Easy Greek Pasta Salad [+ Video]

A fresh and easy Greek Pasta Salad just in time for summer! This crowd-pleasing side dish is tasty for backyard barbecues. Curly pasta to trap the dressing is essential, then load it up with a variety of olives, fresh cucumber and more!

This easy Greek pasta salad recipe is all about one thing: the chunks of feta cheese. Yes, I love the chewy pasta, the crunch of the fresh veggies, and the tangy dressing. It’s basically summer in a bowl, colorful and fresh.

But honestly? It’s all about the feta for me. Every time I see someone on the Food Network making a salad with chunks of feta cheese, I vow to stop what I’m doing and immediately follow their lead. And now, you can too.

This is one Greek pasta salad your guests will rave about! It is simply the BEST with your favorite summery grilled meats (find my favorite grilled chicken recipe here) or at any potluck or picnic you are attending.

What’s Needed for Greek Pasta Salad?

The red wine vinaigrette is so simple and flavorful, you can throw it together right before you need it. And it comes together in minutes with just a few pantry ingredients. Save the recipe because you’ll want it on all your other salads, too!

For the Greek Dressing:

• Olive Oil
• Red Wine Vinegar
• Garlic
• Dried Oregano
• Lemon Zest and Lemon Juice
• Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

I love the classic combination of cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, and olives. Since grocery store tomatoes can be unpredictable, I go with my favorite brand of grape or cherry tomatoes and slice them lengthwise. I also use red onion and kalamata olives, but you are welcome to substitute your favorite onions and olives.

For the Pasta Salad:

• Rotini Pasta
• English Cucumber
• Diced Bell Pepper
• Sliced Red Onion
• Grape Tomatoes
• Feta Cheese
• Kalamata Olives

The measurements and details for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make Greek Pasta Salad

This feta and cucumber pasta salad couldn’t be easier to make! Here are the basic steps to making this simple pasta salad recipe:

Go on and name a salad that is more universally loved than a classic Caesar salad. Crisply fresh Romaine lettuce, creamy Caesar dressing, a hint of sunshiney lemon, salty Parmesan cheese, and garlicky croutons all help make one of the best-known salads legendary.

Classic Caesar Salad

All by itself, Caesar salad has enduring appeal because of the simplicity of assembly and its flavor packed dressing. It can accompany just about any main dish with aplomb.

But if you add a few pieces of air fried crispy chicken or leftover Crispy Italian Oven Chicken pulled from the bone-as I so often do- it becomes a meal! You can enjoy this combo for a lunch that will keep you satisfied without making you feel like you need a long winter’s nap afterward!

Chicken Caesar Salad Recipe

To make the best easy Caesar salad recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Romaine lettuce
• Creamy Caesar dressing
• lemon
• Parmesan cheese
• croutons

Read more

Creamy caesar dressing is a salad classic for a reason; flavorful and full of umami, it makes every salad special. It also makes a fantastic dip for raw vegetables!

Creamy Caesar Dressing

Caesar salad is one of those salads that even the most committed non-salad lovers like. I credit the dressing with this minor miracle because it packs so much flavor nobody can resist it!

I know a lot of folks turn their nose up at the inclusion of anchovy paste or anchovies, because they don’t always sound appetizing, but trust me when I tell you they belong here. It melts into the homemade caesar salad dressing and lends its powerful umami abilities to the dressing in a way nothing else can.

And the truth is that without the anchovy paste or anchovies, it simply won’t taste like the caesar dressing everyone knows and loves.

Caesar Salad Dressing Recipe

To make this easy caesar salad dressing, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• mayonnaise
• lemon juice
• Dijon mustard
• Worcestershire sauce
• anchovy paste or anchovies
• garlic
• Parmesan cheese
• salt
• pepper

Read more

Homemade Coconut Peanut Butter [+Video]

This is the recipe you never knew you were missing! Creamy homemade coconut peanut butter is a little bit of heaven on earth and you can make it in 5 minutes or less!

A trip to Hawaii last year was the perfect end to our daughter’s senior year of high school. We had an awesome time and came home inspired to make a few things at home, starting with the coconut peanut butter.

At Waialua Bakery in Haleiwa I sampled a coconut peanut butter that I’ve been craving ever since. In fact, if you know where I can get Coconut Peanut Butter let me know because it is sooo delicious! I immediately began testing at home and found out that 1. you need to use the right coconut, always dried, never fresh and 2. slather it on everything!!!

What Do I Need to Make Coconut Peanut Butter?

This homemade peanut butter recipe only takes 5 ingredients and I love knowing exactly what is going into a recipe. Here is what you will need:

• Bare Toasted Coconut Chips: These can be found at most grocery stores – Walmart, Kroger, Harmon’s, Target, and Amazon of course!
• Unsalted Dry Roasted Peanuts: Make sure the peanuts are roasted and not raw and you’ll definitely want unsalted.
• Vanilla: adds flavor
• Salt: enhances all the flavors
• Brown Sugar: adds a touch of sweetness, maple sugar could also be used

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card down below. This is meant to just be an overview of items you will need.

How to Make Coconut Peanut Butter

You won’t find an easier recipe to make! Grab a blender, a rubber spatula and some measuring cups and spoons…

1. Blend: Add the coconut chips to a blender and blend until grainy.
2. Cream: Add the peanuts and blend until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides if needed to get all those peanuts blended.
3. Finish: Add the few remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.

The recipe card can be found down below with all the ingredients and instructions. You can also print or save the recipe there.

How to Use Coconut Peanut Butter

I use this peanut butter with coconut wherever I can think of. It is so dang good! My typical go-to is on top of lightly toasted multi-grain bread. Sometimes I just have the toast plain with the peanut butter only and other times I’ll load it up with sliced fruit and other toppings. Here are some other ideas:

• Add it to a smoothie in place of peanut butter (or other nut butter) like our Read more

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! The spring flowers are blooming and it’s looking so pretty around the village. As I was out walking this week, I found myself stopping several times just to admire the beautiful flowering trees.

Today is filled with new recipes for me to cook and photograph and I’m looking forward to it. Plus, it’s raining outside and I’m cozy inside, so no complaints here.

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: This easy and impressive poblano corn chowder has serious comfort food power. Gather your ingredients and be ready to gather the praises that will be heaped on you when folks dunk a spoon into a big bowl of this flavorful chicken, corn, and potato chowder with a hint of heat from roasted poblano chiles.

Tender chunks of savory chicken dance with crisp green beans in a sauce that’s the perfect blend of savory and spice in this chicken and green beans stir fry.

A taco quesadilla is the happy marriage of perfectly flavorful taco meat and the crunchy, cheesy goodness of a quesadilla. Use leftover taco meat and you’re just moments away from a meal everyone will love!

A hot skillet full of sizzling, cheesy, flavorful lasagna dip on the table is guaranteed to put smiles on everyone’s faces! True to its name, this hot cheese-laden dip is redolent with the garlic and tomato goodness of comforting, hearty lasagna.

Hash brown waffles are hot, crispy potato perfection. They’re perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and they make a terrific base for all kinds of toppings. They’re fantastic with gravy or a fried egg on top – or both. Hashbrown waffles are immensely snackable with the dipping sauce of your choice too.

These easy, five-ingredient peanut butter s’mores have a layer of marshmallow and milk chocolate sandwiched between two layers of peanut butter cookies. Can you think of anything more calculated to bring happiness in a single bite?

Rich and creamy vanilla ice cream exploding with pieces of homemade chocolate chip cookies is what chocolate chip cookie ice cream is and what makes it so irresistible. This chocolate chip cookie ice cream will keep you coming back for more.

What I’m CRAVING: My friend Lynne’s Chocolate Mint Dream Bars. This is just the most outrageously awesome dessert, words fail me. My boys go nuts over it every time we make it.

My FAVORITE THING this week is this little Read more