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Home / Recipes / Side Dishes / Greek Orzo Salad

Greek Orzo Salad

30 mins
| 4 Comments |
4.95 from 17 votes
Jump to Recipe 05/30/22 | Updated: 05/30/22 | by Nora
Greek Orzo Salad Recipe Image Pin

With a zingy Greek dressing and filled with fresh summer vegetables, this Greek Orzo Salad is going to be the biggest hit at all your summer barbecues!

overhead view of white bowl filled with Greek orzo salad

It’s no secret that cooking during summer… Kind of doesn’t happen. Right? It’s just too hot and I’d much rather spend time at the pool than slaving away at the stove.

My favorite summer staple are pasta salads. And nothing makes it easier to switch things up than using this fun little pasta shape: Orzo. Here I’m adding all my favorite Greek salad flavors for the ultimate summer treat!

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!

ingredients in Greek orzo salad with text labels
Ingredients in Greek Orzo Salad: Orzo, Feta cheese, olives, chickpeas, bell pepper, cucumber tomatoes, herbs, red onion and Greek salad dressing.

Ingredient notes

  • Dressing: I use my homemade Greek Salad Dressing – it’s my favorite! You can easily use a store-bought dressing though.
  • Fresh herbs: I like fresh oregano and parsley in any kind of Greek salad. Oregano can be kind of hard to come by, so you can just stick to parsley!
  • Chickpeas: If you’re not a fan, feel free to skip these or use white beans instead.
  • Olives: Kalamata olives are my favorite here, but feel free to use whatever you like.

How to make Greek Orzo Salad

1. Prepare all of your ingredients and place them in a bowl.

2. Mix together the dressing and pour it over the ingredients in the bowl.

ingredients for Greek orzo salad in glass bowl
Assemble ingredients
Greek salad dressing pouring over salad ingredients from glass measuring jug
Add dressing

3. Toss the salad well to combine with the dressing, then cover and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

overhead close up view of Greek orzo salad in white bowl
Chill until serving!

Recipe tips

How do you keep Orzo from sticking together?

The first rule of making Orzo salad: Do not let the little pasta shapes stick together.

I know a lot of people recommend washing Orzo before cooking. But I’m usually too lazy/tired/short on time to be bothered to do that.

Instead I place the Orzo in a colander and rinse it under cold water right after cooking (I do this with all pasta for pasta salad – who has time to wait for it to cool?!) and then toss it in the dressing right away. Easy peasy!

Can you make this salad ahead of time?

The beauty of pasta salads is that you can make them ahead of time – if you pay attention to a few details:

  • You can make ahead and chill the pasta salad up to overnight. Keep it covered in the fridge.
  • Any chopped herbs you want to add, add them right before serving – they’ll wilt too much otherwise.
  • And finally, keep some extra oil, salt and vinegar/lemon juice on hand. Check for dressing/seasoning and adjust right before you’re serving the salad!
overhead view of greek orzo salad in white bowl

Serving ideas

Here are some of our favorite ways to serve this easy salad:

  • Greek Marinated Chicken on the grill
  • Grilled Chicken Kabobs
  • Marinated Pork Chops on the grill
  • Marinated Pork Tenderloin on the grill
  • No Knead Bread

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.

Printable Recipe Card
overhead view of greek orzo salad in white bowl
Save Recipe Saved!

Greek Orzo Salad

With a zingy Greek dressing and filled with fresh summer vegetables, this Greek Orzo Salad is going to be the biggest hit at all your summer barbecues!
Recipe by Nora from Savory Nothings
made it? tap the stars to add your rating!
4.95 from 17 votes
Print Add Review

Recipe details

Prep 20 mins
Cook 10 mins
Total 30 mins
Servings 8 servings
Difficulty Easy

Ingredients
 

  • 1.5 cups uncooked orzo pasta
  • 1 (15-oz) can chickpeas rinsed and drained; OR white beans
  • ½ pound mini Roma tomatoes chopped
  • 1 cucumber seeded and chopped
  • 1 bell pepper chopped
  • 1 red onion finely chopped
  • 1 cup crumbled Feta cheese
  • 4 oz black olives drained and sliced (I prefer Kalamata)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano OR parsley OR a mix
  • 1 cup Greek salad dressing homemade or store-bought

Instructions
 

  • Make orzo: Prepare the orzo according to package directions. Drain in a sieve, then rinse under cold water for 15 seconds. Place in salad bowl.
  • Make salad: Add all remaining ingredients to bowl. Add dressing and toss well.
  • Serve: Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to overnight (add fresh oregano/parsley when serving, if you want to make salad ahead for more than 1 hour).
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Notes

  • You can make ahead and chill the pasta salad up to overnight. Keep it covered in the fridge.
  • Any chopped herbs you want to add, add them right before serving – they’ll wilt too much otherwise.
  • Keep some extra oil, salt and vinegar/lemon juice on hand. Check for dressing/seasoning and adjust right before you’re serving the salad!

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 381kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 10gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 583mgPotassium: 326mgFiber: 5gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 870IUVitamin C: 25.1mgCalcium: 136mgIron: 1.5mg
Nutrition is an estimate.

More recipe information

Course: Lunch, Side Dish
Cuisine: Mediterranean

Recipe first published in 2018. Updated with new photos and text on 05/30/2022.

More summer salads to try

  • Mediterranean Couscous Salad
  • Greek Pasta Salad
  • Easy Italian Pasta Salad
  • The Best Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad

Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings
About Nora 
When I got married to my professional chef husband, I realized I had to step up my game in the kitchen. Now I share my favorite foolproof family recipes here on Savory Nothings: Chef-approved, kid-vetted and easy enough for everyday home cooks like you and me!   Learn more.

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Comments

  1. Carolyn says

    September 09, 2022 at 8:07 pm

    5 stars
    I am addicted to this it is soooo good. Having friends over for a Greek dinner along with kabobs, and zucchini soup. Lemon cake with mixed berry compote .

    Reply
    • Nora says

      September 18, 2022 at 12:36 pm

      That sounds like such a delicious menu, Carolyn!

      Reply
  2. Suzanne says

    February 08, 2021 at 1:46 am

    5 stars
    Fave Greek dressing ever!

    Reply
  3. Terri Laskowski says

    October 24, 2020 at 1:42 pm

    5 stars
    I can’t begin to say how delicious the salad is. It’s a favorite

    Reply

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Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings

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Hi, I'm Nora! I wasn't always a good cook, but then I fell in love with a professional chef and learned my way around the kitchen. Now I share all my secrets to effortlessly great food here on my blog, bite-sized for home cooks just like me and you.

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