Strawberry Feta Pasta Salad (Printer View)

Sweet and tangy cold pasta with strawberries, feta, cucumber, and a creamy yogurt dressing.

# What you'll need:

→ Pasta

01 - 8.8 oz short pasta (farfalle or fusilli)
02 - Salt, for boiling water

→ Salad Base

03 - 10.6 oz fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
04 - 3.5 oz feta cheese, crumbled
05 - 1 small cucumber, diced
06 - 1 small red onion, finely chopped
07 - 2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
08 - 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

→ Dressing

09 - 4.2 oz plain Greek yogurt
10 - 2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
11 - 1 tbsp lemon juice
12 - 1 tsp Dijon mustard
13 - Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

# Method:

01 - Boil pasta in a large pot of salted water until al dente according to package instructions. Drain, rinse under cold water, and set aside to cool completely.
02 - Combine strawberries, feta, diced cucumber, finely chopped red onion, chopped mint, and chopped parsley in a large bowl.
03 - Whisk together Greek yogurt, honey, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and freshly ground black pepper in a small bowl until smooth.
04 - Add cooled pasta to the salad base, pour dressing over, and toss gently to coat all ingredients evenly.
05 - Refrigerate the salad for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Serve cold.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It's ready in 25 minutes but tastes like you fussed over it, which is my favorite kind of cooking.
  • The sweet-savory combination keeps surprising you with each forkful—strawberries and feta are a partnership nobody expects to work this well.
  • Perfect for picnics or potlucks because it actually gets better as it sits in the cooler, flavors deepening while everything stays crisp.
02 -
  • Cold pasta salad needs bold seasoning because cold dulls flavors; taste it again before serving and don't be shy with salt and pepper.
  • Never skip the cooling step for the pasta—I learned this the hard way when hot pasta turned the feta into a grainy mess and wilted the strawberries into nothing.
03 -
  • Make the dressing first and taste it alone before you add it to the salad; this way you can adjust the sweetness and tartness to your preference.
  • If you're taking this somewhere, pack the pasta and salad base separate from the dressing, then toss everything together just before serving to keep the pasta from getting waterlogged.
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