Cool off tonight with a delicious make-ahead easy Greek pasta salad with feta, tomatoes, and kalamata olives. It’s hearty without feeling heavy.

I love a good pasta salad. It’s hearty, it’s filling, and it’s very make-ahead. It’s also a great excuse for me to getaway without adding meat to the meal.

While I know that some people consider pasta and carbs not the best, I find that in moderation, they’re a tasty good cheap eat.

For over 20 years now I’ve been making some version of this Pasta Salad with feta, tomatoes, and Kalamata olives. The sweet Tarragon-Balsamic Dressing offsets the saltiness of the feta and olives, making for a delicious, tangy combination.

What Goes With Pasta Salad?

You can serve this easy, make-ahead pasta salad as a meatless main dish, a hearty side accompaniment to a grilled protein like Mediterranean Grilled Steak , or Grilled Dijon Basil Chicken.

You can also combine it with other salads like this Grilled Vegetable Couscous Salad for a fun salad buffet dinner. This would be a great way to get your kids to eat more veggies!

How Long Does Pasta Salad Stay Good For?

This pasta salad will stay good for 5-7 days making it a great make ahead dish.

Just cover it well with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.

How Long Can Pasta Salad Sit Out At Room Temperature?

It is recommended that any food with perishable ingredients sit out for no longer than 2 hours. If it has, you need to toss it.

How I make this cheap:

Pasta Salad with Feta, Tomatoes, and Kalamata Olives is pretty economical by virtue of its being a meatless pasta dish. Here are some of the strategies I use to make this recipe even more affordable:

Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale! When I see a great price on pasta, I buy a lot of it. We almost always have a stockpile of noodles in the pantry. The same goes for Kalamata olives and feta, the pricier ingredients in this dish.

Take advantage of tomatoes in season. You’ll enjoy better flavor and cheaper prices making this dish in the summer and fall. Be sure to ask the neighbors if they’ve got too many tomatoes on their hands. Maybe they’ll share. You can also plant your own tomatoes.

Tools I use to make this recipe easy:

This is a pretty straight-forward dish. You don’t need any fancy equipment to cook pasta! However, having some good basic kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs. Here are the tools that I like to use in this recipe.

large stockpot – Mine is a Kitchenaid that I’ve had for 14 years!

collander – We just bought this one this year to replace a broken plastic one.

large pasta bowl – I have this one and love it!

plastic cutting board – I have several: blue for veggies; white for meats

Ergo chef chef’s knife – some of my favorite knives