Brace yourself for a symphony of flavors in this creamy strawberry feta pasta salad. This fantastic salad takes advantage of fresh seasonal summer produce. Crisp romaine lettuce, sweet, juicy strawberries, creamy avocado, crumbly feta cheese, and nutty slivered almonds come together to hit all the right flavor notes of a fresh and bountiful summer pasta dish.
Strawberries, avocado, almonds, oh my! If you enjoy your salads and pasta salads loaded with “stuff,” then this recipe is for you. And it’s a combination of ingredients that you might second-guess at first. Sure, strawberries and feta might seem oddly paired, but the sweet-salty combination hits the spot every time. In fact, feta cheese is a no-brainer in a salad like this, but substituting goat cheese would be a total home run too.
Plus, it’s topped with a completely homemade poppy seed dressing made with only a handful of ingredients including Greek yogurt.
Tell Me About This Strawberry Feta Pasta Salad
- Texture: There’s plenty of crunch from the almonds and romaine, which makes a playful contrast to the melt-in-your-mouth strawberries and big buttery chunks of avocado.
- Flavor: Loaded with sweet strawberries, salty feta, nutty almonds, and creamy avocado, this sensational salad will delight your taste buds. Plus, it’s lightly dressed in a sweet and creamy poppy seed and yogurt dressing for an added boost of flavor.
- Ease: It’s pretty simple. While the pasta is cooking, you prep the other ingredients and make the salad dressing. Drain the pasta and set it aside to cooled before combining it all together.
- Time: 25 minutes from start to finish.
When to Serve Strawberry Pasta Salad
With all the vibrant colors and variety of textures, this type of salad would work at any large-gathering occasion (because it can absolutely feed a crowd). I mean, how beautiful would this dish be at a bridal shower or baby shower? The bright pink strawberries and fresh flavors look gorgeous and complement any meal . Or you could even add blueberries if serving on your menu of Memorial Day recipes or 4th of July recipes. And if you’re simply looking to turn it into a satisfying meal, add some grilled chicken.
Best of all, this pasta salad keeps for days in the refrigerator and tastes better on day 2 or 3, so it can be made ahead without any compromises to flavor or texture. This is summer-entertaining perfection at its finest.
More Recipes You’ll Love
- Chicken Pasta Salad
- Fresh Berry Quinoa Salad & Blood Orange Avocado Quinoa & Kale Salad
- Black Bean Burgers
- Pesto Shrimp
- Flatbread Pizza
And for summertime dessert inspiration, head over to our list of 25+ desserts for a BBQ cookout.
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Creamy Strawberry Feta Pasta Salad
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings
- Category: Pasta Salad
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This creamy strawberry feta pasta salad is absolutely delicious, feeds a crowd, keeps for days in the refrigerator, and has homemade poppy seed dressing!
Ingredients
Poppy Seed Dressing
- 2/3 cup (160g) Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup (60ml) apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup (85g) honey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground dry mustard (or 1 teaspoon dijon mustard)
- 1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
Pasta Salad
- 1 pound dry pasta (elbow, bow tie, rotini, etc)
- 5 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1 lb – 1.5 lbs strawberries, sliced (I use 1.5 lbs for lots of strawberries!)
- 2 avocados, diced
- 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 3/4 cup (85g) slivered or sliced almonds
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and cool for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk all of the poppy seed dressing ingredients together.
- Stir the remaining pasta salad ingredients in with the pasta. Toss with dressing. Add a little more feta and almonds if you wish. (I like a little extra cheese!)
- Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Tastes best on day 2 or 3, so it’s perfect to make ahead of time!
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk
I was disappointed with how this came out, I had high expectations after reading all of the reviews! It was almost too tangy and I am not sure if that was the brand of the yogurt or not, I used plain full fat greek. The strawberries were a bit mushy on the second day and the avocado was turning brown. And the dressing was absorbed into the pasta almost making it feel a bit dry. It got eaten but probably will not make it again
I made this the night before my crafting group met and said farewell to one of our snow bird members. It was just OK. I followed the directions and based on reviews, I added the lettuce along with the other ingredients. The lettuce was soggy the day that I served it and it was an embarrassment to me. If I ever made this again, I’d add the lettuce at the time I served it.
This is so easy, so delicious and fresh/light. If you aren’t making this a staple in your dinner rotation, you aren’t living your best life.
Doesn’t the romaine get soggy if you make this salad the day before? Was planning to try for Easter and I’d love to make ahead but was a little worried.
Hi Cindy, we don’t find the romaine to be soggy the next day, although it will start to lose its crisp throughout the week. If you want, you can make the recipe ahead and add the romaine day of.
FANTASTIC!! We are away on vacation at the beach and I made this for lunch, today. It was absolutely delicious and we have lots leftover for tomorrow! Thank you, Sally! I love your recipes!!
Omgggggg!! WHAT A HIT!!
To stretch my strawberries I cubed them and used mini bow tie paste. I forgot to add my sliced almonds so I put them in a bowl on the side … it added a secondary crunch with the lettuce. (and won’t become soggy ). Got texts the next day saying “wished we would have brought home leftovers” My reply… yea ya done GOOFED cause it’s soooo YUMMY – HA!!
DEFINITELY a “go to” recipe
Any suggestions to leave out pasta …
Hi Mary Lou, you could leave out the pasta and use more lettuce in its place for more of a traditional salad. We haven’t tried it ourselves, but rice might be a good replacement for the pasta if you’d prefer.
I thought about dicing some zuchinni in place of pasta for my gluten-free friend. I think it’ll be delicious and add some extra crunch as well.
I have chia, but no poppy seeds and wonder how they would work to make the dressing. Anyone tried that by chance?
Hi Renee, we haven’t tested the dressing with chia seeds. I would simply leave out the poppy seeds instead of replacing them with chia seeds.
I have made this recipe no less than 10 times in the past 3 months! My daughter requests it every week and I am happy to oblige because it is SO delicious! The dressing pulls all the flavors together, and it is quick and easy to make. On the rare occasions we have leftovers, it tastes great the next day.
Can you substitute perhaps mini mozzarella cheese balls instead of feta or goat cheese in this recipe?
Yes, absolutely!
First of all HAPPY BIRTHDAY SALLY! And next, I made this over the weekend and OMG it is SO SO GOOD! I can’t stop eating it and my family loved it as well. Thank you for all your delicious recipes! You are awesome! 🙂
I made this recipe and it’s soooooooo yummy! I made this recipe per the instructions using rotini pasta, goat cheese, and Dijon mustard. I’m usually noy a fan of any kind of mustard but you cannot even taste the mustard. Thanks for a great recipe!
Made this for girls’ weekend–they didn’t mind being guinea pigs and loved the salad! It’s great as an entree or a side. Thank you. Made it as written with dry mustard. Thank you!
This recipe looks fantastic, and I’d love to make it for a vegan friend. I’ll omit the feta from her portion (it’s definitely going in mine!), and she makes exceptions for honey so that’s fine, but I’m trying to find a good substitute for the greek yogurt. I know there are vegan yogurt substitutes, but I don’t know about vegan greek yogurt substitutes. Do you think vegan (coconut based) yogurt would work? Any other ideas?
I’m sure that would be fine– make sure it is plain.
I made the salad and it was really good, but not good for leftovers because the avocado turns brown and the strawberries go limp. I would suggest making half a batch or cooking all the noodles and only dressing the noodles and add the fresh ingredients each day as you choose to eat it over the next several days.
I want to make this for a staff lunch at school, but we are nut free. Any suggestions for crunch without the almonds? Would sunflower seeds be too salty?
Not at all! I’d definitely use sunflower seeds instead.
What can i use instead the poppy seed in the dressing?
I cannot find it anywhere in México!!!
You can leave the poppy seeds out 🙂
Do you have any suggestions for substitutes for avocado in this recipe? Other than the avocado this looks delicious!
Hey Danielle! You can just leave it out. Or what about chopped red pepper, cucumber slices, or bacon crumbles?