I’m calling today’s easy dinner recipe Greek Pasta Toss because it has feta and kalamata olives and generally reminds me of Greek food. Please don’t scold me in the comments and tell me that this isn’t authentically Greek like someone did in my Coconut Chicken Thai Soup. It’s just a name, and I’m a nice person. Please be nice back!
Speaking of authentic (or inauthentic) ingredients, can we talk about food snobbery for a moment? There can be a lot of it in the food blogging world. If you are a food blogger, I’m not talking about you of course. I’m talking about those other bloggers. (Seriously, I’m probably not talking about you because I don’t think food snobs hang out at The Weary Chef.) Once I read a discussion amongst bloggers about readers butchering their recipes, and they ridiculed the idea of someone using Italian seasoning in a recipe.
Look. If you’re going to use dried herbs anyway, which I am quite fond of doing, what’s wrong with having said herbs all mixed up for you already? Is it the fact that they aren’t fresh herbs that’s bad, or would a “real chef” have their own perfect balance of herbs that couldn’t be found in a jar? Whatever it is, I’m not actually a real chef.
I’m a regular person who wants to make my life easier with handy things like seasoning blends and frozen minced garlic cubes and pre-shredded cheese. If you are here looking for a recipe, I bet you feel the same! Or if you don’t, you are always 100% free to substitute fresh ingredients where I might suggest dried, frozen, or canned. I would never judge you for doing so, and I hope you won’t judge me either! Let’s just all cook the way we like and not worry what everyone else is doing, m’kay?
So anyway, back to this Greek pasta. It does use Italian seasoning because that’s how I roll. I love, love, loved this pasta. My husband on the other hand said, “Wow this is a lot of vegetables. I can’t think of a vegetable that’s not in here.” That’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think? I should tell you that he doesn’t like zucchini, mushrooms, or olives all that much, all three of which are pretty prominent in this dish. Clearly I was cooking for myself (and all of you) on this one. If you look at the ingredient list and see things you don’t like, leave them out or substitute something else! Except don’t leave out the pasta really because then you’ll have to call it something else. Let me know how you make yours and how it goes over at your house!
Greek Pasta Toss
You’ll love this easy pasta dinner recipe loaded with chicken, vegetables, and olives, all topped with feta cheese!
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 12 ounces bite-sized pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 red onion roughly chopped
- 16 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
- 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms quartered
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons red wine (optional)
- 15 ounces canned petite diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano, drained
- 12 kalamata olives pitted and halved
- 1 zucchini cut into bite-sized pieces
- 3.5 ounces feta cheese (reduced-fat is fine)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. (Cover pot to boil faster.) Cook pasta according to package directions and drain.
- Meanwhile, add olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat.
- Add onion, chicken, and mushrooms. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and salt, and sauté until chicken is mostly cooked through. Stir in wine, and cook another 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in tomatoes, olives, and zucchini. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium, and cook approximately 5 minutes until zucchini is tender. Stir in cooked pasta.
- Top individual servings with crumbled feta.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
Carla (@charliesue) says
Yummy! I love Greek pasta AND zucchini- how is it possible I’ve never put the two together? Just brilliant. (Also. People. Calm down with your COMMENTS. Argh.)
Andi says
Hi, Carla! Thank you so much. I hope you are doing well :)
Karen @ The Food Charlatan says
Haha!! I just read that part about the vegetables out loud to my husband. It looks absolutely perfect to me Andi! PS I love your new headshot! You’re adorable!
Andi says
Aw, thank you so much, Karen!! xo
Cathy@LemonTreeDwelling says
Love this delicious pasta salad recipe, Andi! And, for the record, I use Italian seasoning blend ALL the time. :)
Andi says
Thanks so much, Cathy. I knew you were my kind of cook ;) xo
Jessica @ Sprinkle Some Sugar says
Mmmm, you had me at Greek! Looks amazing, Andi!
Andi says
Thanks a bunch, Jessica!
Nancy P.@thebittersideofsweet says
I hear ya! And luckily I did not know food snobbery was even going on! This looks amazing by the way!
Andi says
Oh it’s going on all right. I don’t exactly fit in with the local bloggers because it’s all about fancy, local, etc. around here! That’s OK because I have all of you :) Thank you, Nancy!
Patricia @ Grab a Plate says
Hi fellow food blogger — love this recipe, dried Italian seasoning and all! Looks amazing and love “all the vegetables!”
Andi says
Ha, thank you! I’m glad you’re a vegetable lover too unlike my husband and children ;)
Krista @ Joyful Healthy Eats says
I am a greek food addict! All the veggies in this and the spices, yeah totally making this. Such a perfect pack and go lunch!
Andi says
Thanks so much, Krista. Yes, this one is great leftover for lunch!
Tonia from TheGunnySack says
I don’t get involved in any of that food snobbery. If fact, they were probably talking about me in that conversation. I use Italian seasoning, Pillsbury cookie dough and even Cool Whip!! Shocking, I know, but then again, my goal is to share recipes with other busy moms, not with food snobs. Your Greek pasta toss sounds like the perfect lunch!
Andi says
I love your recipes, Tonia, Cool Whip and all! Thank you so much :)
Meg @ The Housewife in Training Files says
Oh gosh…don’t have them look in my pantry! Premixed herbs and seasonings make dinner time so much easier! And when professional chefs say always use fresh…sorry but I don’t cook enough to use them all up before they go bad. Dried it is!
Andi says
YES! When I do buy fresh, I almost always waste 2/3 of them because I only need a little. I love the convenience of dried herbs. I like the freeze-dried ones they have available now too. Even closer to fresh!
Justine | Cooking and Beer says
UGH! I hate those nasty nasty comments about “authenticity.” I get them frequently. I love you for this recipe, Andi! Looks perfect for dinner next week! Pinned!
Andi says
I don’t know why people can’t just move on if they don’t like the recipe. Anyone is crazy to critique your recipes, Justine. They all looks so good! Thank you :)