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This Mediterranean orzo salad is easy, fresh, healthy, and quick! It’s bursting with fabulous Greek flavors and makes a nutritious side dish or light meal.

Love orzo in salads? Try my Lemon Orzo Salad with Chicken.

close-up of a bowl of mediterranean orzo salad with a serving spoon

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 goes into it

  • 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
all the ingredients needed for mediterranean orzo salad in bowls on a counter

Tools for this recipe

Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!

  • I like to make my salads in large glass mixing bowls.
  • A classic chef’s knife makes chopping up the veggies a smooth process. I use this cutting board as well.
  • For the rest of your onion, store it in this handy onion saver that looks adorable in your fridge and keeps it fresher for longer.

How to make orzo salad

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

cooking and draining orzo for mediterranean orzo salad

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

assembling mediterranean orzo salad in a glass bowl

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 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.

Leftovers and storage

  • This pasta salad will last 3 to 5 days in the fridge in an airtight container, but keep in mind that orzo will soak up the dressing a bit.
  • You may want to add a splash more oil and/or vinegar if you found it’s gone a little dry.

What to serve with this Greek orzo salad

a bowl of mediterranean orzo salad

If you made this Mediterranean orzo salad recipe, please leave a star rating and review below! You can also ask any questions if the blog post above didn’t answer ’em.

close-up of a bowl of mediterranean orzo salad with a serving spoon
5 from 21 votes

Mediterranean Orzo Salad

This Mediterranean orzo salad is easy, fresh, healthy, and quick! It's bursting with fabulous Greek flavors and makes a nutritious side dish or light meal.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients 

  • 1 cup uncooked orzo
  • 1 (10 ounce) package little tomatoes (grape or cherry) cut into halves
  • 3-4 mini cucumbers (or 1/2 English cucumber) chopped
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta
  • 1/4 cup Kalamata olives pitted & cut into halves
  • 1-2 tablespoons chopped red onion
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil 
  • 1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • For garnish: fresh parsley optional, to taste

Instructions 

  • Boil a large salted pot of water and cook the orzo al dente according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
  • Meanwhile, prep your other ingredients.
  • Once the orzo has cooled, add all ingredients to a large bowl. I suggest starting with 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, tossing the salad, then adding more if needed. Season with salt & pepper as needed (I am generous with both). Garnish with fresh parsley if using.

Notes

  • Serves 2-4 depending on how much people eat.
  • Feel free to eyeball the ingredients such as the olives and onion.
  • You can replace the red wine vinegar with fresh lemon juice if you prefer.
  • Crumbled feta works but I’ve also used those little feta cubes packed in olive oil & fresh herbs.

Nutrition

Calories: 284kcal, Carbohydrates: 34g, Protein: 9g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 17mg, Sodium: 352mg, Potassium: 322mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 505IU, Vitamin C: 18mg, Calcium: 122mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.

Leave a star rating and comment below!

This recipe was originally published on January 2, 2018. It’s been tweaked to be even easier, tastier, and has new photos!


Hi! I’m Natasha.

Salt & Lavender is a recipe blog with a focus on delicious comfort food using everyday ingredients. Beat the weekday grind with hundreds of easy-to-follow and hassle-free recipes!

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56 Comments

  1. So delicious, Natasha! I made this to pack for lunch this week and it’s just so simple and delicious!

  2. 5 stars
    I made this salad for the side with pan seared chicken breast. The salad was delicious and fun and easy to make. I will make it again.

  3. 5 stars
    We loved this salad! It was very easy to prepare and came together quickly. Served it with some yummy grilled salmon. Perfect summer salad!

    I did cook my orzo in low sodium veggie broth to add to the flavor. I like using broths for pasta salads.

  4. 5 stars
    I have made this several times, absolutely delish. Similar in flavour to a Greek salad with all the flavours of the med. Also keeps well in the fridge for lunches.

  5. 5 stars
    Excellent recipe! Easy to make and very refreshing on a hot summer day! It took 13 minutes for my orzo to cook. Next time, I will crumble rather than cube the feta as I think the flavour better permeates the salad that way. Overall, a great success!