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Mediterranean Orzo Salad is perfect for summertime meals
This Mediterranean Orzo Salad can be made hours up to a day or two ahead of when you plan to serve it. It keeps well, because of the oil and vinegar dressing. In fact, we like it better the next day. That is the beauty of a marinated salad. The dressing sinks into the ingredients and melds all the flavors together.
This is a flexible recipe
Though it’s called orzo salad, you can use any pasta that you prefer. Orzo is nice and small, so you get a good mixture of pasta and veggies in every bite. I like that in a summer salad. Summer means lots of vegetables and this salad hits perfectly. If you want a heartier pasta, you could try rotini, penne or bowties. In a pinch, you can even break spaghetti noodles into 1-inch pieces.
The vinaigrette is everything and it is easy to make
The vinaigrette is simple – fresh herbs garlic and a few other ingredients mix to form a balanced and bright flavor that goes really well with the pasta and veggies. Pull the leaves from the stems of your herbs and finely chop them together on a cutting board.
Mash or grate the garlic for the best flavor
Cut the garlic into a few slices, sprinkle with kosher salt and mash with the times of a dinner fork. The salt has sharp edges which help break down the garlic and releases all of the flavor trapped in the cells. You can also use a small microplane grater if you prefer. Either method will extract more flavor than just chopping.
Chop the vegetables into about equally sized pieces
I am never crazy about any dish that has wildly disparately sized ingredients. This is particularly true of salads. I’m always looking for the perfect bite, so I want all the things to fit easily on my fork. The orzo is pretty small, so you don’t want a bunch of huge things clumping around the bowl and not integrating with the pasta. So chop everything in 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces.
Feta cheese!
Feta is one of my favorite ingredients. I love it in everything, like Cucumber Salad, Soup, and Salad Dressing. The salty bite and crumbly texture are perfect for salads. It doesn’t soak up too much dressing, which can give cheese an unpleasant texture sometimes. It just blends in with the other ingredients in a lovely way.
How to make Mediterranean Orzo Salad
Mediterranean Orzo Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
Vinaigrette Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic
- 5 tablespoons Assorted fresh herbs [see notes]
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 grinds fresh black pepper
- 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 cup good quality fruity olive oil
Salad Ingredients
- 10 ounces dry orzo
- 1 large red bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 large green bell pepper, diced
- 2 large scallions, cut in thin slices
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced
- 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced
- 5 to 6 ounces feta cheese, finely crumbled
- additional olive oilif needed
Instructions
Make the vinaigrette
- Cut the garlic roughly, sprinkle with a good pinch of kosher salt, and mash to a paste, using the side of a knife blade, or the tines of a dinner fork. You can also use a micro-plane to shave it finely.
- Put the garlic, chopped herbs, salt, and pepper into a small, high-sided bowl.
- Add the vinegar and honey, and whisk until the salt is dissolved.
- Whisk in the olive oil slowly, until it is all incorporated and emulsified. Set aside.
Make the salad
- Cook the orzo, according to the package directions.
- Drain the orzo well, and place it in a large bowl.
- Mix in the vinaigrette.
- Add the peppers, scallions, tomatoes, olives, and feta, and stir gently to combine.
- Cover and refrigerate for up to 48 hours.
- Before serving, stir again, and if needed, add another few tablespoons of olive oil - only if all of the vinaigrette has been absorbed. You just want a nice coating, not the salad swimming in the vinaigrette.
Notes
- Fresh herbs can include any combo of rosemary, basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, cilantro, chervil, dill or tarragon. Whatever fresh herbs you like and have on hand, though some are going to influence the flavor more than others. The first 5 listed above will have the strongest "Mediterranean" flavors.
- You want to have about 4 to 5 tablespoons of minced herbs.
- If you don't have any fresh herbs on hand, you can use dried, but cut the amount down to about 1/2 teaspoon each.
Nutrition
This salad is easy to increase to feed a crowd
As presented, this recipe will make 6 fairly hearty side dish servings. It is easy to find that info in the recipe card. Look at the spot, near the top of the recipe, where it shows the number of servings. If you click on the number of servings – six in this case – a slider will appear that can be adjusted to any number. So, you can make as big a salad as you need.
You can also switch up the veggies if you like, or turn it into a one-dish meal with the addition of some grilled chicken, or maybe salmon.
It is really good with something like my Herb Grilled Chicken!
This post was originally made in July 2014, updated in August 2023, and updated again in June 2024
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Yes, this is a very good salad. Love the flavors in this. Just makes me want to keep a big bowl in the fridge to dive into! And our hummingbirds are back, too! Can summer really be here?
I think maybe summer is finally deciding to stay around Abbe – at least I hope so! Glad you like the salad 😉
Your tasty and colorful salad is perfect warm weather food…now if only it would arrive, it has been so cool here.
It is certainly getting a slow start this year Karen – but, as I said to Abbe, it does look as though the warm weather is getting here at last!
This is really lovely!!
Thank you Jocelyn 🙂
Woohoo – like summer on a plate! thanks for a wonderful recipe – making it this weekend!!
Thanks Sal – hope you all loved it!
Such a terrific salad! I could eat it all summer long!
Not a bad idea at all Liz 😉
This salad would be marvelous with my grilled chicken tonight. Love the flavors and thank you for the inspiration. Just pinned! Take Care, BAM
Thanks so much Bam – always love those pins!
This is a perfect dinner recipe! Can’t wait to make it and take a big bite!
Thanks Pamela & we often make a meal just out of this or other similar salads – it IS perfect!
Beautiful salad! This would be lovely to serve at Ryan’s birthday party later this week!
Thank you Monet – I hope that he loves it!
Lovely salad! Perfect for warm summer days. I have also started making more and more filling salads instead of warm meals, but I must say I never buy orzo. It sounds like a nice change from rice. Thank you for this wonderful idea.
Sissi – orzo actually is a pretty good sub for rice, if you are looking for something different – I use it to stuff zucchini and it’s delicious!
Just made your Orzo salad and it is chilling. Looks like it will really be good. It is a little labor intensive but worth it I think.
So glad that you are giving a try Ruthann – I definitely think it’s worth it, so I hope you do as well!
I tried this for the first time last weekend, but it won’t be the last time! I made it a day ahead so I had less to do the day of my party and the flavor just got better and better. This recipe is a keeper for sure!
Danyelle, I am so glad that you enjoyed it. Thanks for letting me know!
This was delicious – full of flavor!
Justine, I am so glad that you think so!
This is such a perfect summer dish, I love all of these flavors together! It turned out perfectly, I’ll definitely be making it again.
Thanks for the kind words, Nathan!
This Mediterranean salad was positively tasty! I made it for lunch this afternoon and really enjoyed it.
That’s good to hear, Paula!
I’m all about this salad in the summertime! I will redo it next week for sure!
I’m really glad to know that you enjoyed it Marie-Pierre!
Beautiful! I love the balance of the dressing with that delicious salad. It’s going to be dinner all summer long!
I’m so glad that you like it Harriet!