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This Mediterranean orzo salad recipe is easy, fresh, healthy, and quick! It’s bursting with fabulous Greek flavors and makes a nutritious side dish or light meal.
Love orzo in salads? Try my Lemon Orzo Salad with Chicken.
Why you’ll love it
This Greek orzo salad comes together fast, and the bold Mediterranean flavors make this the ultimate pasta salad! It has simple-to-find fresh ingredients and a quick homemade Greek vinaigrette. It’s very flexible, and you won’t even have to measure after you’ve made it once or twice.
It’s great for making ahead as well. Simply assemble the salad, portion it out, and you’ve got healthy lunches for a few days, or your picnic salad is ready to go! It’s a great year-round salad as well since the veggies are generally available at the grocery store.
What you’ll need
- Orzo – orzo is a rice-shaped pasta and has the perfect texture in every bite when cooked al dente
- Feta – use the kind with cubes packed in oil and herbs or crumbled feta
- Red onion – this milder variety of onion tastes great raw
- Tomatoes – grape or cherry tomatoes give juicy and sweet bursts of flavor, but you can cut up regular tomatoes if you prefer
- Cucumber – use mini (Persian) ones if you can find them, but English cucumber will also do just fine
- Kalamata olives – a cornerstone of Greek salad. The briny olives add so much delicious savory flavor. Buy the pitted ones to make prepping this salad a breeze!
- Oregano, red wine vinegar, and olive oil – the dream team that makes up the simple homemade Greek dressing
- Parsley – gives a pop of freshness to top it all off
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- I like to make my salads in large glass mixing bowls.
- A classic chef’s knife makes chopping up the veggies a smooth process. I use this cutting board as well.
- For the rest of your onion, store it in this handy onion saver that looks adorable in your fridge and keeps it fresher for longer.
How to make orzo salad
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Cook the orzo, drain, and rinse with cold water. Cut up your veggies and prep all the other ingredients.
Once the orzo has cooled, add all the ingredients to a large bowl. Toss with the homemade dressing, and enjoy.
Pro tip
Make sure to adjust the oil and vinegar quantities to suit your tastes! It’s also important to season this salad well with salt & pepper to bring out the flavors since there’s a fair bit of pasta in it.
Substitutions and variations
- If you are not a fan of olives, you can leave them out.
- To make this salad vegan, don’t include the feta, or replace it with a plant-based alternative.
- Other ingredients that would go great in this versatile salad are green or red bell peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, spinach, and arugula!
- If you can’t find red wine vinegar, sub in fresh lemon juice instead.
What to serve with this Greek orzo salad
- Enjoy this salad with my Easiest Baked Chicken Thighs, or try some Greek favorites like Homemade Tzatziki and Greek Roasted Eggplant Dip (Melitzanosalata) with warm pita bread or this deliciously crispy Saganaki (Greek Fried Cheese).
- If eating it as a main, a slice of crusty bread would go well with it or this Hummus Crostini Appetizer.
Leftovers and storage
- This pasta salad will last 3 to 5 days in the fridge in an airtight container, but keep in mind that orzo will soak up the dressing a bit.
- You may want to add a splash more oil and/or vinegar if you found it’s gone a little dry.
If you made this Mediterranean orzo salad recipe, please leave a star rating and review below! You can also ask any questions if the blog post above didn’t answer ’em.
Mediterranean Orzo Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked orzo
- 1 (10 ounce) package little tomatoes (grape or cherry) cut into halves
- 3-4 mini cucumbers (or 1/2 English cucumber) chopped
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta
- 1/4 cup Kalamata olives pitted & cut into halves
- 1-2 tablespoons chopped red onion
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- Salt & pepper to taste
- For garnish: fresh parsley optional, to taste
Instructions
- Boil a large salted pot of water and cook the orzo al dente according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Meanwhile, prep your other ingredients.
- Once the orzo has cooled, add all ingredients to a large bowl. I suggest starting with 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, tossing the salad, then adding more if needed. Season with salt & pepper as needed (I am generous with both). Garnish with fresh parsley if using.
Notes
- Serves 2-4 depending on how much people eat.
- Feel free to eyeball the ingredients such as the olives and onion.
- You can replace the red wine vinegar with fresh lemon juice if you prefer.
- Crumbled feta works but I’ve also used those little feta cubes packed in olive oil & fresh herbs.
- This recipe can also be found in chapter 7 of the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
This recipe was originally published on January 2, 2018. It’s been tweaked to be even easier, tastier, and has new photos!
Absolutely delightful! I added a can of garbanzo beans and we had it as our main course. Our 2 year old loved it too. Definitely going in our regular dinner rotation, thanks! 🙂
That’s great to hear!! Thank you, Rachel! 🙂
Hot Weather call for a quick and easy recipe. This salad is fresh, crisp and delicious.
For a vegan alternative I used “Sheese Greek Style” to replace the Feta cheese and I added a little bit more oregano.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂 And thanks for the tip on the feta replacement!
My husband and I really love this salad! It is filling and isn’t heavy. Today is my second time making it. Thank you for the awesome and simple recipe!
You’re very welcome, Kristina! 😀
I made the recipe just as it’s listed and it was delicious. I have another great pasta dish
So happy to hear that!
Wonderful recipe! My husband added avocado and red leaf lettuce to give it more of a salad-y feel, and it was so good. I would add a tad more orzo (1/2 cup?) if adding anything extra to the recipe. Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed it, Claire!
Love love love this. I just amended it a little and added baby spinach. Thank you!!
You’re very welcome! 🙂
Would cilantro be good with this? In place of parsley?
I like cilantro, so I’d say yes! 🙂
Wonderful salad. Light and refreshing.
Very happy you liked it, Michelle! Thanks for letting me know!
Lovely salad! Added cooked shrimp! Thanks for the recipe.
Yay! Thanks for letting me know!
Sounds gr8 . here in Capetown we are sweating….high temps and salads like this are tops. Thnku….will try it shortly and rep ort back
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Enjoy!!
I could eat the entire bowl in one sitting! This is one of my favorites.
Excellent! Thanks, Amy!