This Mediterranean Orzo Salad is the ultimate side dish. Just toss cooked orzo with feta, veggies and fresh herbs and serve!
Quick
Minimal prep
You’ll Learn: A simple change that intensifies the flavor of pasta salad
Worth It: Stays fresh in the fridge for days and tastes great cold or at room temperature
Bonus: Pairing ideas for a well-rounded meal
Why You’ll love this recipe
- Perfect for meal prep– This orzo salad is such a great meal prep addition. It’s easy to make and the perfect side dish to enjoy all week long.
- Refreshing summer favorite – I love the freshness of this salad! It has all the bright and fresh flavors of summer like juicy cherry tomatoes and crunchy cucumbers.
- One pot meal – This Mediterranean Orzo Salad is a one-pot recipe, which means easy clean up. It has minimal prep time and comes together so quickly for a simple and tasty dish.
- BBQ staple – This salad is such a great side for cookouts. It is quick and easy to make, and everyone will love it. It is my favorite things to bring to summer cookouts.
Serving Suggestions
This Greek orzo salad recipe is the ultimate side dish. I like to serve it with balsamic grilled chicken, air fryer pork tenderloin or air fryer flank steak.
It is also a fantastic meal prep option as a main dish. I like to serve it on a bed of arugula and top it with some protein like grilled chicken thighs or even air fryer tofu for a vegetarian option.
It would also be delicious with these Greek turkey burgers or souvlaki for a full mediterranean dish. You could make a whole Greek feast with this salad, pita bread, and a little bit of tzatziki sauce.
Ingredients
- Orzo – I love using orzo as the base of this salad, but you can also experiment with different grains.
- Vegetable broth – I like using broth to cook the orzo rather than a pot of water to add flavor
- Cucumber – cucumber is a classic mediterranean flavor and I love adding this crunch to the salad
- Kalamata olives – kalamata olives are my favorite type of briny olives for this recipe
- Cherry tomatoes – I used fresh cherry tomatoes, but you can use grape tomatoes or even larger tomatoes diced up
- Feta cheese – feta is the best creamy and tangy cheese for this salad
- Lemon juice and lemon zest – make sure to zest your lemon before juicing it
- Red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil – red wine vinegar is best for enhancing the mediterranean flavors
- Fresh parsley and fresh dill – these fresh herbs add so much flavor to the orzo salad
- Salt and pepper – add salt and pepper to taste to season and bring out the great flavors
The flavor in the orzo for this salad is intensified by cooking it in Pacific Foods Low Sodium Vegetable Broth and water instead of just your typical water. The flavor is then layered with a basic vinaigrette of lemon juice, red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.
Ingredient substitutions
Red wine vinegar is my first choice when I make mediterranean food, but I think a white wine vinegar could also be great in this dish. I love the lemony dressing for this orzo pasta salad recipe, but you could replace the lemon juice with extra vinegar.
If you want to make this Greek orzo salad gluten free, choice a gluten-free orzo pasta OR use quinoa or rice instead. I used regular orzo, but you can use a whole wheat orzo or honestly any type of pasta.
This recipe is already vegetarian, but to make it fully vegan simple omit the feta cheese or replace it with a vegan feta cheese. Make this mediterranean salad even heartier with the addition of garbanzo beans or white beans.
In my opinion, the fresh herbs are essential for the best flavor, but it you don’t have any you can always use dried! You can even dress it up a little more by adding oregano, garlic or fresh basil as well.
For extra veggies, diced red onion would be so tasty. I also have added chopped red pepper, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, and other crunchy vegetables.
Save time and grab a greek salad dressing at the grocery store instead of making the simple dressing.
How to make
Step 1: Make orzo pasta
To make this orzo pasta Salad add 2 cups of Pacific Foods Low Sodium Vegetable Broth to a medium sauce pot along with 1/2 cup cold water and bring to a boil. Add 1 cup of orzo to the pot and stir to combine.
Reduce to a simmer and cover the pot. Allow the mixture to simmer until the orzo absorbs the majority of the vegetable broth. The orzo should be cooked through and tender at this point.
Drain any excess broth and immediately toss the orzo with the olive oil. Allow the orzo mixture to cool completely.
Step 2: prep veggies
While the orzo cools, prep the veggies. Chop cucumbers, cut tomatoes into quarters, cut olives in half and crumble the feta.
Zest the lemon and squeeze the juice out of it. Chop the fresh herbs into small pieces.
Step 3: toss it all together
Then, pour the cooked and cooled orzo into a large bowl with the cucumber, tomatoes, olives, feta, fresh herbs, lemon juice, lemon zest and red wine vinegar.
Toss to combine fully and serve!! Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Storage
Store this orzo salad with feta in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You may want to stir to remix each time you eat it. To add a fresh flavor, squeeze extra lemon over top before serving.
Check out these other delicious Side Dish Recipes
This post was originally sponsored by Pacific Foods. I received compensation, but all opinions are my own. It has since been updated with new images.
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
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Recipe
Mediterranean Orzo Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup orzo
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium cucumber
- 4 oz cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives
- 4 oz feta cheese
- 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped dill
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Bring vegetable broth and water to a boil in a medium sized sauce pan. Pour orzo into the boiling water and stir. Reduce to a simmer and cover pot.
- Simmer covered until the orzo is cooked through and most of the vegetable broth has been absorbed, about 10 minutes. Drain any excess broth and immediately toss the orzo in the olive oil.
- Allow the orzo to cool completely. Prep the veggies while the orzo cools. Chop cucumber, cut tomatoes into quarters, cut olives in half and crumble the feta.
- Zest the lemon and squeeze 2 tbsp of lemon juice out of it after zesting. Chop the fresh herbs.
- Pour cooled orzo into a large mixing bowl with the chopped veggies, feta, lemon juice, lemon zest, red wine vinegar and fresh herbs. Toss to combine completely.
- Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
- store in the fridge for up to 4 days
- use gluten free orzo or quinoa to make this gluten free
- omit feta or use a plant based feta to make this vegan
- use a different vinegar if you need to
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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