Nagi's Big, Easy Pasta Salad

Name: Nagi's Big, Easy Pasta Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: European, Italian, Mediterranean
Ingredients: 500g/ 1 lb bow tie pasta (farfalle) (, or other short/medium pasta (Note 1)); 2 cucumbers (, halved lengthways and finely sliced (~17cm/7" long, sliced 2mm / 1/16", I use a mandolin)); 3 cups (500g) cherry or grape tomatoes (, halved (or chop 4 regular tomatoes)); 1/3 cup roughly chopped Kalamata olives ((3/4 cup whole pitted or 1/2 cup sliced, then chop)); 200g/ 7oz Greek feta (, cut into 6mm / 1/4" batons (they will crumble a bit, this is good)); 1 packed cup basil leaves (, torn by hand (Note 2 for alternatives)); 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil; 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar ((Note 3)); 2 garlic cloves (, minced using garlic press or very finely minced using a knife); 2 tsp dijon mustard ((can omit)); 2 tsp honey ((sub maple syrup or 1 tsp sugar, Note 4)); 1 1/2 tsp Italian herbs mix ((Note 5)); 3/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt; 1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

Prep:10minCook:15min

Recipe video above. This is the big-batch pasta salad I make when I'm short on time. The trick that puts this into guest-serving territory is to toss the hot, freshly cooked pasta in the dressing. You will be shocked how much flavour it absorbs!Do this, and it's delicious no matter what you add in. My combination is the bare minimum that delivers everything I seek in a pasta salad. There's no need to add a gazillion ingredients!Workflow - Chop the veg and make the dressing while the pasta is cooking. This will cut down active cook/prep time to 15 minutes.

Updated at: Thu, 19 Mar 2026 16:06:40 GMT