This Greek Chicken Pasta Salad feeds a crowd, comes together quickly, and makes for excellent leftovers!
Nothing says Fourth of July like a giant bowl of pasta salad! It’s a picnic table classic, and this recipe is 100% being added to the rotation. This particular Greek Chicken Pasta Salad is actually kind of a big deal around here, and not just because it’s delicious. Longtime readers may remember the one food I truly despise, my edible arch nemesis: olives. I hate ’em. Can’t stand them, don’t cook with them, and up until this point there has never been an olive to be found in a single recipe on this site!
The olive for those who don’t like olives
HOWEVER…I was recently introduced to an olive that’s made me change my ways! Of course, I’m not an overnight olive lover. That’s just not going to happen. BUT, I found this canned green olive at Trader Joe’s that I genuinely love! I think the trick is that it doesn’t even really taste like a classic olive. So yeah, I like olives that don’t taste like olives. ?
You don’t have to use these particular ones from Trader Joe’s to make this pasta salad rock, but for me and my olive-hating self, they’re the ticket. So welcome to the blog, olives!
What other ingredients make this pasta salad delicious?
The cast of characters here is pretty simple. We’re going to add in:
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Red onion
- Feta
- Chicken, which is totally optional
While I say the chicken is optional, I think it really adds something extra! It has a delicious juicy flavor and makes it substantial enough that you can have it as a main dish.
The dressing for this Greek pasta salad is a quick and easy red wine vinaigrette that you can prep the day before. It adds just the right amount of flavor while mostly letting those fresh ingredients above shine!
What makes this Greek Chicken Pasta Salad perfect for the Fourth of July?
A couple things!
- It feeds a crowd easily.
- It can be served at room temperature, so it’s not hogging that precious refrigerator space right when you get close to meal time.
- It comes together FAST. You can prep everything while your pasta water boils.
- The leftovers are amazing. The longer those flavors get to know each other, the better they taste!
Whatcha waiting for? Get cookin’!
Greek Chicken Pasta Salad
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
This Greek Chicken Pasta Salad feeds a crowd, comes together quickly, and makes for excellent leftovers!
Ingredients
- 1 pound bowtie pasta
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 large cucumber, diced
- 1/2 small red onion, diced
- 1 cup green or black olives
- 5 ounces crumbled feta cheese
- 4 grilled chicken breasts, diced ((optional))
Red Wine Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- juice from 1 lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add 1 tablespoon salt then add pasta.
- While the pasta cooks make the red wine vinaigrette by whisking all the ingredients together. (You can also use this vinaigrette to marinate your chicken before grilling. If you do that, just double the vinaigrette recipe and use half for the marinade and the other half to dress the pasta salad).
- Once pasta is cooked, drain and add to a large bowl. Add the tomatoes, cucumber, red onions, olives and chicken. Drizzle with the red wine vinaigrette and toss until everything is well coated. Add the crumbled feta once pasta has cooled. Serve at room temperature.
Karen M
This is a family favorite for sure! So easy to make!
★★★★★
Christy
Okay, so, I hate olives too so badly. What is the name and/or brand of green olives that you found at Trader Joes.
Life is but a Dish
They’re just the Ripe Medium Green Olives, Pitted