Greek Orzo Salad
on Sep 27, 2021, Updated Jul 20, 2023
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This pasta salad takes its cues from the ingredients featured in a classic Greek Salad, and goes with almost anything you can imagine.
The world can always be improved by a simple orzo and vegetable salad. This one takes its cues from the ingredients featured in a classic Greek Salad, tomatoes, cucumbers, and olives, and goes with just about any dish you can imagine. Add feta if you want, but know that as it is it’s a vegan side dish!
This orzo salad would happily be at home at a bbq alongside a burger, some grilled ribs, or Grilled Salmon. Below, the Greek Orzo Salad is buddying up to Greek Style Lamb with Feta Sauce, and Roasted Asparagus with Chimichurri Sauce, plus a chunk of Best Ever Garlic Bread.
Greek Orzo Salad: This pasta salad incorporates the ingredients of classic Greek Salad, and goes with almost anything you can think of.
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Ingredients
- Orzo – Orzo is super versatile. You can use this rice-shaped pasta in all manner of dishes, including a fair number of pasta salads. It’s easy to cook, and like all pastas it takes on the flavors of its surrounding ingredients really well.
- Olive oil
- Dill – A classic herb in Greek cooking with its fresh, verdant flavor.
- Lemon – You’re going to use the juice and the zest of the lemon here, so it’s got to be fresh.
- Rice wine vinegar – The soft acidity of this vinegar works to balance the sharp citrusiness of the lemon.
- Tomatoes – Use any kind of tomatoes, but make sure they are meaty and ripe.
- Cucumbers – Mini or Persian cucumbers both work here; you can also use a large cucumber as long as you remove the seeds.
- Scallions – Use the white and green parts of the scallions!
- Bell peppers – You want to dice your bell peppers finely so that the little pieces mix well with the tiny orzo grains.
- Black olives – You can use green instead or leave them out if they’re not your thing.
Variations and Substitutions
- Use ¾ cup or so of chopped onions instead of scallions.
- Try zucchini in place of cucumber.
- If you don’t have lemon, add another two tablespoons of vinegar.
- Use whatever olives you have on hand, or skip them. It might get less Greek, but it won’t be less delicious.
- This is a vegan salad, but you are welcome to add some crumbled feta (about 1 cup), which will make it vegetarian, though no longer vegan.
- If you’re cooking for a bigger crowd, you can easily double or even triple this recipe!
How to Make Greek Orzo Salad
- Cook the orzo: Cook the orzo according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking.
- Make the dressing: In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, dill, lemon juice, vinegar, and salt and pepper.
- Make the salad. Add the cooled orzo, bell peppers, scallions, plum tomatoes, and cucumbers, and toss.
FAQs
Orzo is a type of pasta often used in Greek cooking! This pasta is shaped like grains of rice, so people often confuse it with a grain, but it’s actually a pasta shape. It’s great when mixed into soups, like the Greek Avgolemono Soup, or salads like this one.
Short answer, absolutely not! This salad doesn’t include feta and gets its characteristic Greek saltiness from olives instead. If you choose to add feta, crumble about a cup on top, toss, and know that this pasta salad is no longer vegan but vegetarian.
They’re about the same, health-wise, in terms of carbs — according to Healthy Food Guide, orzo has 44g of carbs per ⅔ cup, while basmati rice has 39g. So yes, there’s a small difference, but for most people not very significant.
What to Serve With Greek Orzo Salad
More Orzo Recipes
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Greek Orzo Salad
Ingredients
- 12 ounces dried orzo
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ cup roughly chopped fresh dill
- Juice and zest of 2 lemons
- 1 tablespoon unseasoned rice wine vinegar
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- 2 bell peppers (finely diced)
- 6 scallions (thinly sliced, white and green parts)
- 4 plum tomatoes (seeded and finely diced)
- 3 mini or Persian cucumbers (seeded and finely diced; or use 1 large seedless cucumber)
- 1 cup black olives (halved)
Instructions
- Cook the orzo according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking. Let it sit in the colander while you make the dressing.
- In a large bowl combine the olive oil, dill, lemon juice, vinegar, and salt and pepper. Add the cooled orzo, bell peppers, scallions, plum tomatoes, and cucumbers and toss.
Notes
- Use ¾ cup or so of chopped onions instead of scallions.
- Try zucchini in place of cucumber.
- If you don’t have lemon, add another two tablespoons of vinegar.
- Use whatever olives you have on hand, or skip them. It might get less Greek, but it won’t be less delicious.
- This is a vegan salad, but you are welcome to add some crumbled feta (about 1 cup), which will make it vegetarian, though no longer vegan.
- If you’re cooking for a bigger crowd, you can easily double or even triple this recipe!
