Crunchy vegetables, summer sausage, and salty feta are combined with cooked pasta, then drizzled with Greek dressing for this easy and delicious potluck summer salad!
You may not believe it, but here’s how it happened –
One fine summer morning,
Amy wondered what to make for lunch.
Because she wondered,
She entered her pantry.
Upon entering her pantry,
She noticed the little can of black olives.
Because of those black olives,
She thought of making Tapenade,
But she didn’t have any crackers.
The crackers made her think of cheese.
The cheese got her contemplating Macaroni and Cheese,
But she didn’t have any elbow pasta.
The idea of pasta was strong and led her to the box of Rotini.
The Rotini swayed her to look for pasta sauce.
There wasn’t any pasta sauce to be found,
But in its place was Greek salad dressing.
The salad dressing pointed her toward the refrigerator,
Which included bell pepper, cucumber, and feta cheese.
Aha!
Oh please, oh please, let there be some red onion in the basket.
Bingo.
Greek Summer Pasta Salad.
And that’s how it happened. Believe me, she mused.
Because…
Just because…
A can of black olives needed to be used.
Greek Summer Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound rotini pasta
- 8 ounces sliced summer sausage
- 1 small red bell pepper , seeds and ribs removed, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 large cucumber , peeled and seeded, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 2.25 ounce can sliced black olives
- 4 ounce crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 cup Greek Vinaigrette
Instructions
- Cook pasta as directed on box. Drain and rinse under cold water.
- In the meantime, combine all other ingredients in a large bowl. Add pasta to the bowl and mix well.
- Cover and refrigerate until serving.
Nutrition
Kim says
An awesome substitute for the rotini pasta is tortilini (spelled wrong) I use both meat and cheese ones together. It’s pretty tasty! There’s never any leftovers!
Sarah Caron says
Dr. Seuss is a favorite around here too — My son loves when I read Just Because A Little Bug Went Kaaaaachooooooooooo!
That pasta looks divine. I love a good Greek salad and the addition of pasta sounds delectable.
Cathy says
Made it last night–vegetarian. Could have eaten the entire bowl it was so good. Thank you!
darnold23 says
I really love the looks of this….it reminds me so much of the one I make that is similar. Okay, so now I’m hungry all over again! Crock Pot Wednesday will announce another giveaway this weekend! diningwithdebbie.blogspot.com
Cathy says
Making it tonight. I think I can make a kid version on the side — olives, pasta, red bell pepper, cucumber. Now if only it would feel like summer…
The Food Hunter says
You have a great blog. Glad I found it!
daphne says
LOL! love the line of logic there Amy! beautiful summer salad too.
Jennifer says
Love the story. It made me giggle.
I have to say, fresh tomatoes lead me to make a pasta sauce the other day, and I had everything I needed in the fridge or freezer. Voila! The best sauce I’ve ever made!
Melissa says
That looks like one of my ideal lunches. Nice scavenging heh.
I LOVE PPN. It’s one of the things I already miss the most. *Pout* I’m thrilled you’re hosting!
Karen says
I went in search of this for lunch, but nothing even remotely presented itself. I ended up with the most boring turkey sandwich ever. Sigh.
Jude says
“The salad dressing pointed her toward the refrigerator, which included bell pepper, cucumber, and feta cheese.” ….Amy, I need your help. My fridge contains tonic water, a lime, a tub of tofu and a lone Belgian beer.
Mel says
Clever clever, Amy. Your posts always make me laugh. And the recipe is great too! This looks pretty versatile, possibly using different things you have on hand, like I don’t have summer sausage but I do have ham. And maybe add some tomatoes?
Paul says
I just wish we could find a way to make everything lead to cheese and bacon.
Cheese. Bacon.
Cheese. And. Bacon.
Anna says
I love cold pasta salads if they’re not drowning in mayo. This one sounds pretty healthy and very light with the vinaigrette dressing. I’m making it for lunch today, minus the summer sausage.
Cheryl says
Hahaha. Love your story. I’ve had frozen peas lead me to chocolate chip cookies before. Oh how the mind works. Of course, I always want cookies so it wasn’t a stretch. This salad looks great – I’m a huge fan of feta cheese. I buy the big tubs at Costco and it doesn’t last long.
Sharon says
What a adventure in your pantry, starting and ending with your little can of black olives! Looks refreshing and tasty to boot.
Ruth says
Isn’t it wonderful how the mind works! Thanks for sharing a gorgeous summery salad and double thanks for hosting this week’s Presto Pasta Night.
I have no idea where my mind will take me…perhaps to some olives ;-)
Jan Winning says
So I went to Greek resturant last week and had their Greek salad, which was good, but needed more olives and Feta. And for an extra couple of dollars you could have it topped with grillled chicken…but, says I..I can do that better and cheaper….So last night we had company and I served the Greek salad with many olives and lots of Feta and my own oil and vinegar (with garlic) dressing…and nice grilled chicken slices on top….alas, I forgot to take a picture…but this is evidently the Greek salad time of year..