Greek orzo pasta salad is a light, refreshing cold pasta salad perfect for summer backyard BBQ parties and for picnics and potlucks. Packed with fresh, crunchy vegetables and bright lemony summer vinaigrette flavors, this salad is a crowd-pleaser!
Try this light, refreshing, healthy lemon chicken orzo soup on a busy weekday dinner.
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Greek orzo salad with feta cheese
- A great cold pasta salad for hot summer days.
- Easy to make.
- Loaded with texture and flavor, packed with protein and nutrients.
- Bright and zesty vinaigrette makes the salad stand out.
- Light, hearty salad perfect for lunch or dinner, for meal-preps, for picnics, and potlucks.
- Easy to customize. Add vegetables of your choice, substitute feta cheese with goat cheese, and add nuts for extra crunch.
We love cold pasta salad on hot summer days like this Greek pasta salad made using fusilli pasta and Israeli couscous salad made using pearl couscous. It’s very much similar to orzo pasta salad just that the type of pasta that you use varies. Watermelon feta salad is another favorite summer salad, my kids love it.
Orzo pasta salad is best when served with Greek salad dressing, they pair well together.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need-
For Greek salad dressing:
All the ingredient’s exact measurements are mentioned in the recipe card below. Scroll down to the recipe card or click on the “Jump to recipe” tab on top for a quick scroll.
Ingredients substitutions
Feta cheese – Orzo pasta salad tastes best with feta cheese. Don’t buy the pre-crumbled cheese. Pick those feta cheese blocks and crumble them just before use.
If you like to use a different cheese instead of feta cheese, goat cheese is best substitution.
Vegetables – Feel free to use any vegetables of your choice. You can use yellow or red bell peppers.
Extras – Nuts can also be added to orzo pasta salad. Pine nuts pairs beautifully, you may also use silvered almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts.
How to make Greek orzo pasta salad
- Get the Greek salad dressing made.
- Prep all vegetables by chopping it thin.
- Add 1 teaspoon olive oil and 2 teaspoon salt to boiling water. Cook orzo pasta al-dente. Jo’s Tip: I usually cook pasta for less time than mentioned on the packet. To cook al-dente reduce 2.5 minutes to 3 minutes compared to mentioned in packet.
- Drain al-dente cooked pasta and transfer to a large bowl.
- Add cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, red onions, olives, chickpeas, and crumble feta cheese into it.
- Sprinkle fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley. Drizzle with Greek salad dressing.
- Toss to combine.
- Cover and refrigerator for at least 4 hours or until ready to serve.
Expert tips
- Always cook orzo pasta al-dente. Over-cooked pasta will turn the salad into mush.
- Buy block feta cheese instead of pre-crumbled ones. They are much better.
- Chop/slice vegetables thin so it’s easy to eat with orzo pasta.
- Toss the salad with a small amount of dressing before chilling in the fridge to keep the pasta moist. Then cover and refrigerate. This will prevent Orzo from drying out.
Recipe FAQs
Orzo is a form of short-cut pasta shaped resembling a large grain of rice. It’s also called risoni. Although it looks like rice, it’s not exactly rice and it’s not gluten-free (unless made using gluten-free ingredients).
NO. Even though it resembles rice it’s not rice. It’s a short-cut pasta and has gluten. Do not rinse or soak the orzo before cooking.
Just like any other pasta, cook orzo in boiling salted water until al-dente. Keep in mind Orzo cooks pretty fast.
Note on cooking orzo al-dente – I usually cook pasta for less time than mentioned on the packet. Cooking as per packet instruction time always results in fully cooked pasta. To cook al-dente reduce 2.5 to 3 minutes compared to mentioned in packet.
If you like to use a different cheese instead of feta cheese, goat cheese is the best substitution.
Feel free to use any vegetables of your choice. Either stick to the ones I’ve used or change it up and use different vegetables.
You can use green or red bell peppers.
Nuts can also be added to orzo pasta salad. Pine nuts pair beautifully or use walnuts.
Toss everything, and drizzle a small amount of Greek salad dressing before storing it in the refrigerator. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours to 2 days.
Adding a small amount of dressing helps keep the orzo moist.
Though orzo pasta salad could last for 3 to 4 days, it’s best eaten within 2 days so vegetables are still at their best and orzo isn’t soggy.
Cooked pasta begins to turn dry the longer it sits. Toss the salad with a small amount of dressing before chilling in the fridge to keep the pasta moist. Then cover and refrigerate. This will prevent Orzo from drying out.
Orzo is a pasta and it’s gluten. Depending on what your healthy eating habits are, they may or may not be labeled healthy. There are tons of vegetables loaded in the salad, so according to me, it’s healthy.
Yes, you can prepare this salad ahead of time. Store in airtight container refrigerated for up to 2 to 3 days.
Other cold salad recipes
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📋Greek orzo pasta salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup orzo pasta
- 1 English cucumber
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- ½ red onions
- ⅓ cup Kalamata olives
- 1 cup chickpeas canned or home-cooked
- ½ cup feta cheese block
- ¼ cup parsley
- ¾ cup Greek salad dressing
Instructions
- Make Greek salad dressing following this recipe.
- Prep all vegetables by chopping it small. Keep vegetables thin so it's easy to eat.
- Add 1 teaspoon olive oil and 2 teaspoon salt to boiling water. Cook orzo pasta al-dente.Jo’s Tip: I usually cook pasta for lesser time than mentioned on the packet. Cooking as per packet instruction time always results in fully cooked pasta. To cook al-dente reduce 2.5 minutes to 3 minutes time compared to mentioned in packet.
- Drain al-dente cooked pasta and transfer to large bowl.
- Add cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, red onions, olives, chickpeas and crumble feta cheese into it.
- Sprinkle fresh chopped flat leaf parsley. Drizzle with Greek salad dressing.
- Toss to combine.
- Cover and refrigerator for at least 4 hours or until ready to serve.
Video
Notes
- Always cook orzo pasta al-dente. Over cooked pasta will turn the salad into a mush.
- Buy block feta cheese instead of pre crumbled ones. They are much better.
- Chop/slice vegetables thin so it’s easy to eat with orzo pasta.
- Toss the salad with a small amount of dressing before chilling in fridge to keep the pasta moist. Then cover and refrigerate. This will prevent orzo from drying out.
- Though the salad may stay good for 4 days, it’s best to be eaten within 2 days when the vegetables are still at it’s best and orzo pasta hasn’t turned too soft.
- You can serve orzo pasta salad as side dish or as main. This recipe makes 8 servings as side dish or 5 servings as main.
Nutrition
Created by Jyothi Rajesh
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I’m Jyothi Rajesh (Jo for short) and i’m the founder of the food blog, Curry Trail where I share my culinary Adventures. I live in Bangalore, India. I’m a mom of two beautiful kids. My passion is creating and sharing delicious and easy recipes for the home cook. I have been blogging since 2007 and many of my recipes have appeared in both online and print publications over the years. Learn more about Jyothi Rajesh.
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