This Greek orzo salad is made with cucumbers, chickpeas, tomatoes, red onion, feta and herbs, all tossed in a herb dressing. A simple yet hearty pasta salad that can be served as a main course or side dish.
Orzo pasta salad is an unexpected and delicious addition to any meal. The combination of crunchy vegetables, protein packed chickpeas and creamy feta cheese just can’t be beat! Serve this salad alongside other summer favorites such as sparkling raspberry limeade, fig salad, and shish kabobs for a memorable meal.
There’s nothing better than the perfect side dish when it comes to a summer get together. I enjoy coming up with various side dishes that are fresh and new like this orzo salad. The delicious mixture of chickpeas and crunchy vegetables pair well with the creamy feta cheese to make the ultimate easy summer salad.
Table of Contents
Orzo Pasta Salad Ingredients
For this recipe, you will need orzo pasta, cucumber, cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, chickpeas, red onion, feta cheese, parsley, olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, oregano, salt and black pepper.
How Do You Make Orzo Salad?
Cook and drain the orzo according to package directions. Place the cooked orzo in a large bowl along with the cucumber, cherry tomatoes, chickpeas, red onion, parsley and feta cheese. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, fresh lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper. Pour the dressing mixture over the pasta and veggies and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately, or chill for later use.
Tips For The Perfect Salad
- To cool your orzo quickly for this salad, run it under cold water in a colander. The cold water will cool the pasta as well as prevent it from clumping together.
- The salad can be prepared up to 8 hours before you plan to eat it. You can also make the dressing up to 3 days in advance.
- Leftover pasta salad will stay fresh in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- For added nutrition, you can serve this orzo salad over a bed of spinach or arugula.
Quick TIp
This salad can also be made with other types of small pasta. Some great options include macaroni, ditalini, small shells or even pastina.
Recipe FAQs
Orzo is a type of short pasta that resembles grains of rice, only a tad bit bigger. It can also go by the name “risoni.”You can find orzo in the pasta aisle of almost all major grocery stores.
Orzo is cooked just as most pasta is – boiled. You can use orzo like you would rice or in a variety of pasta dishes.
Orzo salad contains orzo salad, as well as a variety of chopped uncooked vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers and greens. It often contains cheese and is typically coated in a vinaigrette dressing.
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Recipe Variations
This recipe is fabulous as-is, but you can add other ingredients to customize the flavors to your tastes.
- Protein: Make this a main course meal by adding diced grilled chicken tenders, grilled shrimp, or even grilled salmon flaked into smaller pieces. You can also use white beans instead of chickpeas if you prefer.
- Grains: Swap out the pasta for a different grain such as brown rice, quinoa or farro. If you’re watching your carbs, you can even try using cauliflower rice.
- Vegetables: Feel free to add other veggies to the mix. Some of my favorite additions include green bell peppers, chopped kale, marinated artichoke hearts and asparagus.
- Toppings: Finish your salad with a variety of toppings such as kalamata olives, toasted pine nuts or cooked crumbled bacon. Try adding some other fresh herbs such as fresh mint, dill, fresh basil or chives.
- Cheese: No feta cheese on hand? Other great options include goat cheese or shaved parmesan.
This orzo pasta salad is so easy to make that I make a batch a few times a month, I love to have it as a lighter lunch. It’s definitely healthier than many other side dishes can be, and it gets the kids to eat their vegetables. It’s definitely one of my go-to dishes for summer family meals or get togethers.
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Orzo Salad Video
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Orzo Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dried orzo pasta cooked in salted water according to package directions, then cooled
- 1 1/2 cups cucumber diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 cup chickpeas
- 1/4 cup minced red onion
- 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbled
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the orzo pasta, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, chickpeas, red onion, parsley and feta cheese in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, oregano and salt and pepper.
- Pour the dressing over the pasta mixture. Toss to coat, then serve.
Notes
- To cool your orzo quickly for this salad, run it under cold water in a colander. The cold water will cool the pasta as well as prevent it from clumping together.
- This salad can be prepared up to 8 hours before you plan to serve it.
Love the recipe – would recommend half the olive oil though as I felt it overwhelmed the dish and took away from the other flavors.
Well that was great! Definitely add kalamata olives!!
Great recipe. Very tasty.
Altered with cilantro instead of parsley, what I had on hand, & added kalamata olives. The olives really kicked up the flavor.
Looks fantastic! I am wondering how long will this keep in the refrigerator? I will be the only one eating it, and am hoping that it will keep well, so this can be my lunch for several days.
It will keep for 3 days!
Just made this for dinner tonight with some turkey kielbasa on the side. the only thing I changed was I substituted the parsley for cilantro out of preference. It turned out wonderfully and my husband and I both enjoyed it. It was very filling but very nice for a summer night. Definitely would be very good for a party as a side dish.
Planning on taking this to a pot luck. How far in advance can/should I make it?
You can make this up to 6 hours in advance!
If I have made the orzo pasta salad ahead and refrigerated it, do I need to add boiling water to make the olive oil runny again? Will sitting out at room temperature do the same thing?
If you make the entire salad ahead of time, the olive oil shouldn’t harden. You can leave it out for about 15 minutes at room temperature if you prefer before serving just to make sure!
Made this today for our neighborhood cookout and it was a hit! I added a lot of other ingredients like roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, and kalamata olives to give it a bit of a Mediterranean flair. Also didnt have any lemon juice but did have lime juice and it still was great. Thanks!
Fantastic, that for the recipe. This is my second time making it, I can’t wait until my tomato, cucumber and zucchini plants start producing, it will kick this up to a whole new level.
I make this very similar recipe but i add salad shrimp to make it a meal. So deliciously addictive!!
I made this salad..Love it..More salads please
I made this dish yesterday as part of my Mother’s day lunch and it was a hit with the fam. Thank you!
What a lovely & brilliant recipe idea! Really great.Can’t wait to try this out. Thanks a lot. Keep going.
I have just finished making the salad. Next step is to add the dressing before I serve it.
Can’t wait to taste this salad.
Hope you enjoy!!
OMG this salad looks beyond amazing! The perfect side dish to any dinner or perfect lunch!
This looks so good and flavorful! A perfect healthy salad for the whole family!
Meal in a bowl so nice for the hot weather we are having. I think it would be tasty for more than 1 day.
This is a very impressive post. Nice ideas and shots.
Such awesome and fresh ingredients. I would love to try this salad. Yummy!
I’ve never had this before, but oh my goodness does it look amazing. Bookmarked for the next time I make lasagna. Yummy!
This looks absolutely yummy and a perfect summertime dish. Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe.
Fantastic summer salad
I love this salad and it can be very versatile depending on what is ripe in the garden. I always add kalamata olives and some rough chopped fresh baby spinach. Mine has tons of cherry tomatoes but none for my husband or daughter who love chopped red bell pepper instead. We love the dressing and occasionally add a little extra red wine vinegar after the salad has sat for a day.
Love ā¤ļø this salad!