Pregnancy · Lunch

Greek Pasta Salad with Pasteurized Feta

Name: Greek Pasta Salad with Pasteurized Feta
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients: 200 g whole-wheat fusilli; 150 g cherry tomatoes, halved; 1 cucumber, chopped; 1 red bell pepper, chopped; 60 g olives; 100 g pasteurized feta, cubed; 3 tbsp olive oil; 1 tbsp red wine vinegar; 1 tsp dried oregano

Whole-wheat pasta, crunchy vegetables and plenty of feta - plain enough for iffy days, bright enough for good ones.

A lunch you assemble cold, which matters more than it sounds: food at room temperature gives off less smell, and that can be the difference on a queasy first-trimester day. The rest of the time it is simply a fast way to get salty cheese, crunchy vegetables and whole grains onto one plate.

Greek Pasta Salad with Pasteurized Feta - Whole-wheat pasta, crunchy vegetables and plenty of feta

Easy

Vegetarian CalciumAntioxidantsFiber

Ingredients

for 2 people

200 gwhole-wheat fusilli
150 gcherry tomatoes, halved
1cucumber, chopped
1red bell pepper, chopped
60 golives
100 gpasteurized feta, cubed
3 tbspolive oil
1 tbspred wine vinegar
1 tspdried oregano

Open this recipe in the interactive app to scale servings, switch to oz and cups, and tick ingredients off as you cook.

Per serving (approx.): 520 calories · 17 g protein · 60 g carbs · 23 g fat · 8 g fiber

Method

Pasta. Bring a large pan of water to a rolling boil and cook the whole-wheat fusilli for 9 to 11 minutes, until just tender with a slight bite. Whole-wheat pasta takes longer than white, so taste a piece.
Chop. While the pasta cooks, halve the cherry tomatoes and chop the cucumber and red bell pepper into bite-sized pieces. Cube the pasteurized feta and tip everything into a large serving bowl with the olives.
Cool. Drain the pasta and rinse it under cold running water for about a minute, until the pieces feel cool to the touch. Shake the colander well so no water is left to thin the dressing.
Dress. Whisk the olive oil, red wine vinegar and dried oregano in a small bowl for about 20 seconds, until the dressing thickens slightly and stops separating the moment you stop whisking.
Toss. Add the drained pasta to the vegetables and feta, pour the dressing over and toss gently until everything is glossy. Let it stand for 5 minutes so the pasta soaks up the dressing before serving.

Worth knowingFeta is fine in pregnancy when it's pasteurized (almost all supermarket feta is - check the label). It's the mold-ripened soft cheeses to skip.

Is this safe during pregnancy?

Yes - the recipe note already answers the big question: pasteurized feta is on the safe list, and the label check is the whole job. The rest is straightforward - wash the tomatoes, cucumber and pepper well before chopping, which is all NHS guidance on foods to avoid asks of fresh produce in pregnancy.

Substitutions & allergens

Swap the whole-wheat fusilli for a gluten-free short pasta - removes gluten, changes nothing else.
A plant-based feta-style block removes the dairy, though most of the calcium this salad is tagged for leaves with the real feta.
Lemon juice stands in for the red wine vinegar in the dressing.
Any ripe chopped tomato works when cherry tomatoes are not around.
Not an olive household? Extra cucumber and a few capers keep the briny note.

Storage & reheating

Made for the fridge: refrigerate it within 1-2 hours of assembling and finish it within 48 hours, per FSA chilling guidance. It is eaten cold, so there is no reheating to think about - and it does not freeze; the cucumber and tomato would collapse on defrosting.

Checked against the public guidance we follow - see our sources & editorial standards.