Greek Spaghetti with Tomato and Feta

Name: Greek Spaghetti with Tomato and Feta
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 200 g Spaghetti; 100 g Mixed olives (halved); 2 Tomatoes; 4 Garlic clove (crushed); 4 tbsp Olive oil; 100 g Feta; 1 Lemon ((juice and zest only)); 1 pinch Sea salt and ground black pepper; 15 g Fresh basil (sliced into strips)

Diet: Vegetarian

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Fresh chopped tomatoes, feta and olives all mixed together with spaghetti and an easy olive oil and lemon juice dressing make up this Greek Spaghetti. Spaghetti is far from traditionally Greek, but think of this as kind of a fusion dish. A really delicious fusion dish. A light and fresh pasta dish that is perfect for pretending you are somewhere warm and sunny.

A large bowl of spaghetti and vegetables topped with crumbled feta.

We love a quick and easy pasta dish, and this Greek pasta is just that. A few fresh ingredients that are staples in our fridge, stirred in to spaghetti. It is easy to adapt with other vegetables and you can add some protein to make it a really filling meal.

Also knows as Makaronia me Kima, this healthy comfort food is ready in under 15 minutes, so it's perfect for when you don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

If you are looking for some other spaghetti recipes to try, then why not try our Cavolo Nero Spaghetti, Garlic Prawn Spaghetti, Tuna Spaghetti or 15 Minute Garlic Spaghetti.

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What is Greek spaghetti?
Why you will love it
Ingredients needed
How to make Greek spaghetti with feta - Step by step
Greek Spaghetti Sauce
Serving suggestions
FAQs
Extra tips
More Greek recipes
Recipe
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What is Greek spaghetti?

This dish isn't to be confused with the Greek pasta dish called Pastitsio. That is a creamy, cheesy baked pasta dish that is sometimes called Greek lasagna. Our dish is nothing like that. Instead, it is spaghetti that is loaded with all our favourite Greek ingredients. Fresh tomatoes, olives, feta, lemon juice and olive oil and plenty of fresh herbs.

Why you will love it

A light and fresh pasta dish - Pasta dishes don't have to be heavy, and this Greek pasta is light and summery.
Delicious fusion food - Love Italian food? Love Greek food? Put them together!
A great way to use up tomatoes - If you are growing tomatoes this year, then this is a great way to use them up.
Easy to adapt - There are lots of different vegetables you can add to this to give it a nutrient boost. You can even add meat if you want to.
Ready in just 15 minutes - This is a quick and easy Greek pasta dish.

Ingredients needed

Spaghetti - spaghetti is a great choice for this pasta dish because the sauce clings really well to it. However, if you don't have any or would rather use something different, then go ahead. Penne, fusilli and conchiglie all work well.
Olives - it wouldn't be a Greek pasta dish without olives. We used a mixture of black and green olives, however any olives would work. Add some extra flavour to this dish by using chilli stuffed olives. You could even use our marinated olives.
Tomatoes - these add so much freshness and texture to the dish. We used basic salad tomatoes that we picked fresh from the garden, however you could swap them for cherry tomatoes. Add a more intense tomato flavour by roasting the cherry tomatoes first.
Feta - again, it wouldn't be a Greek spaghetti without some feta. Crumble it on top for a really creamy flavour.
Garlic - this adds plenty of flavour to the sauce. It is raw though, so leave it out if that would be too much of an intense flavour for you.
Oil - as this makes up the majority of the sauce of the dish, try to use a really good quality olive oil. You really will taste the difference.
Lemon juice - this really balances out the heaviness of the oil in the sauce. If you want a more intense lemon flavour, then you could add the zest of one lemon too.
Basil - an easy way to add some freshness, and it goes really well with the tomatoes too. You could swap it for fresh chopped parsley if you prefer.
Pasta water - Adding starchy pasta water (just 100ml is enough) to a fat like olive oil will create an emulsion and this gives a really silky smooth sauce and helps it cling to the pasta. Make sure you scoop out the water just before draining, as this ensures that it is nice and starchy.

A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.

How to make Greek spaghetti with feta - Step by step

One: Cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions.

Two: Heat the oil until hot and fry the garlic for one minute. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Garlic frying in hot oil in a frying pan.

Three: Drain the spaghetti, reserving some pasta water, and transfer it to a large bowl. Pour over the garlic oil and pasta water and mix well.

A large serving bowl full of cooked spaghetti.

Four: Add the tomatoes, olives, basil, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Mix well.

Chopped tomatoes, sliced olives and strips of basil leaves added to the spaghetti.

Five: Top with the crumbled feta and serve.

Spaghetti, tomatoes, olives and basil topped with crumbled feta.

Greek Spaghetti Sauce

There isn't so much of a traditional spaghetti sauce to this dish. Instead, we have simple stirring in some olive oil and lemon juice, heavy on the garlic and seasoning. This is garlicky spaghetti! Use a really good quality olive oil, as you really will taste the difference.

If you want more of a lemon flavour, then you can use the zest as well as the juice.

If you wanted a creamy sauce, then you could mix in some cream cheese.

Serving suggestions

If you want to bulk this meal out a bit, then serve it with some garlic bread. Either buy some ready made, or make your own easy garlic bread by cutting up some French stick and spreading it with a mix of butter, crushed garlic and dried herbs. Then pop it in the oven for 10 minutes. Why not try our Easy Cheesy Garlic Bread?

You could also keep it simple with a big green salad. The key to an epic green salad is to use a variety of greens, like romaine, spinach, kale and rocket. You want leafy greens, but crunch too. Then you need the perfect dressing. Why not try our Lemon Vinaigrette, Honey and Mustard Dressing or Tomato and Basil Vinaigrette. You could also try our Grilled Little Gem Salad, or Cucumber and Radish Salad.

Crumbled feta on top of spaghetti, tomatoes, olives and basil.

FAQs

Can you add meat to Greek spaghetti?

This is a delicious vegetarian dish, and really doesn't need any meat. However, if you wanted to add some meat then there is a few options. Keep it lean with some grilled chicken breast or salmon. You could even fry up some king prawns to add to it. Why not do something a little different with chicken and made some baked chicken meatballs that are packed with Greek flavours. They will go perfectly with this.

How to store Greek spaghetti

If you have any leftovers from this, then you can store it in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. To reheat leftovers, heat them through in a pan. We wouldn't recommend freezing this dish.

Why do I have to reserve the pasta water?

Because it's an easy way to make the sauce really silky smooth, with no extra effort.

Extra tips

• Why not give this dish a really intense tomato flavour by roasting cherry tomatoes and swapping them for the fresh chopped tomatoes.
• You can add some extra salty flavour by adding some chopped capers.
• Make sure that everything is chopped and ready to add, so it can all be mixed in whilst the pasta is hot. This dish is best enjoyed hot.
• To make this even quicker, use some fresh tagliatelle which is ready in a few minutes.
• Don't forget to reserve some of the pasta water. You really don't want to skip this step, as it makes the sauce so silky.
• For an added vegetable boost, add some cooked kale or spinach.

More Greek recipes

If you’ve tried this Greek spaghetti recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
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