I reach for Mediterranean pasta salad when I’m just done, and I need pasta recipes that can whisk me away. One bite of the savory olives, the creamy cheese, and the fragrant herbs, and I’m inhaling salty air on a rocky coastline, looking out across teal-blue waters.
If you, like me, can’t afford a monthly getaway, pasta salad recipes are an affordable alternative. Kick back in a comfy chair and let these Mediterranean ingredients build a moment of escape in your chaotic schedule.
Got your passports handy? It’s time to go on vacation!
What I Love About Mediterranean Pasta Salad
It’s quick, it’s simple, and it’ll transport you to a faraway place of flavor and zest — Mediterranean Pasta Salad does it all!
- Quick prep and cooking time
- Party pleasing favorite
- Vacation in a bowl!
- Luxurious ingredients
Mediterranean Pasta Salad Ingredients
Dressing:
- lemon zest
- lemon juice
- Dijon mustard
- anchovy paste: Not a fan of the fishy stuff? I got you covered — you can easily swap out anchovy paste for a familiar sauce that still packs that salty-vinegar punch, like Worcestershire sauce, or something vegan-friendly, like capers.
- garlic
- shallots
- salt & pepper
- sugar
- Italian seasoning
- olive oil
Salad:
- penne pasta
- bell pepper
- sun-dried tomatoes
- black olives
- green olives
- Parmesan cheese & mozzarella: Cheese, please! This recipe calls for parmesan and mozzarella, two staple kinds of cheese from the Mediterranean region, particularly Italy. But if you want to take things up a notch on the Grecian side, go for feta, or get really crazy and try something like manouri!
- tomatoes
- basil
Recipe Notes
- Al dente perfection: Pasta salad dishes always turn out their best when the noodles are actually undercooked, even before al dente. Since you want to let the noodles sit in the sauce and soak up all that flavor, you want their structure to be a bit firmer, so they can withstand that time. Otherwise, you’ll get mushy pasta.
- Process it: Whisking is great, but if I have the time, there’s just something about the food processor that really gets the best flavor out of sauces. Even a blender works too! Put all your sauce ingredients in and puree them up. Deliciousness served!
- Cooldown! Need that pasta cooled off, like, now? Spread your cooked noodles on a greased sheet tray. This will allow the noodles more surface area to room temperature air, which will cool them down much faster.
- Zest that lemon: One of my favorite time- and money-saving tips for citrus zest is to make and store a bunch of it ahead of time. Doing so requires just a paring knife, a sheet pan, and a food processor!
- Buy a big ol’ bag of citrus (in this case, lemons), cut off the peels (just the yellow bits — not the bitter white skin underneath), arrange on your baking sheet, cook at 200ºF until dry (about 40 minutes), process until powder, and store in an airtight container for up to four months!
How To Make Meditteranean Pasta Salad
- Mix the salad dressing and pour it over the cooked pasta. Mix.
- Stir in the next 8 ingredients. Refrigerate.
- When ready to serve, add basil. Serve.
***See the full instructions below.
Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? You can store Mediterranean Pasta Salad in the fridge, sealed in an airtight container, for up to four days. But, if you had this dish sitting out for any amount of time at a party, I’d toss any leftovers, just to be safe.
- With a dish that includes cheese, I tend to err on the side of overly cautious when it comes to party servings. Who knows what those dairy products got up to when you weren’t looking!
- Can You Freeze This? There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with freezing pasta salad, I just personally don’t like to.
- The noodles, the cheese — they don’t do well in the freezer’s low temps. Not that your thawed pasta salad would be inedible, it just wouldn’t have its original texture.
- If you must freeze your Mediterranean Pasta Salad…you’ll definitely want to undercook your pasta so they have as much structure as possible. Make sure you have a tight seal on your container to keep any icky freezer burn out.
- You can also opt to withhold the dressing and cheese from the pasta salad you plan to freeze, and only add those ingredients after you thaw and plan to eat.
- Make-Ahead Tips:
- Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.
Pasta Salad Recipe Variations
Can I Mix Seafood To This Recipe?
You’re on an island, basking in the salt and sun — so, of course, you can add seafood to this Mediterranean vacation dish! Shrimp pasta salad would be my go-to choice. Nothing says seaside retreat like boiled or sautéed shrimp.
Another favorite is tuna pasta salad. Canned or freshly seared, tuna will amp up your Mediterranean pasta salad recipe in all the best ways!
Check Out All My Pasta Salad Recipes!
More Pasta Salad Recipes
Who knew pasta salad could be your own personal moment of sanity? If you’re looking for other tasty breaks, try out these faves:
- Chicken Pasta Salad
- Dill Pickle Pasta Salad
- Taco Pasta Salad
- Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
- Pesto Pasta Salad
- Greek Pasta Salad
- Italian Pasta Salad
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a review, I love hearing your feedback! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mediterranean Pasta Salad
The salty olives, soft cheese, and chewy noodles in Mediterranean pasta salad make this dish your perfect escape in a bowl!
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
- 1 tablespoon garlic
- 1/4 cup shallots finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2/3 cup olive oil
Salad:
- 1 pound box penne pasta
- 1 large red bell pepper chopped
- 1 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil rinsed and drained
- 1 cup pitted black olives drained
- 1 cup pitted Italian green olives drained
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- 2 (8-ounce) containers fresh mozzarella ball in the water drained and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 (10-ounce) container grape tomatoes cut in half
- 1 cup fresh basil julienned
Instructions
- Whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
- Cook pasta (1 pound) according to package directions and drain well.
- While the pasta is still warm, toss it in the mixing bowl with dressing. Allow pasta to cool.
- When pasta has cooled to room temperature, stir in the next 8 ingredients (everything but the basil) and toss. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.
- When ready to serve, add fresh basil (1 cup) and toss. Adjust seasoning and add olive oil, if needed. Serve
Fans Also Made:
Nutrition
Serving: 1/6 of the recipe | Calories: 852kcal | Carbohydrates: 77g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 50g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 66mg | Sodium: 1525mg | Potassium: 760mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1550IU | Vitamin C: 49.7mg | Calcium: 273mg | Iron: 2.8mg
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This was so good! I loved the fresh lemony flavor and definitely recommend making this the night before. It is noticeably better than only six hours in the refrigerator. I did omit the anchovy paste because the last time I bought it for a specific recipe, I never used it again so it eventually ended up in the trash. That was the only thing I did differently. Next time I will be a little conservative with the fresh basil because I did feel it was a bit overpowering, but I still enjoyed the heck out of it. Next week I’m going to try your Italian pasta salad recipe. Really looking forward to that one!
Marianne I’m so happy you enjoyed this salad. I love hearing your feedback!!! I do have a heavy hand with basil! I need to keep that i mind when making new recipes!
this receipe looks great and i am anxious to try. am having people visit soon for a week or so and intend to make this while they are here. i just wanted to say really, that i think your site is so nice and all the receipes look so good, i have tried quite a few at this point and all have been keepers. figured in this world of ours with everyone complaining about everything, it might be nice to send someone a positive thought on all their efforts. thank you.
Wow! Thank you so much Barbara! ❤️❤️ This means a lot to us. We hope to share a lot of easy and tasty recipes for everyone to enjoy, and we’re so glad that you’re getting a lot out of ’em! ? Enjoy cooking!