Spinach and Feta Pasta Salad

12/07/2024 by Living the Gourmet 30 Comments

Are you looking for the perfect refreshing side dish for your next summer barbecue? Something that pairs deliciously with burgers, steaks, or grilled fish? If so, our Spinach and Feta Pasta Salad has got you covered. Combining fresh baby spinach with roasted garlic, fresh lemon juice, crumbled feta, and chickpeas, this salad serves up a medley of Mediterranean goodness in a simple to prepare, easy to love, recipe.

Best of all, not only is this salad easy to make, but it’s also make-ahead friendly, meaning you can make it a day or two ahead of time, and serve it cold alongside all of your warm-weather favorites. It’s also extremely simple to get creative with, as we’ll touch on below, and can be modified to suit any palate.

Read on for a complete ingredient checklist, variation suggestions, and a printable recipe card.

What to Expect – Recipe Overview

Taste and Texture

Our Spinach Chickpea and Pasta Salad combines fresh baby spinach and crumbled feta cheese, which create a crisp-yet-tangy base, with slight briny notes, for the salad. The addition of chickpeas brings a hardiness with mild nutty notes. For savory depth, and a touch of Mediterranean flare, we slice in some Kalamata olives, and some garlic, followed by a squeeze of fresh lemon to tie it all together with pleasant citrusy notes. Tossed with pasta, these lovely flavors come together beautifully, for a lovely summer-themed salad.

Difficulty Level

Super simple from start to finish, an ideal summer choice for beginner chefs. Really, there isn’t a single complicated or time-consuming step involved in this recipe, I promise. If you can boil pasta, crumble some feta, and grate some garlic, you can make this recipe.

Pairings

This is a versatile salad that is at home alongside burgers and barbecued ribs, as it is alongside lamb gyros or pork souvlaki, or chicken souvlaki. You might also consider pairing it with things like stuffed bell peppers, shrimp cocktails, or seared steaks. Really, it’s a perfect side for any summer barbecue or picnic.

Ingredient Checklist – Everything You’ll Need

2-2½ cups of fresh baby spinach
- Tips: Sand isn’t an ingredient in today’s salad, and for that reason allow me to remind you to thoroughly wash and dry your spinach. For best results with this and other salads, invest in a salad spinner.
- Substitutions: Mixed greens and arugula are both worthy stand-ins. Broccoli rabe would also work nicely.
4 tablespoons pitted kalamata olives, chopped
- Tips: I’m using kalamata olives purely as a matter of preference.
- Substitutions: The olives of your choice all work. Yes, plain black olives can be used to save time.
4-5 ounces of feta cheese crumbled
- Tips: Always buy whole block feta if you can, as pre-crumbled feta leaks moisture, and as the feta dries out it loses flavor.
- Substitutions: Fresh mozzarella if you’re feeling fancy. That said, goat cheese is always a solid substitute for feta. You might also consider slices of Jarlsberg or gouda.
4-5 cloves garlic, roasted
- Tips: Roasting garlic lessens its bite, and brings out its natural savory and sweet notes.
- Substitutions: If you want to skip roasting the garlic, I would suggest grating the garlic into the salad. This ensures maximal releases of its juices, even distribution, and avoids ‘chunks’ of garlic being distributed throughout the salad – which we don’t want in this particular recipe.
15.5 oz. can of chickpeas
- Substitutions: Any hardy white bean will work in today’s recipe.
- Note: Yes, rinsing them is a must.
½ red onion, thinly sliced
- Note: I’m using red onion purely for the sake of giving the salad a little bit of color.
- Substitutions: Any onion. Plain yellow onions will work just fine, as will sweet onions or Vidalia.
3-4 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
- Tips: As a rule of thumb, use fresh lemon juice in recipes where the lemon juice is being consumed raw, and that means for today’s recipe fresh lemon juice is the way to go. Yes, bottled lemon juice really does taste different.
- Substitutions: If you don’t have fresh lemons on hand, yes bottled can work. However, you might also try red or white wine vinegar. I say this because if you are going to use something as acidic as bottled lemon juice, you might as well opt for an acidic ingredient that brings a bit of depth – such as red or white wine vinegar.
4 tablespoons olive oil
- Tips: As the flavor of the oil will indeed come through in this salad, be sure to use a decent quality extra virgin olive oil.
1 teaspoon salt
- Tips: Plain table salt is all you really need here. That said, sea salt will give the best results.
1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
- Tips: For the best aromatics, use freshly ground black pepper.
- Substitutions: White pepper for a milder pepper flavor. Conversely, if you prefer a bit of a kick, use crushed red pepper flakes in addition to the pepper.
1 lb. of your favorite pasta
- Tips: Your favorite pasta works just fine in this recipe, though I would honestly stay away from long, thin pasta such as spaghetti or linguine, and opt instead for tube-shaped pasta such as ziti or rigatoni.

Potential Variations – Getting Creative

Bring the Meat – Or the Tofu
- Chicken: Sliced grilled chicken is a go-to mix-in for this salad.
- Sliced Steak: Thinly sliced steak, such as sirloin or London Broil would work nicely mixed in with the salad.
- Sausage: Given the flavor profile of this salad, sliced sausage would be my personal meaty mix-in.
- Grilled Pork: Pork would also be a delicious addition. Just mix in the grilled slices and you're good to go.
- Seafood: Crumbled white fish or chunked salmon, baked with herbs and oil, would be delicious mixed into the salmon. Clams, shrimp, or oysters would also work nicely if you prefer shellfish.
- Tofu: Cubed tofu, either plain or marinated, would also be an excellent addition.
Different Veggies
- Bell Peppers: Peppers, such as bell peppers, would add some color as well as a bit of crunch.
- Tomatoes: I would opt for cherry or grape tomatoes, but sliced regular tomatoes would also work nicely. Do be careful, as overdoing the tomatoes might make the salad a bit too watery.
Grain Options
- Quinoa: Opting for quinoa instead of pasta is definitely an option, and yes you can swap it out leaving the salad as is, simply toss the salad with the quinoa instead of the pasta.
- Farro: Same with farro, if you prefer farro’s nutty flavor and substantial texture.
- Couscous: Personally, I would probably opt for couscous if trading pasta for a grain.
- Mix: Try mixing all of the above grains together to make the salad, or mix them in with the pasta. Get creative.
Dressings and Sauces
- Balsamic Vinaigrette: Swap the lemon juice and olive oil for a tangy balsamic vinaigrette.
- Pesto: Toss the salad with basil pesto for a rich and herbaceous flavor.
Bring the Heat
- Red Pepper Flakes: The easiest way to spice this up is with the addition of red pepper flakes and/or cayenne. Simply add them in to meet your spice preference, perhaps with a dash or two of chili powder to give the heat a nice smoky undertone to work with.
- Chili Pepper: Grill your favorite chili peppers, and slice them into the salad for added heat and chili flavor. Super simple.
- Jalapeños: For this recipe, my go-to would be plain jalapeno peppers, either raw or grilled.