Creamy Mediterranean Pasta Salad
If you’re looking for a light, refreshing dish to take to a picnic, family reunion or potluck, then you’ll love this Creamy Mediterranean Pasta Salad recipe! Buttery pasta shells nestled in a yogurt based dressing and accented with fresh dill, red onion, cucumbers, kalamata olives, sweet tomatoes, fresh lemon juice and Feta cheese!
This pasta salad recipe has a somewhat Greek spin to it because it uses Tzatziki as the tangy dressing. Tzatziki is a yogurt-based Greek dip with hints of cucumber, fresh dill, garlic and lemon.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Pasta – tube pastas work best for this recipe because they encapsulate some of that homemade dressing
- Plain greek yogurt
- Cucumber
- Olives – kalamata olives or black olives pair beautifully with the salad dressing. I tried making this with green olives, but I didn’t care for the strong flavor profile they added.
- Tomatoes – I recommend using small grape tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes or Campari tomatoes; you can substitute with red peppers, cherry tomatoes or drained and chopped sun-dried tomatoes as well
- Dill– if you don’t have fresh dill, use dried dill; just remember that dried spices are 3X stronger than fresh
- Garlic – fresh garlic or minced garlic from a jar
- Lettuce or spinach – I like to add a few handfuls of baby spinach at the very end; you can also add chopped romaine or a tender butter lettuce
- Fresh lemon juice– a key ingredient to the dressing; do not substitute with lemon concentrate
- Cheese – crumbled goat cheese or crumbled feta cheese works well in this cooled pasta dish
How to make it
- Pretty simple steps, here. Cook the pasta according to package instructions. In the meantime, mix the Tzatziki ingredients into a mixing bowl
- Drain al dente pasta and rinse with cold water; pour into a large mixing bowl
- Drizzle dressing over pasta; add chopped vegetables, cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes
- When ready to serve, give it another toss; season for salt; add more dressing and garnish with a little more fresh dill and a squeeze of lemon juice
Recipe Tips
- This creamy Mediterranean pasta salad recipe actually tastes better the next day. If you can, make it a day in advance
- Reserve some of the dressing in case you want to add a little more, or serve it as a dip with Naan bread or Pita bread
- Reserve a few tablespoons of the pasta water to thin the dressing
- You can add artichokes to this recipe, just make sure you use the artichoke hearts and not the fuzzy leaves
Storage
Naturally, you’ll wanna keep this in the fridge in an airtight container. Either covered with plastic wrap or in some glass or plastic container.
This quick and easy creamy Mediterranean salad is always a huge hit! It pairs beautifully with fried catfish, grilled chicken, or smoked meats.
Creamy Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Shell pasta nestled in a yogurt-based creamy dressing with red onion, tomatoes, fresh dill, olives and a hint of fresh lemon
Print
Rate
Yield: 8 cups
Equipment
- Food Processor
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
- 1 pound shell pasta
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1½ cups baby spinach leaves (optional) See recipe notes
- ½ cup diced red onion
- 1 cup small grape tomatoes See recipe notes
- 1 cup Kalamata or sliced black olives
- 2 teaspoons Lemon pepper seasoning
- 1 cup crumbled Goat cheese or Feta cheese, divided , reserve a little for garnish
- fresh dill weed, as garnish (optional)
Dressing Ingredients
- 1½ cups Greek yogurt, plain, whole fat
- 1 English cucumber; peeled and cubed (use the other half for the salad)See recipe notes
- 3 tablespoons fresh dill weed
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Peel the English cucumber and cut it in half and dice it into ¼ inch pieces.Put half of the diced cucumbers into the food processor for the dressing. Reserve the other half for the salad.Pulse cucumber to fine pieces; remove and place in a paper towel; squeeze out excess moisture and transfer to a medium size mixing bowl1 English cucumber; peeled and cubed
- Add yogurt, minced garlic, fresh dill and lemon juice to pulsed cucumbers; combine well. Cover and allow to rest a few minutes while you boil the pasta1½ cups Greek yogurt, plain, whole fat, 3 tablespoons fresh dill weed, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Bring 5 quarts of water to boil; once it's boiling, add salt and pasta; stir frequently and cook according to al dente package instructions1 pound shell pasta
- While the pasta is cooking, chop the remaining half of the cucumber into small pieces dice the onion and cut large tomatoes in half or quarters1 tablespoon sea salt
- Drain pasta, rinse with cool water and place in large mixing bowl
- Add in red onion, tomatoes, olives, half of the goat cheese, the remaining diced cucumbers to the pasta; drizzle 1 cup of the dressing over the salad and combine gently with a spatula; cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes½ cup diced red onion, 1 cup small grape tomatoes, 1 cup Kalamata or sliced black olives
- After the salad has rested, stir it up and add lemon pepper seasoning and half of the cheese. Then fold in the spinach leaves, add more dressing, taste for salt and pepper1½ cups baby spinach leaves, 2 teaspoons Lemon pepper seasoning, salt and pepper to taste
- Finish the salad off with a sprinkle of fresh dill weed and the remaining crumbled cheesefresh dill weed, as garnish (optional)
Notes
Baby spinach leaves
This is optional; you can use mature spinach, romaine or butter lettuce to add more nutrients to this dish
Tomatoes
Use small bite-size grape tomatoes or small cherry tomatoes. If you use cherry tomatoes, you may want to cut them in half and remove the seeds, otherwise, they make the dressing too watery.
English cucumber
Cut the cucumber in half; peel and dice into small pieces; put half and put in food processor for the dressing. Reserve the remaining diced cucumbers for the salad.
Dressing
You may have a little dressing leftover; serve it as a dip with Naan or Pita bread
Nutrition Estimate
Serving: 1cupCalories: 348kcalCarbohydrates: 48gProtein: 17gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.003gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 1263mgPotassium: 344mgFiber: 3gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 1095IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 119mgIron: 2mg
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