Mediterranean Orzo Salad (2024)

Why you’ll love it

This Greek orzo salad comes together fast, and the bold Mediterranean flavors make this the ultimate pasta salad! It has simple-to-find fresh ingredients and a quick homemade Greek vinaigrette. It’s very flexible, and you won’t even have to measure after you’ve made it once or twice.

It’s great for making ahead as well. Simply assemble the salad, portion it out, and you’ve got healthy lunches for a few days, or your picnic salad is ready to go!It’s a great year-round salad as well since the veggies are generally available at the grocery store during colder months.

What you’ll need

• Orzo – orzo is a rice-shaped pasta and has the perfect texture in every bite when cooked al dente
• Feta – use the kind with cubes packed in oil and herbs or crumbled feta
• Red onion – this milder variety of onion tastes great raw
• Tomatoes – grape or cherry tomatoes give juicy and sweet bursts of flavor, but you can cut up regular tomatoes if you prefer
• Cucumber – use mini (Persian) ones if you can find them, but English cucumber will also do just fine
• Kalamata olives – a cornerstone of Greek salad. The briny olives add so much delicious savory flavor. Buy the pitted ones to make prepping this salad a breeze!
• Oregano, red wine vinegar, and olive oil – the dream team that makes up the simple homemade Greek dressing
• Parsley – gives a pop of freshness to top it all off

How to make orzo salad

This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.

Cook the orzo, drain, and rinse with cold water. Cut up your veggies and prep all the other ingredients.

Once the orzo has cooled, add all the ingredients to a large bowl. Toss with the homemade dressing, and enjoy.

Pro tip

Make sure to adjust the oil and vinegar quantities to suit your tastes! It’s also important to season this salad well with salt & pepper to bring out the flavors since there’s a fair bit of pasta in it.

Substitutions and variations

• If you are not a fan of olives, you can leave them out.
• To make this salad vegan, don’t include the feta, or replace it with a plant-based alternative.
• Other ingredients that would go great in this versatile salad are green or red bell peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, spinach, and arugula!
• If you can’t find red wine vinegar, sub in fresh lemon juice instead.