A super tasty Greek orzo pasta salad recipe that’s easy to throw together. Perfect summer pasta salad for picnics, BBQ’s or potlucks.
Our Greek orzo pasta salad is a super simple pasta salad that’s absolutely loaded with fresh and tasty Mediterranean flavours.
This healthy, filling, veggie-packed pasta salad is super easy to make and oh so good to eat.
And you’re going to just LOVE that zingy vinaigrette dressing!
It’s one of our favourite summer pasta salads and I always make too much of it so that there’s leftovers for lunch the next day.
It’s an easy pasta salad to make and it’s flavourful and colourful making a great summer pasta salad recipe to go alongside BBQ food or to take as a potluck dish.
Greek Orzo Pasta Salad Recipe
I like to make pasta salad with orzo pasta it’s a tiny little pasta shape just a little larger than rice. It’s easy to cook and is a great in pasta salad.
Okay so even though our our Mediterranean orzo salad has quite a few ingredients, don’t be put off. It’s actually really quick and simple to make, you’ll literally throw it together in less than 20 minutes.
For a Greek pasta salad you’ll just need to add in olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, feta cheese and a tangy Greek salad dressing.
How To Cook Orzo Pasta
Okay, let’s start with the orzo pasta. Orzo is actually a tiny little pasta, hardly bigger than rice, so it’s super versatile for using in pasta salads.
If you want to make your delicious orzo salad even healthier you can switch the pasta to a whole wheat or high fibre orzo.
It’s super easy to prepare orzo pasta – just follow these cooking steps.
- Bring a large pan of water to the boil
- Add a good pinch of salt
- Tip in the orzo pasta (I use approx. 40 – 50g dried orzo per serving for pasta salad)
- Bring the water back to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes.
- Drain in a sieve not a colander – the orzo is quite tiny and so may slip through the holes in a colander.
- If using in pasta salad cool the orzo quickly by rinsing under cold running water.
Greek Orzo Pasta Salad Ingredients
- 250g Orzo pasta (dried – I usually use DeCecco brand)
- 1/2 Cucumber – diced
- 250g Baby Plum Tomatoes – roughly chopped
- 1/2 Red Onion – finely diced (nobody wants big chunks of onion in amongst small pieces of pasta…)
- 150g Kalamata Olives – pitted and roughly chopped
- 200g Feta Cheese – cubed or crumbled whichever you prefer
- 3 tbs Olive Oil
- 1 tbs Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 tsp Dried Oregano
- Sea Salt & Black Pepper to taste
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Equipment Needed To Make This Recipe
- Saucepan
- Colander
- Chopping board
- Sharp vegetable knife
- Tablespoon
- Teaspoon
- Small bowl
- Fork
- Serving bowl
Greek Orzo Pasta Salad Recipe
- Cook the orzo pasta – in boiling salted water for around 8-10 minutes whilst you prepare the rest of your ingredients.
- Chop the cucumber, tomatoes, onions, kalamata olives and feta cheese.
- Mix up the Greek salad dressing – get yourself a little bottle so you can shake the dressing otherwise just whisk with a fork in a small bowl.
- Add the olive oil, red wine vinegar and oregano to a small bottle – add a pinch of sea salt and cracked black pepper. Then shake to mix everything together.
- Shake again just before serving
- Drain the orzo using a sieve and run it under cold water to cool it quickly – then drain well otherwise the pasta salad will be watery.
- Put the drained orzo into a large mixing bowl and tip in the cucumber, tomatoes, olives, onions and feta cheese.
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- Give the salad dressing a shake and then pour into the pasta salad.
- Mix everything together so that everything gets coated in dressing.
Make Orzo Pasta Salad Your Way…
We’ve given you the basic Greek pasta salad recipe but you can swap and change the ingredients to suit yourself – try…
- Different pasta shapes – fusilli and penne work well with this recipe
- If you want to add in some meat – try grilled chicken slices or chorizo crumbs.
- Opt for a creamy dressing – whisk together mayonnaise with Greek yogurt and flavour with lemon zest, grated garlic and oregano.
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What To Serve With Greek Orzo Salad
Pasta salad goes really well with lots of summer meals, try eating it alongside…
- BBQ food – burgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken.
- Fried chicken and green salad
- Roast chicken or grilled fish
- Alongside tapas or antipasti
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Love easy pasta salad recipes? Try these…
- BLT Pasta Salad – our BLT pasta salad packs a BIG flavour punch and is totally loaded with bacon in a rich creamy dressing.
- Tuna and Avocado Pasta Salad – a light and healthy pasta salad with flaked tuna fish, avocado, tomatoes and olives.
- Easy Italian Pasta Salad – super easy pasta salad loaded with deli meat, fresh salad vegetables, olives and baby mozzarella balls.
- Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad – a delicious Italian style pasta recipe with tender chicken, pesto, asparagus and mozzarella.
Love pasta salad? Get loads more delicious tastypasta saladrecipes here
Tips For The Best Orzo Salad
- Hold the salt! This orzo pasta salad is loaded with some pretty salty ingredients – the feta cheese and olives, so you might want to be careful how much additional salt you add.
- Add plenty of veggies – orzo pasta itself can be pretty bland so you want your extra ingredients to shine, be sure to add plenty.
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Greek Orzo Pasta Salad Recipe
Yield: Serves 6 as a side dish
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Super tasty Greek pasta salad that's perfect for summer.
Ingredients
- 250g orzo pasta (dried)
- 1/2 cucumber - diced
- 250g baby plum tomatoes - chopped
- 1/2 red onion finely diced
- 150g Kalamata olives - pitted and roughly chopped
- 200g feta cheese - cubed
- 3 tbs olive oil
- 1 tbs red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the orzo as per the packet instructions and then drain and rinse under cold running water to cool quickly. Drain and set aside.
- Chop Chop all your ingredients
- Mix up the salad dressing - add the oil, vinegar, dried oregano and a pinch of salt and pepper to a small bottle and shake.
- Mix together the pasta, feta and salad vegetables.
- Pour on the salad dressing and toss everything together to coat.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 310Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 520mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 9g
Nutritional content will vary depending on the exact ingredients you use and how careful you are with measuring - this nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate - you should always calculate your own nutritional information especially if you have specific dietary requirements.
What type of olive should I use for Greek pasta salad?
Kalamata olives are best used in Greek pasta salad, especially if you want to go with the whole Greek vibe. But if you can’t get them then just use regular black olives, they’ll work nicely.
Can I make orzo salad in advance?
Sure you can! This orzo salad will keep in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Just be sure not to add the salad dressing until you’re ready to serve.
Can I use a different kind of pasta?
Absolutely – you can use any pasta you like for this dish – it’s great made with fusilli or penne.
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