Greek Orzo Salad

This post may contain affiliate links. See my privacy policy for details.

Spring has sprung and it’s time to eat everything green, like this Greek Orzo Salad! Don’t get me wrong, I love winter comfort food, but it’s definitely time to get back into lighter fare for spring and summer. This orzo salad was absolutely amazing for dinner and made me forget that it’s still going to snow at least one more time this spring, because I live in Alberta.

How to Make an Orzo Salad

Using orzo in a salad is super easy! All you have to do is replace the pasta that you usually use in your favorite pasta salad recipe and replace it with orzo.

• Cook the orzo according to the package directions
• Drain and cool the orzo
• Toss with your favorite salad ingredients and dressing

What is Orzo?

Orzo is actually pasta, not rice as one might believe from the size and shape of it. Orzo is a small, flat-disk pasta that does resemble arborio rice, so it’s an easy mistake to make.  Orzo is also known as “risoni”, so if you see that name on a package it’s the same thing, although orzo can be slightly larger than risoni.

How do I Cook Orzo?

It is a little different to cook than other kinds of pasta simply because it’s so small, you would think it cooks for less time. Nope! Orzo needs around 10 minutes of cooking time and should be treated like any other pasta when cooking. Salted water was brought to a boil, then rinsed at the end in cold water to stop the cooking process. Not only that, you need to rinse the starches off the orzo since it’s going into a cold salad.

Tips & Tricks for Making the Best Greek Orzo Salad

• Like most pasta salads, this Greek Orzo Salad is eaten cold and needs to be refrigerated.
• Don’t make this a day ahead of time, no matter how tempting it is. The tomatoes will weep and make for a soggy salad. This is best made the morning of, perhaps even an hour or two before serving.
• You CAN make the orzo ahead of time, prepare it, and then toss it with some olive oil and refrigerate. This is a great tip for busy moms! Make everything ahead of time, even slicing the vegetables, and refrigerate. The tomatoes will actually drain in the container in the fridge, making it less soggy. You just have to wait to combine the ingredients.
• You can substitute in more of any one vegetable that you see fit. I like a ton of cucumbers in everything that I eat!
• Make sure to rinse the orzo well in cold water right after cooking. The starches left on it after boiling will absolutely affect the texture of the salad.

Are you looking for some other great salad recipes? Try these:

1. Fast & Easy Greek Pasta Salad
2. Tuna Macaroni Salad
3. Classic Retro Picnic Macaroni Salad
4. Traditional Caprese Salad

Happy cooking! Who else is thrilled that spring is finally here?

Love,

Karlynn

Pin This Recipe to Your Salads or Dinner Ideas Boards and remember to FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST for more great recipe ideas!

Greek Orzo Salad

Greek Orzo Salad- tomatoes, orzo, black olives feta and purple onions combined with orzo and a Greek olive oil vinaigrette makes this a healthy and delicious dinner!  

5 from 6 votes

Review Save Saved!Print

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

10 minutes

Total Time

30 minutes

Course

Salad

Cuisine

Greek

Servings

6

Calories

340

Author

Karlynn Johnston

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

 

• ▢ 1 1/2 cups uncooked orzo pasta
• ▢ 1 (12-14 oz) can artichoke hearts, drained well and chopped
• ▢ 1 large tomato drained, seeded and chopped
• ▢ 1 English cucumber seeded and chopped
• ▢ 1 purple/red onion chopped
• ▢ 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
• ▢ 1 (2 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
• ▢ 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Greek Vinaigrette

• ▢ 1/3 cup olive oil
• ▢ 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice to your taste
• ▢ 1-2 teaspoons Greek Seasoning

Instructions

 

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
• Add in the orzo and cook until al dente, around 8-10 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process and rinse the starches off. Once drained well, place in a large serving bowl.
• Add in the artichoke hearts, tomato, cucumber, onion, feta, olives and parsley.
• Whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients, then pour over the salad.
• Toss the ingredients until coated, then chill for 1-2 hours in the refrigerator.

Recipe Notes

You can use orzo to replace any pasta in your regular pasta salad

Nutrition Information

Calories: 340kcal, Carbohydrates: 34g, Protein: 9g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 22mg, Sodium: 323mg, Potassium: 261mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 610IU, Vitamin C: 12.3mg, Calcium: 149mg, Iron: 1.2mg

All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

Made this recipe?

Share a photo of what you made on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thekitchenmagpie or hashtag it #thekitchenmagpie.

Please rate this recipe in the comments below to help out your fellow cooks!

Learn to cook like the Kitchen Magpie

A Very Prairie Christmas Bakebook

Cookies, Candies, Cakes & More: Vintage Baking to Celebrate the Festive Season!

Learn More

Flapper Pie and a Blue Prairie Sky

A Modern Baker’s Guide to Old-Fashioned Desserts

Learn More

The Prairie Table

Suppers, Potlucks & Socials: Crowd-Pleasing Recipes to Bring People Together

Learn More