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Easy to make Greek Orzo Salad made with tender orzo and loaded with fresh veggies. This healthy pasta salad recipe is the perfect side dish to add to your dinner table and take to parties.
The best Greek Orzo Salad recipe ever! It is made with fresh and crunchy tomatoes and cucumbers, tender orzo pasta, kalamata olives, then tossed in a delicious lemon-herb vinaigrette dressing. Finally topped with some crumbled feta and fresh dill. It can easily be made into a full meal by topping it with some grilled chicken, salmon or your favorite protein topper. If you would like a vegan-friendly orzo salad, you may skip the feta.
How to make Orzo Salad – Greek Style
- Cook Orzo: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the orzo, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7-8 minutes, or until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool to
the touch. Transfer the orzo to a large mixing bowl and set aside. - Prepare Veggies: While the orzo is cooking, chop all the veggies and set aside
- Make the dressing: In a small mason jar, combine the olive oil, garlic, red wine vinegar, lemon juice and zest, Dijon, chopped herbs, salt, and pepper. Secure the lid and shake well, until the ingredients are well mixed. Taste and add additional salt and pepper, if necessary.
- Mix all ingredients: Add the dressing to the orzo, along with the cucumber, tomatoes, olives, red and green bell pepper, chickpeas, red onion, and feta. Toss to combine, then transfer the salad to a serving
bowl. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, if desired. - Allow to cool and serve: Place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to chill, or serve at room temperature.
How to make the Vinaigrette Dressing:
The dressing for this orzo pasta salad recipe is made with simple ingredients you may already have on hand. If you don’t have any fresh herbs, you may add some dried herbs like oregano and parsley.
Ingredients to use:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Grated lemon zest
1 tsp. dijon mustard
Chopped fresh herbs ( like oregano, dill, parsley)
1/2 tsp. salt, plus more to taste
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
In a bowl, add all the above ingredients, mix well until well combined. Taste and adjust salt. You may hold off on adding salt until the orzo salad is ready and give it a taste then. Adjust as needed.
What to serve with Orzo Salad
Orzo salads make an amazing side dish recipe. Here are some ideas of what you can serve it with:
How long is orzo salad good for
To preserve shelf life and avoid the orzo from going bad, place in an airtight container or Ziploc bag and store in the fridge. Store Leftover Greek pasta salad in the fridge for 3-5 days.
Is Orzo eaten hot or cold
Orzo is served either hot or cold. You may serve orzo hot with sauces like marinara, depending on what you are making. Orzo is best served cold when adding over salad, or making a cold pasta salad dish.
Is Orzo Gluten-free
Orzo is a type of pasta which means it is not gluten-free. Made from something called wheat semolina flour, and wheat contains gluten. You can now find a variety of gluten-free products sold at grocery stores. You may be able to find some gluten-free orzo.
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Check out these other easy salad recipes:
- Taco Pasta Salad
- Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
- 15 minute Greek Pasta Salad
- Ahi Tuna Nicoise Salad Recipe
- Healthy Peanut Shrimp Salad
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Greek Orzo Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb Dry Orzo
- 1 English Cucumber, chopped
- 2½ Cups Cherry Tomatoes, halved
- 1 Cup Kalamata Olives, pitted
- 1 Large Bell Pepper, seeds removed and diced
- 1 Small Red Onion, Chopped
- 8 oz Crumbled Feta
- 2 Tbsp Freshly Chopped Dill
For the Red Wine Vinaigrette:
- ¼ Cup Olive Oil
- 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1 Tsp Grated Lemon Zest
- 1 Tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 Tsp Finely Chopped Fresh Herbs, ( like oregano, dill, parsley)
- ½ Tsp Salt, plus more to taste
- ½ Tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper, plus more to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the orzo, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7-8 minutes, or until al dente.
- Drain and rinse under cold water until cool to the touch. Transfer the orzo to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- Meanwhile, make the dressing. In a small mason jar, combine the olive oil, garlic, red wine vinegar, lemon juice and zest, Dijon, chopped herbs, salt, and pepper. Secure the lid and shake well, until the ingredients are well mixed. Taste and add additional salt and pepper, if necessary.
- Add the dressing to the orzo, along with the cucumber, tomatoes, olives, red and green bell pepper, red onion, and feta.
- Toss to combine, then transfer the salad to a serving bowl. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, if desired.
- Place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to chill, or serve at room temperature.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
what’s the serving size?
The directions call for the addition of chickpeas but they are not listed in the ingredients list. How much? One can drained?
Hi Linda, sorry about that. No chickpeas for this recipe. I fixed it. But it’s certainly a great addition so you can use one can drained.
This is the second time I’ve made this recipe. I can’t recommend it enough! Loads of flavor, veggies, and quite delicious. It’s easy to serve an entire bowl all to yourself!
Thanks for the feedback, Laura. Glad you liked it.
This was AMAZING. I actually made it by accident – sort of. Whenever I search for recipes I always look for 5 star recipes with a large number of reviews. Somehow when found this recipe I didn’t notice that the 5 start rating was only based on 1 review! If I had noticed, I never would have made it and that would have been a shame. What I liked about the recipe when I read it was the addition of the garlic and the dijon to the dressing which looked like it would give it more flavor (because one of my guests can’t eat onions, I needed to leave those out so was looking for extra flavor. OMG, this was delicious. It’s a perfect balance of flavors and I can’t wait to add the onions back in when I make it next. That being said, if you can’t eat onions, it’s still amazing without them. Thank you for this recipe. I’m adding it into my rotation for sure!
Thanks for such a great review, Katherine. So glad you liked it.
You never cease to amaze me with your delicious recipes!
Thank you