Greek Chicken Pasta Salad

This pasta salad is a nod to my Greek heritage. I never had a salad with lettuce in it growing up. It was always just the ingredients below, minus the pasta and the chicken (see Chunky Greek Salad). Chunky and tangy and light! I added the chicken and pasta one day when I felt like making a meal out of my normal Greek salad. You might be asking yourself – Where are the kalamata olives?! Well, it probably makes me the worst Greek ever… but I don’t really like them. For those of you who do, I’m sure they would work very well in this dish! The quantity this recipe makes is definitely entertaining-size (15 cups). Try this recipe when you’re looking for a fun alternative to normal pasta salad for a backyard bbq or cut the recipe in half if you just want a few lunches out of it!

Check out my guest blog post for Events Uncorked!

Greek Chicken Pasta Salad

Makes 15 cups

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients (( Healthier Ingredient Substitutions ))

2 chicken breasts, cooked

1 lb rotini pasta, cooked (( 1 lb whole wheat rotini pasta, cooked ))

6 oz feta cheese

2 tomatoes

1 cucumber

1 lemon

2 cloves garlic

1/2 red onion

2/3 cup fresh oregano

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 tsp pepper

1. Chop chicken, cucumber, tomatoes, onion, and oregano.  Mix in a large bowl with cooked pasta.

2. Crush or mince garlic. Mix olive oil, red wine vinegar, juice from lemon, garlic, and pepper.

3. Pour dressing over pasta mixture. Crumble feta over pasta mixture and stir to combine. Serve cold and enjoy!

Ah! Fresh ingredients! The fresh oregano makes a big difference in this recipe. Don't use the dried stuff here!

Chop everything into chunky pieces.

Mix extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, crushed garlic, and pepper in a separate bowl so it mixes in the salad evenly.

Crumble the feta if it is in block form. I prefer the block form because it tends to stay more moist. The block form in liquid is the best, but it is a little hard to find!

Mix everything together!

Get your easy Greek food fix! I'm taking requests for other Greek recipes! I don't know how to cook enough Greek food and it will give me an excuse to experiment :)