This Greek-style pasta salad would also be good tossed with fresh avocado and mint.
This was even better than I thought it would be. The dressing, with the lemon juice, was a light and refreshing departure from vinegar-based dressings. I left out the feta, but added chopped yellow pepper and cucumber, as well as fresh oregano and parsley. We and our out of town guests loved it. Just delicious, and a pretty and colorful addition to the plate.
Read MoreNot a bad start but it needs a little something else. The dressing is pretty bland as is. I ended up added some italian dressing and red pepper flakes to spice it up. This salad gets better the longer it marinates (30 mins isn't long enough, overnight is best).
Read More This was even better than I thought it would be. The dressing, with the lemon juice, was a light and refreshing departure from vinegar-based dressings. I left out the feta, but added chopped yellow pepper and cucumber, as well as fresh oregano and parsley. We and our out of town guests loved it. Just delicious, and a pretty and colorful addition to the plate.
Great recipe! Next time I make it, though, I will reduce the amt. of salt (was a little salty), and add some chopped cucumber. I cut the black olives in half. I'll definitely make this again!
THIS WAS AWESOME! Anyone making this MUST use feta chese and kalamata (rich flavored Greek) olives.They go together like sauce and cheese on a pizza. Like others,I cut down on the onion and olive oil. Then I added some of the olive juice to the dressing. I also used whole cherry tomatoes (as someone said salad gets soggy in time), & some fresh parsley.Definately a keeper!
Very tasty. I only added 1/2 of an onion and it was plenty and probably only 1/4 cup of olive oil. What a great combination with plenty of healthy ingredients.
Not a bad start but it needs a little something else. The dressing is pretty bland as is. I ended up added some italian dressing and red pepper flakes to spice it up. This salad gets better the longer it marinates (30 mins isn't long enough, overnight is best).
Very easy to make. I didn't follow the receipe exactly as I couldn't have it right in front of me. Biggest tip, don't forget to chill, I didn't (in a hurry with a hungry kid at my feet) and the flavours didn't have time to mix until I was almost finished eating it. I skipped the olives(I hate them) and garlic(forgot to get at the grocery store) and still was good.
I love to make this salad, I like to add a seeded cucumber cubed! Yummy! Its so fresh and tastey!
Delicious! I used farfalle, shallot (I prefer the milder flavor), and half the dressing, and I added fresh oregano for even more of a Greek flavor. This was easy and quick, and definitely something I'd make again.
Very easy and quick! I left out the olives and used bow tie pasta instead of macaroni. I also left out the garlic clove and used 1tbsp of garlic powder just because I forgot to buy garlic and it turned out good.
This recipe has all the ingredients that I love in a pasta salad under one roof, which is great. But I do think that it kind of slacks on the dressing. I mixed it all together, threw in almost a whole cucumber chopped because I was craving the crunch and water content, then tasted it. Nothing. I expect it will come together nicely overnight in the fridge, but just to be on the safe side I sprinkled it very generously with a "black olive, red pepper & mint" salad seasoning combo that I have in my pantry. Tasted it again and it rocked. Can't wait to eat it for lunch tomorrow. Really a very lovely combination of things. It will probably become a favourite pasta salad of mine.
Excellent salad, but I would call it "Greek Macaroni Salad." I had a couple of changes - I added some fresh parsley and dried oregano. I also used only 1/4 olive oil and the salad was not in the least bit dry. I used kalamata olives because I prefer them to traditional black and think they go great with feta. This was well received and will be made at my house again for sure!
Perfect! I wouldn't do a thing to the flavouring (That's crazy, coming from me!). Feel free to add other veg, but this is a perfect recipe. HOWEVER, I hate macaroni pasta, so I went with fusili.
Absolutely delicious--made exactly as written. Have been looking for fiber-rich, meatless dishes. As others have mentioned, best when made with black kalamata olives. Thank you so much for sharing.
This was a nice, well balanced (healthy) yet light mac salad. The chickpeas added good protein to the dish. Definitely worth a try.
This was very tasty when I first made it but seemed to lose it's flavor by the next day when I served it. Definitely a keeper if served within a few hours.
I think this salad is a o k. The dressing was different then a vinegar based salad dressing I'm used to. I feel it needed some spices in the flavor department. I think that's what I felt it was lacking. I did use Roma tomatoes and scooped out the seeds, used red onions and I found feta crumbles that were seasoned with garlic and herbs. I made the recipe as written otherwise. But I will never ever use Walmarts brand of garbanzo beans ever again. Not sure what the cannery was thinking when they put them babies in the can, but they were hard as bricks. For warning everyone on that note. It was the 4th can I had in stock in my pantry that was that way...I'll buy Allen's brand from now on, I get my self to save a few cents a can for that. Won't be doing that again. But all in all the recipe just lacked some flavor. I wanted it to sing "Amen" because I love every ingredient used. It just didn't win me over.
Great salad and easy to make. Recipe makes quite a lot but I just kept in the fridge for several days. Tastes better the day after.
Only gave it four stars because I didn't stay true to the recipe. Doubled the amount of pasta (1 c is just not much) and kept the other amounts the same though did not use any salt. Kalamata olives were substituted for black which gave it the needed salt. Used probably only 4 oz. of feta and added the suggestion of other reviewers, adding chopped cucumber and a couple Tbsps of chopped mint.
I made this for lunch for a friend and myself, and we both appreciated how fresh and delicious it was. Like the other reviewers, I'd also recommend letting it sit in the fridge the specified amount of time. I'd also add that it doesn't keep for very long, not that you'll have a problem eating it up!
This is a nice, easy recipe. I cut out the onions and feta cheese and added chopped celery. This salad needs a day to sit; it tastes way better like that! I am going to try this again, without the macaroni. The macaroni didn't seem to help the flavor much.
this pasta salad is pretty good. the dressing is very light and adds a bit of flavor, but the other ingredients are what add the pop to the salad. I think some fresh herbs would be a good addition, and I added turkey bacon and avocado at the last minute since I had leftovers in the fridge. It was a good addition. If you are expecting a bold dressing, either use another dressing or keep looking since this dressing is not that. I made this about 24 hours before we ate it and it was good. thanks for the recipe!
this was absolutely delicious. i used more black olives because i love them and even added a sliced cucumber. healthy, easy and tastes even better the next day
I really liked it but next time I'll use a tri-colored pasta...it needed color other than beige.
Very tasty...favorite with the adults in my family.
Um, I love this recipe! My girlfriend made it and not only do I never ever eat tomatoes but I don't usually like the texture of chickpeas and I found it all to mix some well together it was like one fabulously tasty ingredient. Someone once told me a sign of a great recipe is to never have one overwhelming flavor, it should be one great taste or something like that. Point being is I loved it. A+ -- A little bad taste is like a nice dash of paprika. ---Dorothy Parker
This was absolutely excellent. The black olives and feta add a series of interesting flavors to this quick and easy dish!
Fantastic! I love pasta salads and my husband loves greek salads and this is like a combination of both!
This is FABULOUS!! The only changes I made were using kalamata olives in stead of regular black olives, and slightly increased the amount of pasta. IT HAS A SUPER FLAVOR and we LOVE IT! You can taste all the ingredients without having an overpowering dressing flavor like some salads do. Will definitely be making this salad on a regular basis. It is better the next day, but it's still great on the same day. Thank you for submitting this recipe!
This pasta salad was delicious! I have already made this recipe twice which is rare for me! I followed the instructions but added cucumber one time and peas (frozen, tossed in at the end of the pasta time) another time. I reduced the amount of oil used as well and it was still great. I will continue to make this delicious easy recipe again!
I love chickpeas and pasta salad. I had high expectations for this salad. It was light and fresh. Would be great to accompany a spicy dish - to tame the heat. However, I thought it lacked flavor. I even let it blend for 20 hours. It was good, but there are better salads out there. I do like that this was healthier than most.
Awesome! I was able to make this without going to the store by using assorted pastas and parm cheese instead of feta. I also went a little light on the OO and lemon. Even with all those changes, the dish was still great!
I didn't think I liked chickpeas, but this sounded light, healthy and easy to make, so I decided to try it. It is delicious! I agree, though, that one can definitely use less oil and lemon juice for this recipe.
Very tasty! Added green olives stuffed with pimentos as well as the ripe ones. Probably ended up using more macaroni than a cup as well. But it's much better if you let it sit for more than 30 minutes. Try a few hours or overnight, but be sure to stir it up before you serve it.
The flavors in this dish reminded me of my trip to Greece. I left out the pasta and added chopped cucumber. I used fat free feta cheese, too, to make this a Weight Watchers dish (if you're on the Core plan). Also, 1/4 cup of oil is plenty for this dish. This was so good! Thanks :)
Very tasty. Instead of using just 1 cup of macaroni, I used a whole 7 oz pkg of mac which is about 2 cups and it was perfect. I sliced the olives and followed everything else to the t.
I'm always on the look-out for dishes that my 1/2 vegitarian, 1/2 carnivore family will all enjoy - this was hit! i followed some of the other posters tips and reduced the oil/lemon and added purple onion, avacodo and cucumber and used multi colored pasta.
Followed directions to a tee. Was absolutely delicious. It's going to be my "what to bring covered dish for cook outs" yum!
I ended up adding an herb blend to give this a bit more flavour. I also didn't think the recipe needed all the dressing. Very good base recipe to add your own touches too.
This recipe is my favorite salad recipe. Do not alter it! It is wonderful as is. Thanks for sharing!
This is a really good salad. I had no olives so used some roasted red peppers and it was delicious. A nice change from the "over mayo'ed" macaroni salads.
This is a very easy recipe and a wonderful change from typical macaroni salad. It allows for personal tastes too, my daughter and I love black olives so we added twice the amount called for, cut back to three tomatoes, added a seedless cucumber, and used 2 cups of macaroni. The longer the flavors are left to blend, the better it gets! We will definitely be making it again!
This was really easy to make - and the feta cheese really adds a lot to this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Love this recipe. It's always a hit. Delicious as a leftover, as all the flavors have truly blended. I omit the onions because they can be overpowering the next day.
Great Recipe! I reduced the fat by using Low-fat Feta cheese with herbs and substituting Fat-free Caesar Dressing for the oil with a heaping tblspn of sour cream. I also added green olives and use green onions.
This was very good and doubles well. I made this for a crowd using a whole box of pasta, 2 cans chickpeas, 8 oz. feta, only 1/2 c. olive oil, extra lemon juice, 1 can olives, and no onion. I also only used 4 large tomatoes because there were still plenty in the expanded version. Fresh basil is perfect in this dish. Thanks!
Love this- I added artichokes and it's awesome!!
This recipe "sounded" good when I just read it and as I was making it and starting to mix it all together, I still had some doubts...BUT once I added in the feta, it "pulled together" perfectly and became so creamy and tangy! I doubled the recipe but since I'm not a big fan of tomatoes, I didnt double them and added more garlic and pepper....downright delicious!
Very tasty, though I'll cut down on the oil & lemon juice next time, there was extra liquid in the bottom of the bowl.
Pretty good recipe. I will add some fresh herbs next time to give more flavor. I also agree with other reviewers to use less oil and lemon juice. Added some grilled chicken for lunch leftovers.
This is one of our favorite recipes....i make a batch without the feta for my husband and a batch with the feta for me and my daughter....we absolutely love it....it has that classic greek salad flavor....and i marinate it in the fridge for at least a day, shaking often to blend flavors....simply wonderful!!
This is such a good basic recipe and so great to make ahead. I did add ( because I wanted to try) some preserved lemons I had bottled in March. I diced the peel and it added a nice zest. I love dill weed and oregano so tossed that in. Even without changes it will be my go to pasta salad.
This was very good. I took the advice and cut back on the onion, added green olives and omitted the feta cheese. Just my personal preference. It could use more pasta but the combination of the flavors was awesome! A KEPPER for sure. Thanks!
This salad is so refreshing for the summertime. My daughter loves anything with feta cheese in it. So she will be making it too. Yum!
I used 2c macaroni and added a chopped yellow bell pepper and 1 small cucumber chopped. I followed the rest of the recipe to the letter. I had to get out a bigger bowl to hold it all lol. VERY good.
I thought it was a little plain, but my husband loved it.
My kids loved this. They tend not to like salads like this with vinegar-based dressings, so this was perfect. I used kalamata olives, high quality feta, and fresh tomatoes from the farmers market. Granted, each kid picked out only the components they liked and ate those, but I was lucky they both liked different parts of it and it all got eaten!
I really enjoyed this recipe as did the rest of the people that I served it to. I didn't use black olives or onions but did add cucumber. It was light and the lemon juice and olive oil made a very nice dressing though I used a bit less than called for. I will use this recipe again- there are so many variations to try out!
Easy recipe. I only used 1/2 of the olive oil and the lemon. Turned out just right! Love love love it
