Mediterranean Pasta Salad

This Mediterranean Pasta Salad is a delicious, high-protein dish that’s perfect for both lunchtime meal prep or to bring to a summer barbecue!

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Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe:

• Delicious Mediterranean flavor – between the vibrant, crisp veggies, briny olives, salty feta cheese, and the tangy red wine-based dressing, this pasta salad is packed with bright Mediterranean flavors!
• High in protein – one serving of this pasta salad has 35 grams of protein, making it a delicious high-protein lunch option!
• Lots of plants – you have a lot of plant variety here, between spinach, tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, and olives. Added with a higher fiber pasta, it helps you get 5 grams of fiber per serving.
• Meal prep-friendly – pasta salads are great for meal prep because the flavors keep getting better and better. This is a meal prep lunch you’ll actually look forward to eating!
• Perfect for summer barbecues – if you’re looking for a healthy, high protein dish to bring to a summer shindig, this Mediterranean pasta salad is perfect for that!

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions:

For a full ingredient list with quantities, please check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

• Pasta – For max nutritional benefit, I like to use a high protein/ high fiber pasta, like Barilla Protein+ (my favorite!), Banza, Brami, or other similar options!
• Chicken – you can use any already cooked chicken, like my thin sliced baked chicken breasts or rotisserie chicken.
• Spinach – chopped spinach is a great way to add some greens here! You can also use finely chopped and massaged kale, too.
• Cucumber – I love an English cucumber here, just give it a good chop to whatever size you prefer your cucumber pieces in a dish like this!
• Tomatoes – grape or cherry tomatoes work! Slice them in half, or even quarter them if they’re quite robust.
• Bell Pepper – I used a red bell pepper, but you can use any color you like!
• Kalamata Olives – these scream Mediterranean to me, and they add a delightful brininess to the dish!
• Feta Cheese – another quintessential Mediterranean ingredient! I crumble mine fairly fine here, and it adds a delicious saltiness to every bite.
• Red Wine Vinegar Dressing – we make a fresh red wine vinegar based tangy dressing to toss everything in. It comes together quickly and you only need a handful of ingredients — red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, Dijon mustard, oregano, salt, pepper, and garlic.

How to Make Mediterranean Pasta Salad

For complete instructions, please check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

1. Boil pasta according to package directions.
2. Whisk dressing ingredients together.
3. Add all pasta salad ingredients to a large bowl, pour the dressing on top, and toss to combine!

Tips and Variations

• Gluten-Free – use your favorite gluten-free pasta (Banza chickpea pasta is a great gluten-free option that packs in extra protein and fiber!)
• Dairy-Free – skip the feta cheese or swap in your favorite plant-based alternative.
• High in Protein – we’re already there with over 30 grams of protein per serving!
• Vegetarian – skip the chicken and add drained and rinsed chickpeas or roasted tofu instead.
• Add fresh herbs – the goal for this recipe was SIMPLE so you can easily add it to a Prep Once, Think Less meal prep, but if you have a few extra minutes, chopping some fresh herbs like parsley, mint, basil, or dill can add SO much flavor!
• Swap the protein – Use canned chickpeas, shrimp, or hard boiled eggs instead of chicken for an easy protein swap. Chickpeas also make this easily vegetarian.
• Change the cheese – Not a feta fan? Try fresh mozzarella pearls or shaved parmesan for a different but equally delicious flavor profile.
• Add more veggies – Artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, or red onion all work beautifully here and stay well in the fridge throughout the week.
• Switch up the dressing – The red wine vinaigrette is my favorite here, but you can absolutely use a convenient swap like store-bought Greek or Italian vinaigrette.
• Turn it into a warm dish – While this is designed to be served cold as a meal prep salad, you can absolutely serve it warm straight after cooking. Just toss everything together while the pasta is still hot.

Meal Prep & Storage

Pasta salad is a perfect meal prep option, in my opinion, because there’s no reheating required and the flavors just get better and better as it sits in the fridge!

As I typically recommend (and the USDA, too!), it should last in the fridge for up to 3-4 days and still be fresh and safe to consume.

Shop This Recipe

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More Pasta Salad Recipes to Love

• Cowboy Caviar Pasta Salad
• Big Mac Pasta Salad
• Balsamic Pasta Salad
• Elote Pasta Salad
• Chicken Macaroni Pasta Salad
• Dense Bean Pasta Salad
• High Protein Pasta Salad
• Tabbouleh Couscous Salad

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