Recipes › Fresh bowls & lunches› Herby summer pasta salad with lemon and feta
Fresh bowls & lunches · Easy · Serves 6

Herby summer pasta salad with lemon and feta

A no-mayo pasta salad loaded with cucumber, cherry tomatoes, feta, quick-pickled red onion, and a whole lot of dill and parsley in a bright lemon dressing.

Anna Lind Harper
by Anna Lind Harper
Tested twice · Published 2026-07-02
A large cream-speckled stoneware serving bowl of herby summer pasta salad on a white marble counter: fusilli spirals glossy with lemon dressing, halved red and yellow cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumber, big torn pieces of white feta, bright pink quick-pickled red onion, and a heavy scatter of chopped fresh dill and parsley. A halved lemon, a small bunch of dill, and a folded striped cream-and-blue linen tea towel rest beside the bowl. Soft bright midday light.
Prep
20 min
Cook
10 min
Serves
6
Difficulty
easy

Every pasta salad recipe I grew up with was a mayonnaise situation, and I say that with love. This one goes the other way. A sharp lemon dressing, a full cup of soft herbs, torn feta, crisp cucumber, and quick-pickled red onion that turns pink while the pasta cooks. It tastes like summer instead of like a deli counter.

It is the thing I bring when someone says bring a side, and the thing I eat straight from the fridge for two days after. It genuinely improves overnight, which is rare and worth celebrating.

“No mayo, a full cup of herbs, and pickled onions that turn pink while the pasta cooks. The pasta salad that gets better overnight.”
Why this one earns a weeknight

What you'll love about it

  • 01No mayo, so it can sit out at a picnic without anyone doing the math on how long it has been there.
  • 02If you are wondering what to put in pasta salad, this is my answer: something crisp, something juicy, something salty, something pickled, and more herbs than feels reasonable.
  • 03It gets better overnight, which makes it the rare side dish you can fully finish a day ahead.
  • 04The quick-pickled onion takes five minutes and does the work of a much fancier recipe.
Anna, in a sage green cardigan over a white tee, pouring lemon dressing from a small glass jar over a large speckled bowl of pasta salad at her marble kitchen island, with chopped herbs, a halved lemon, and a jar of pink pickled onions on a board beside her and her bright farmhouse kitchen behind.
Dress the pasta while it is still warm. It drinks the dressing in instead of just wearing it.
Ingredients

For the salad

  • 1 lbshort pasta
  • 1English cucumber, quartered lengthwise and sliced
  • 1 pintcherry tomatoes, halved
  • 6 ozfeta, torn into big pieces, not crumbled
  • ⅓ cupfresh dill, chopped
  • ⅓ cupfresh parsley, chopped
  • 2 Tbspfresh mint, thinly sliced, optional

For the quick-pickled onion

  • ½small red onion, very thinly sliced
  • 3 Tbspwhite wine vinegar
  • 1 tspsugar
  • ¼ tspkosher salt

For the lemon dressing

  • ⅓ cupolive oil
  • 3 Tbspfresh lemon juice
  • 1 tspdijon mustard
  • 1 tsphoney
  • 1garlic clove, grated
  • ¾ tspkosher salt
  • a generous amountblack pepper
Method

How I make it

  1. 01
    Pickle the onion first.
    Stir the vinegar, sugar, and salt together in a small jar or bowl until dissolved, then push the sliced red onion down into it. Set it aside while you do everything else. By the time the salad comes together, the onion will be bright pink, crisp, and mellow instead of raw and sharp.
    A pair of hands in sage green cardigan sleeves pouring vinegar brine from a small glass cup into a jar packed with thin red onion slices, with a halved red onion on an oak board and a small dish of salt beside it on the marble counter.
    Five minutes in the brine and the onion turns pink, crisp, and friendly.
  2. 02
    Cook the pasta a minute past al dente.
    Boil the pasta in well-salted water for one minute LONGER than the package's al dente time. Cold dulls texture, so pasta that is perfect warm will eat firm and chalky from the fridge. Drain, rinse briefly under cool water to stop the cooking, and shake dry.
  3. 03
    Whisk the dressing.
    In your largest mixing bowl, whisk the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, dijon, honey, grated garlic, salt, and plenty of black pepper until it comes together into a loose, glossy dressing.
  4. 04
    Toss everything, feta last.
    Add the warm pasta to the bowl of dressing and toss so it drinks some of it in while it cools. Add the cucumber, tomatoes, herbs, and the pickled onion (leave the pickling liquid behind, but keep it). Toss again. Add the torn feta last and fold just once or twice so it stays in proper pieces.
  5. 05
    Rest, then taste again.
    Let the salad sit for 30 minutes, at room temperature or in the fridge. Then taste. Cold food mutes salt and acid, so it will likely want another squeeze of lemon, a spoonful of the reserved pickling liquid, or a pinch of salt before it goes to the table.
A tight overhead close-up of herby summer pasta salad filling the whole frame: glossy fusilli spirals, halved red and yellow cherry tomatoes, cucumber, torn feta, pink pickled red onion, and a heavy scatter of chopped dill and parsley.
A note from Anna

Two rules for any cold pasta. First, cook the pasta one minute past al dente; chilling firms it back up, and truly al dente pasta turns chalky in the fridge. Second, season harder than feels right, because cold mutes both salt and lemon. Dress the pasta while it is still warm so it absorbs the dressing instead of just wearing it, and always taste again right before serving.

What to serve with it

Round out the table.

  • ·01
    Grilled lemon-herb chicken
    This salad next to something off the grill is the whole point of July.
  • ·02
    Anything at a potluck
    It holds for hours and does not wilt, which is more than most salads can say.
  • ·03
    A cold glass of something with bubbles
    Sparkling water with lemon, or better.
Storage & reheating

Keeping the leftovers good.

Fridge: Keeps for 3 days, sealed. The pasta drinks up dressing as it sits.

Make ahead: A true make-ahead dish. Day two is arguably the best day. Refresh with a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of olive oil before serving.

Freezer: No. Pasta salad and the freezer are not friends.

Recipe card

Herby summer pasta salad with lemon and feta

A no-mayo pasta salad loaded with cucumber, cherry tomatoes, feta, quick-pickled red onion, and a whole lot of dill and parsley in a bright lemon dressing.

Prep
20 min
Cook
10 min
Serves
6
Total
30 min
Ingredients
  • 1 lb short pasta
  • 1 English cucumber, quartered lengthwise and sliced
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 6 oz feta, torn into big pieces, not crumbled
  • ⅓ cup fresh dill, chopped
  • ⅓ cup fresh parsley, chopped
  • 2 Tbsp fresh mint, thinly sliced, optional
  • ½ small red onion, very thinly sliced
  • 3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • ¼ tsp kosher salt
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 garlic clove, grated
  • ¾ tsp kosher salt
  • a generous amount black pepper
Method (short version)
  1. 01Pickle the onion first.
  2. 02Cook the pasta a minute past al dente.
  3. 03Whisk the dressing.
  4. 04Toss everything, feta last.
  5. 05Rest, then taste again.

Nutrition information is an estimate. See full nutrition disclaimer.

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