15 Minute Greek Pasta

This Greek Pasta is filled with equal parts al dente noodles and Mediterranean veggies – tossed in a creamy, light, feta and herb sauce. It takes just over 15 minutes from start to finish and is a hearty vegetarian dinner that your family will love!

 

You Will Love This

• The flavors are outrageously delicious. The light, creamy and herby feta sauce sticks to every nook and cranny of the noodles and this dish is loaded with all your favorite Greek veggies – artichoke hearts, fresh tomatoes, and Kalamata olives.
• It’s part comfort food, part veggie-loaded dinner. This Mediterranean pasta is almost half noodles, half veggies – and everything is tossed in a creamy feta sauce. It’s a hearty, but light meal that your family will love! If you’re looking for more creamy, veggie pasta, be sure to check out my Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff or Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Tuscan Pasta.
• It’s really easy to customize according to your family’s taste or based on what’s in your fridge. If your kids aren’t into olives, leave them out. If you have someone that loves tomatoes, add extra to half the dish. Much like our family favorite Flatbread Pizza Recipe, this is a great “clean out your fridge” meal.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Fettuccine – You can use your favorite kind of noodles here. Fettuccine lends itself well to the creamy feta sauce. But since we usually have spaghetti noodles on hand, my daughter frequently requests Greek spaghetti for dinner (which is just this pasta dish made with spaghetti noodles)!
• Olive Oil – This is our family’s favorite brand of olive oil. Try to find one that’s cold-pressed and organic. 
• Fresh Garlic – Freshly sliced garlic really is best for this pasta recipe. If you must use garlic powder in a pinch, I’d recommend about ½-1 teaspoon of garlic powder in place of the sliced garlic. 
• Dried Oregano & Thyme – The dried oregano and dried thyme combined with the salty feta are going to give the creamy sauce an amazing flavor. You could also substitute Italian seasoning in place of these two ingredients.
• Feta Cheese – I recommend buying a block of feta (in brine preferably) and crumbling it yourself. The block of feta retains its moisture which helps it to melt more easily into a creamy sauce. 
• Heavy Cream – The heavy cream combines with the feta and pasta water to create the most creamy feta sauce ever. 
• Pasta Water – Don’t forget to save that pasta water (AKA liquid gold) when you drain your pasta! The starchy pasta water is the very best way to get the creamy feta sauce to cling to every nook and cranny of your noodles. If you forget to save it, you can add a bit more heavy cream. Adding regular water won’t have the same effect as pasta water because it doesn’t have the starch. 
• Grape Tomatoes – You could use any type of tomato here. I just prefer to use the grape tomatoes because you can easily slice them in half and they hold their shape well. But any ripe, fresh tomato will work in this pasta. 
• Artichoke Hearts – I like to buy the quartered artichoke hearts because they are already sliced into quarters and they are usually cheaper than the medium or large artichoke hearts. 
• Kalamata Olives – Black olives will work in place of the Kalamata olives but I much prefer the flavor of Kalamata olives in this pasta.

Instructions

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic, oregano, and thyme along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.

Add feta cheese  and heavy cream to the pan.

Reduce heat to medium-low and stir for about 2-3 minutes or until the feta mostly melts and creates a sauce.

Add pasta and half the pasta water to the pan and toss to coat pasta evenly.

Add tomato, artichoke hearts, and olives to the pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Stir to combine and cook for about a minute or until everything is warmed through. Garnish with parsley, Parmesan, and enjoy!

Tips

• Salt your pasta water. I like to salt the water as soon as it comes to a boil and before I add the pasta. I add at least 1-2 tablespoons, probably more. Which sounds like a lot, but it’s the only chance you have to season the pasta. Your pasta water should literally be as salty as the ocean.
• Cook pasta just until al dente. I usually check the cooking directions and then cook the pasta for 1-2 minutes less than the lowest recommended cooking time. So if the cook time is 9-11 minutes, I’ll start checking the pasta to see if it’s done around the 7-8 minute mark. You want it to be tender, but still have a bit of a bite!
• Reserve half a cup of pasta water when you drain the pasta. When you strain your, pasta reserve half a cup of pasta water to thin out the sauce. Pasta water is often referred to as liquid gold because it is starchy and delicious and is the best way to get your sauce to cling to your noodles. In this dish, the pasta water thins out the sauce and allows it to adhere to the noodles, coating every nook and cranny.
• If you can – find the feta cheese that comes in a block. It seems to melt into the sauce better than pre-crumbled feta cheese. The block of cheese has more moisture and I also find that it has more flavor as well.
• Use any kind of pasta you have on hand. You can use any type of pasta for this dish! Short cuts of pasta – like penne, rigatoni, macaroni – will do well in this dish. But so will longer cuts of pasta – like spaghetti, linguine, or bucatini.
• Switch up the veggies if you’d like. As long as you keep the ratios about the same, you can switch up the veggies in this Greek pasta to suit your family’s taste. I love to use sun-dried tomatoes in place of the grape tomatoes when I have them on hand!

FAQ

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This Greek pasta recipe was originally published in April of 2020. It was updated in February of 2021 to include detailed instructions so you can make the perfect Greek pasta every single time!