Gina's Pasta Salad

Bright, fresh, and bursting with Mediterranean-inspired flavors, Gina's Pasta Salad is the ultimate go-to dish for picnics, potlucks, or light meals. Featuring tender penne pasta tossed with a medley of crisp veggies like cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and red bell pepper, this vibrant salad gets an irresistible flavor boost from tangy feta cheese, briny black olives, and a zesty homemade dressing made with extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, and a hint of Dijon mustard. Ready in just 30 minutes, this versatile pasta salad can be served as a chilled main course or a crowd-pleasing side dish. It's a refreshing blend of bold flavors and textures perfect for any occasion!

Nutriscore Rating: 72/100

Prep Time:20 mins

Cook Time:10 mins

Total Time:30 mins

Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 12 ounces Penne pasta
• 2 cups Cherry tomatoes
• 1 large Cucumber
• 1 medium Red bell pepper
• 0.5 medium Red onion
• 0.5 cup Black olives (sliced)
• 0.75 cup Feta cheese (crumbled)
• 0.25 cup Fresh parsley (chopped)
• 0.25 cup Extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons Red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 clove Garlic (minced)
• 1 teaspoon Dried oregano
• 0.5 teaspoon Salt
• 0.25 teaspoon Black pepper

Directions

Step 1

Cook the penne pasta according to the package instructions. Once cooked, drain and rinse under cold water to cool, then set aside.

Step 2

While the pasta is cooking, chop the vegetables. Halve the cherry tomatoes, dice the cucumber and red bell pepper, and thinly slice the red onion.

Step 3

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked pasta, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red bell pepper, red onion, black olives, feta cheese, and chopped parsley.

Step 4

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, dried oregano, salt, and black pepper to make the dressing.

Step 5

Pour the dressing over the pasta salad and gently toss to combine, ensuring the dressing evenly coats all the ingredients.

Step 6

Cover the salad and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld together.

Step 7

Before serving, give the salad a quick toss and adjust the seasoning with additional salt and pepper if needed. Serve chilled.

Nutrition Facts

Serving size	(1696.1g)

Amount per serving	% Daily Value*
Calories	2674.3

Total Fat 130.0g	0%
Saturated Fat 39.5g	0%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1g
Cholesterol 160.3mg	0%
Sodium 4294.4mg	0%
Total Carbohydrate 309.4g	0%
Dietary Fiber 27.9g	0%
Total Sugars 25.6g
Protein 80.5g	0%

Vitamin D 0IU	0%
Calcium 1255.9mg	0%
Iron 22.9mg	0%
Potassium 3137.4mg	0%

*The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Source of Calories

Fat: 42.9%

Protein: 11.8%

Carbs: 45.3%