Strawberry Feta Pasta Salad (Printable)

Sweet and tangy pasta salad with strawberries, feta, cucumber, and creamy yogurt dressing, perfect for warm days.

# 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

# Directions:

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

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It comes together in 25 minutes flat, making it perfect for those moments when you need something impressive but have no energy.
  • The contrast between juicy strawberries and salty feta creates a flavor combination that somehow feels both familiar and completely unexpected.
  • It's genuinely refreshing—the kind of cold pasta that tastes like summer feels, not something heavy sitting in your stomach.
02 -
  • If you make this more than a few hours ahead, the pasta will keep drinking up the dressing and the whole thing gets drier—if you need to make it ahead, keep the dressing separate and toss it together just before serving.
  • Don't skip cooling the pasta completely, because even lukewarm pasta will start wilting the fresh herbs and strawberries and you'll lose that bright feeling that makes this special.
  • The feta will get softer as it sits, which is actually good because it starts seasoning the whole salad, but if you're making it hours ahead, add the feta closer to serving time so it stays crumbly and distinct.
03 -
  • Taste the dressing before it meets the pasta—if it needs more honey or lemon, now's the time to adjust it instead of trying to fix it later when everything's mixed together.
  • Buy feta from a place that lets you taste it first if you can, because some feta is aggressively salty and some is almost mild, and you want the kind that tastes alive but not overwhelming.
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