Spaghetti Salad

This vibrant Spaghetti Salad features tomatoes, cucumbers, black olives, green olives, red onion, and feta cheese. I made Italian dressing from scratch with pantry staples! It's a crowd-pleasing cold pasta salad perfect for making ahead and sharing with your friends and family as a side dish at Spring and Summer picnics, potlucks, BBQs, or parties.

Easy party-favorite Spaghetti Salad that is ready in 20 minutes!

This crowd-pleasing cold spaghetti salad comes together in just 20 minutes! It's simple enough to serve as an everyday side dish with your weeknight dinner or for a special occasion when entertaining guests or having company. The salad is easy and is all about quality ingredients. First, I combined the cooked spaghetti pasta with fresh tomatoes, cucumber, green and black olives, red onion, and feta cheese in a large bowl. Then, I tossed all the pasta salad ingredients with my homemade Italian-inspired dressing (made by mixing olive oil, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper in a mason jar). That's it! I love making this cold pasta salad in advance to share with friends and family at dinner parties, Summer potlucks, barbecues, picnics, and cookouts! It makes a fantastic meatless (and vegetarian!) meal, but I personally like to add protein (such as rotisserie chicken or shrimp) to turn it into a complete meal. For more pasta salad inspiration, check out my delicious Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad or family-favorite Broccoli Ranch Pasta Salad with Bacon, Tomatoes, Sweet Peas, and Cheddar Cheese.

Recipe Highlights

• This flexible recipe is easily adjustable to what you have available. You're not limited to just spaghetti here - use any kind you like. Use other veggies like bell peppers, mushrooms, or avocado. You can make dressing from scratch or use store-bought Italian or Greek.
• It can be made beforehand and only gets better after being refrigerated. Great for making ahead!
• This cold spaghetti salad is perfect for sharing. Bring it to picnics, potlucks, backyard barbecues, block parties, cookouts, and other festivities. It's a perfect pasta salad for Spring, Summer, or year-round.
• Perfect for entertaining: it works as an appetizer, side salad, or lunch. You'll love how vibrant and colorful it is - a great dish to impress your guests.

The Ingredients You Need

• Pasta. You can use any shape you like, including spaghetti, fettuccine, linguine, bucatini, or angel hair pasta. You can also use short-cut pasta, such as bow-tie, penne, rigatoni, fusilli, or orecchiette.
• Tomatoes. I used grape (or cherry) tomatoes in two colors. They make a beautiful presentation, but you can use regular tomatoes, too.
• Cucumber. Use two medium cucumbers or one large one.
• Olives. Use pitted black and green olives.
• Feta cheese has a soft texture and briny flavor. Perfect for mixing in with the spaghetti salad.
• Red onion provides a zesty bite. You don't need much - only about ¼ cup of chopped onions.

Homemade Italian dressing

• Salad dressing ingredients include extra virgin olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. I recommend using freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice (not bottled) and extra virgin olive oil. I also like adding one tablespoon of honey to balance the flavors.
• Combine all the dressing ingredients in a mason jar and whisk with the fork (or close the jar with the lid and shake it vigorously to blend the flavors).

How to Make Spaghetti Salad

This cold spaghetti salad only takes 20 minutes to make. You can serve it immediately or refrigerate it for up to 4 days. Below is the overview. The detailed recipe (with amounts) is at the bottom of this post (on the recipe card).

1. Cook the pasta in boiling water according to the package instructions. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again. In the meantime, proceed with the rest of the recipe.
2. Make salad dressing in a large bowl by combining extra virgin olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, honey, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
3. Prepare the veggies. Add sliced tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and olives into the same large bowl with the dressing. Toss to combine.
4. Assembly. Add drained cooked pasta and feta cheese to the bowl with veggies. Toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Variations & Substitutions

• Pasta. Even though it's a spaghetti salad, you can use any pasta you like (or have available!). This includes linguine, fettuccine, angel hair pasta, or bucatini. You can also use short-cut pasta: small shells, fusilli (spiral pasta), bow-tie pasta (farfalle), penne, rigatoni, or rotini.
• Veggies. My favorites are asparagus, bell peppers, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, marinated artichokes, and zucchini.
• Add leafy greens, such as arugula, garden greens, or lettuce.
• Cheese. I used feta cheese. You can also add small Mozzarella balls (pearls), sliced Mozzarella, cubed Parmesan, or grated Parmesan.
• Salad Dressing. I made a dressing from scratch but you can totally use your favorite store-bought Italian or Greek dressing.
• Don't like red onions?  Try chopped green onions.
• Lime or lemon will work great. Freshly squeezed juice is always the best!

Delicious Add-Ins

• Add prosciutto, bacon, or pepperoni. I like to briefly crisp the prosciutto in the preheated oven at 350 F for about 10 minutes. You can also use chopped cooked bacon, bacon bits, or your favorite kind of pepperoni.
• Add a protein, such as leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken, sauteed or grilled shrimp, or salmon, to turn spaghetti salad into a quick and easy weeknight dinner!
• Add pine nuts as a topping. I like to toast pine nuts briefly (and carefully!) in the oven for an even richer flavor.
• Add capers instead of olives, or add them in addition.
• Add other toppings, such as fresh herbs (basil, thyme, or oregano), chopped green onions, or chopped chives.
• Make it spicy by adding red pepper flakes.

More Pasta Salads

• Corn Pasta Salad with Bacon and Creamy Pesto Dressing
• Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
• Summer Pasta Salad with Peaches, Spinach, Tomatoes, Prosciutto, and Mozzarella Cheese
• Broccoli Ranch Pasta Salad with Bacon, Tomatoes, Sweet Peas, and Cheddar Cheese
• Greek Tortellini Salad with Tomatoes, Avocados, Cucumbers, and Feta Cheese
• Chicken Pasta Salad with Apricots, Spinach, Bacon, and Feta

4.36 from 14 votes

Spaghetti Salad

This vibrant Spaghetti Salad features tomatoes, cucumbers, black olives, green olives, red onion, and feta cheese. The pasta and veggies are tossed with Italian dressing made with pantry staples. It's a crowd-pleasing cold pasta salad perfect for making ahead and sharing with your friends and family as a side dish at Spring and Summer picnics, potlucks, BBQs, or parties.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Salad

Cuisine American, Italian

Servings 8

Calories per serving 352 kcal

Author: Julia

Ingredients

Pasta

• 16 oz spaghetti

Salad dressing

• ¼ cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon honey
• salt and pepper to taste

Salad ingredients

• 12 oz cherry tomatoes red and yellow (sliced in half)
• 2 medium cucumbers sliced
• ⅓ cup red onion chopped
• ⅓ cup black olives sliced
• ⅓ cup green olives sliced
• 4 oz crumbled feta cheese

US Customary - Metric

Instructions 

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions.
• Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and immediately rinse it with cold water. Drain again.
• While the pasta is cooking, proceed with the rest of the recipe.
• In a large bowl, combine the salad dressing ingredients: olive oil, lemon juice, honey, and Italian seasoning. Mix. Season generously with salt and pepper.
• Add sliced cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, chopped red onion, and olives to the bowl with the dressing, mixing the dressing thoroughly with the veggies. Let them marinate while the pasta is cooking. The tomatoes should release juices.
• Add drained and rinsed spaghetti and crumbled feta cheese to the bowl with marinated veggies. Toss to combine.
• Season with salt and pepper. Add more lemon juice, if desired.

Notes

Helpful tips

• Use any shape of pasta you like, including spaghetti, fettuccine, linguine, bucatini, or angel hair pasta. You can also use short-cut pasta, such as bow-tie, penne, rigatoni, fusilli, or orecchiette.
• Rinse cooked pasta under cold water before adding to the salad. This step is important. You want spaghetti to retain its texture and not get mushy. 
• Salad dressing options. Make a dressing from scratch or use store-bought Italian or Greek.
• Veggies. Add bell peppers, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, marinated artichokes, and zucchini.
• Add leafy greens, such as spinach or arugula.
• Cheese. Other options besides feta are small Mozzarella balls (pearls), sliced Mozzarella, and cubed or grated Parmesan.
• To make it gluten-free, use the gluten-free pasta of your choice. Once cooked, rinse the pasta with cold water to prevent it from getting mushy.
• Make it dairy-free. Use dairy-free, vegan feta cheese instead of regular.
• How to serve it? Serve it warm, at room temperature, or cold.

Tips for making it ahead and meal-prep

• This is one of those recipes that tastes even better the next day once all the flavors blend. 
• Assemble all of the salad ingredients in a large, airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 4 days. Of course, it's best to serve it within 24 hours.
• Add extra salad dressing before serving. The spaghetti salad tends to soak up the dressing as it rests in the fridge. You can quickly make extra dressing from scratch or use store-bought Italian or Greek. Add this extra dressing immediately before serving to freshen up the salad.

Nutrition

Nutrition Information

Spaghetti Salad

Amount per Serving

Calories

352

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

13

g

20

%

Saturated Fat

 

3

g

19

%

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

1

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

7

g

Cholesterol

 

13

mg

4

%

Sodium

 

347

mg

15

%

Potassium

 

328

mg

9

%

Carbohydrates

 

50

g

17

%

Fiber

 

3

g

13

%

Sugar

 

6

g

7

%

Protein

 

10

g

20

%

Vitamin A

 

359

IU

7

%

Vitamin C

 

15

mg

18

%

Calcium

 

112

mg

11

%

Iron

 

2

mg

11

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition Disclaimer:

The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Keyword spaghetti salad

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Cooking Tips

• Cook pasta al dente for the best texture.  This texture works best with the spaghetti salad, especially if you want to make it ahead. To cook pasta al dente, you usually have to boil it 2 minutes shorter than normal. For example, if the package instructions tell you to boil pasta for 10 minutes - cook the pasta in boiling water for 8 minutes instead.
• Rinse cooked pasta under cold water before adding to the salad. This step is important. You want spaghetti to retain its texture and not get mushy. Also, since you're mixing the spaghetti with feta cheese, you don't want the pasta to keep releasing the starch that will mix with the feta - that will also result in a mushy and creamy texture.
• Make it gluten-free.  Use the gluten-free pasta of your choice.  Lentil or chickpea gluten-free pasta will taste great here.
• Make it dairy-free. Use dairy-free, vegan feta cheese instead of regular feta.
• How to serve it? Serve it warm, at room temperature, or cold.

Storage Tips

This cold spaghetti salad gets only better better as it sits in the fridge. It's best to serve it within 2 days, but you can keep it refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Can you make it ahead?

This is one of those recipes that tastes even better the next day once all the flavors blend. It's a perfect side dish to bring to potlucks or to make for the holidays. Here are some tips on how to make this ahead.

• Assemble all of the salad ingredients in a large, airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 4 days. Of course, it's best to serve it within 24 hours.
• Add extra salad dressing before serving. The spaghetti salad tends to soak up the dressing as it sits in the fridge. You can quickly make the same dressing from scratch or use store-bought Italian or Greek dressing. Add this extra dressing immediately before serving to freshen up the salad.