Mediterranean Orzo Salad
This easy Mediterranean Orzo Salad is satisfying, filling, and anything but boring! It's packed with fresh Mediterranean flavors that include tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, crumbled feta cheese, and homemade Greek dressing.
My 10 year old can’t stop eating this salad! The proportions are wonderfully selected for a fresh Mediterranean summer dish! ~Liliana
Quick Overview: Mediterranean Orzo Salad
- 🍅 Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 🔥 Cook Time: 15 minutes
- ❄️ Cool Down: 30 minutes
- ⏱️ Total Time: 1 hour
- 🍽️ Servings: 8
- 🔥 Calories: 425kcal per serving
- 👩🍳 Cook Method: Boil the orzo, chop the veggies, and toss everything with a shaken homemade dressing.
- 😋 Flavor Profile: Bright, briny, and herby with a punch of lemon and garlic.
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy, ready in about 30 active minutes.
SUMMARIZE & SAVE THIS CONTENT ON
Table of Contents
What Makes This Recipe So Good
- It’s a full dish in one bowl, orzo, veggies, and feta all together, no extra sides needed. If you love a good pasta salad, this one is just as good as my macaroni salad recipe and Greek tortellini salad.
- I usually make my own dressing because I know exactly what’s going into it, it tastes better and more balanced than store-bought, and there are no preservatives.
- The Dijon mustard in the dressing acts as an emulsifier, so it clings to every piece of orzo and veggies instead of pooling at the bottom.
- This pasta salad travels well, which makes it an easy make-ahead dish for potlucks, picnics, and backyard parties.
Ingredients You’ll Need and Notes
- Black olives: Black olives give a milder olive flavor. Swap in Kalamata olives if you want something bolder and brinier. Look for pitted and sliced olives to save yourself the extra step.
- Feta cheese: You can buy a block and crumble it yourself, or use pre-crumbled feta for convenience.
- Olive oil: Use a good quality olive oil meant for dressings not cooking or avocado oil.
- White wine vinegar: Champagne or apple cider vinegar works in a pinch, but white wine vinegar is really the best for this flavor palate.
- Dijon mustard: Do not substitute this with plain yellow mustard, the flavor will be off.
- Lemon juice: For the best results, use freshly squeezed lemon juice, not the bottled alternative.
- Dried herbs: A medley of parsley, dill weed, and oregano creates a delicious herbaceous note in the dressing. You can use fresh herbs if desired, just increase the amount slightly.
- Salt: Try to use coarse or sea salt, not table salt.
How to Make Mediterranean Orzo Salad
- Cook the orzo. Boil it in well-salted water until al dente, then drain it and spread it out on a sheet pan instead of leaving it in the colander. This helps it cool quickly and evenly so it doesn’t keep cooking from residual heat.
- Prep the vegetables. Dice the tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, and cucumber into small, even pieces so every bite gets a bit of everything.
- Add the olives and feta. Drain the black olives well before adding them, and crumble the feta by hand if you bought a block, then toss both into the bowl with the prepped vegetables.
- Fold in the cooled orzo. Wait until the pasta has fully cooled before adding it to the bowl. Warm orzo will wilt the fresh vegetables and make the salad soggy.
- Shake the dressing. Combine all the Greek dressing ingredients in a jar with a tight lid and shake until emulsified. It’s faster and more even than whisking by hand.
- Toss and serve. Pour the dressing over the salad right before you’re ready to eat or a couple of hours before serving. Toss everything together well.
How to Serve Mediterranean Orzo Salad
- Serve it cold or at room temperature. Serving it warm will wilt the fresh vegetables.
- This salad is a natural side for grilled Mediterranean mains. Try it alongside chicken souvlaki, grilled salmon with garlic butter, or marinated Greek grilled chicken for a full Mediterranean-inspired spread.
Make Ahead and Storing Suggestions
- You can make the whole salad the day before, just without the dressing, and store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container. You can make the dressing ahead of time as well and store it separately in a jar with a lid. Mix the orzo salad with the dressing right before serving.
- If you mix it with dressing ahead of time, pasta will soak up all the moisture leaving the salad dry. When storing leftovers, you can always add some more dressing to refresh it.
- Make a double batch of the Greek dressing while you’re at it. It’s just as good on a plain Greek salad.
- Stored in an airtight container, it keeps well for about 3-4 days. The vegetables are at their crispest within the first 2 days, so I don’t recommend making it more than a day ahead if you can help it.
- I don’t recommend freezing this salad. The vegetables and dressing don’t hold up well once thawed, and the pasta turns mushy,.
Mediterranean Orzo Salad Recipe FAQs
Can I add protein to this salad?
Yes, grilled chicken, shrimp, or chickpeas are all great additions if you want to turn this side dish into a full meal.
Can I use other pasta instead of orzo?
That is a personal choice, of course. I’d stick to the small pastas like ditalini, stellini, pastina, acini di pepe, etc. The reason I recommend to stick to a small pasta here is because of the ratio of the size of pasta to the vegetables and cheese. Since everything here is in small pieces, you get a beautifully balanced bite that has a little bit of everything.
Is this orzo salad gluten free?
This pasta salad can easy be gluten free if you use gluten free orzo. Every other ingredient is already gluten free, so all you have to do is swap out the pasta!
More Pasta Salad Recipes to Try
- Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
- Italian Tortellini Pasta Salad
- Antipasto Pasta Salad
- Easy Pasta Salad Recipe
- Green Goddess Macaroni Salad
- Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? PLEASE leave a 🌟 star rating! Let me know how you liked it by leaving the 📝 comment below or share and tag me on social media @willcookforsmiles. DON’T FORGET to subscribe to my newsletter!
Mediterranean Orzo Salad
This easy Mediterranean Orzo Salad is satisfying, filling, and anything but boring! It's packed with fresh Mediterranean flavors that include tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, crumbled feta cheese, and homemade Greek dressing.
Print
Pin
Video
Rate
Servings: 8
Calories: 425kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lb orzo pasta
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes diced
- 1/2 red onion sliced thin
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 1 small cucumber chopped
- 4-6 oz sliced black olives drained
- 6-8 oz crumbled feta cheese
Greek Dressing:
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried dill weed
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp coarse salt to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta in salted water according to the package instructions and strain it. Set aside to cool down.
- Dice and chop the vegetables and place them into a large mixing bowl.
- Add in the black olives and feta cheese.
- When the pasta is cooled, add it into the mixing bowl and mix to combine.
- You can serve the pasta salad cold or room temperature. If you would like to serve it cold, cover the bowl with pasta and vegetables and refrigerate for a couple of hours. Stir in the dressing before serving.
- Shake together the ingredients for the Green dressing and mix it into the pasta salad.
- Serve right away.
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 425kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 621mg | Potassium: 295mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 740IU | Vitamin C: 27mg | Calcium: 141mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @willcookforsmiles or tag #willcookforsmiles!
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this post recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Categories:
30 Minute Meals, 4th Of July Recipes, Backyard BBQ Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Mediterranean Recipes, Pasta Recipes, Salad Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetables,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
My 10 year old can’t stop eating this salad! The proportions are wonderfully selected for a fresh Mediterranean summer dish!
Thank you so much! That absolutely made my day! 😊 I love hearing that your 10 year-old can’t get enough of it, that’s one of the best compliments! I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know. Thanks for making my recipe!
Easy salad to put together. Makes a lot! Next time I will half the recipe. The dressing really pulls it together.
I am so happy you liked it!
Great salad recipe, thanks!