dressing. Serve immediately.
Yes, it is that easy!
This pasta salad is great for a quick lunch and can be easily converted to make more servings to feed more folks. I have to make single servings because David isn’t a fan of pasta salad.
Yeah, he’s cray-cray like that. I don’t question it; I have to love him for who he is.
Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ounces fusilli pasta any shape will work
- ½ cup grape tomatoes sliced or quartered
- 2 tablespoons black olives sliced
- 4 ounces fresh baby spinach
- 2 tablespoons feta cheese crumbled
- 2 tablespoons salad dressing such as a creamy basil vinaigrette, creamy caesar, or ranch dressing,
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Allow it to cool slightly.
- When the pasta has cooled, toss with tomatoes, olives and spinach and top with feta cheese and drizzle with dressing. Serve immediately.
Annie says
Mmmmm….you had me at creamy basil vinaigrette!
Debbie - MountainMama says
Yum!! I love it – easy peasy to the max!!
The Mountain Kitchen says
Thanks Debbie. Takes no time! 🙂
Anonymous says
Growing up I always had Siamese cats….. I didn’t know you had one!
The Mountain Kitchen says
Funny, Ashes is not a full bred Siamese. His mama looked like him, but with lighter markings. His father was a black cat and he was the only one in a litter of three to look like this! He’s pretty special 🙂