Mediterranean Orzo Salad is a simple vegetarian side dish recipe that's packed with fresh and zesty flavors.
“I have made this recipe a thousand times and I will make it a thousand more. Delicious!”
While I tend to make pasta salad more often in the warmer months, it truly rounds out a dinner plate no matter the season.
Simple, satisfying, and fun to eat, my Mediterranean Orzo Salad is packed with zesty flavor. Pair with any grilled, baked, or sauted protein, and dinner’s done!
Watch How to Make It
Fresh and Easy Orzo Pasta Salad
This simple yet memorable orzo-based side dish recipe is packed with fresh and zippy flavors from tomatoes, kalamata olives, feta cheese, capers, and fresh parsley that comes together with a zingy Lemon Dressing.
It’s great warm or cold and perfect for serving with a dinner, or taking to a cookout, party, or potluck.
Simple yet incredible. Let’s do this!
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Pin ItHow to Make Mediterranean Orzo Salad
Start by cooking gluten free orzo (or regular orzo if you don’t need to eat GF) in salted, boiling water until al dente, then drain and cool slightly.
Orzo is pasta that looks like rice and is so much fun to use in soups and side dishes like this one. I love Dellalo and Jovial brands of gluten free orzo.
While the pasta is cooking, add all the Mediterranean-inspired toppings into a mixing bowl. We’ve got:
- Grape or cherry tomatoes
- Kalamata Olives (Mezzetta brand is GF)
- Capers (Mezzetta brand is GF)
- Crumbled feta cheese
- Chopped parsley
Next, shake up the bright and tangy Lemon Dressing that will dress the orzo salad.
To a mason jar with a tight fitting lid, add fresh lemon juice, garlic, honey, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper then shake to combine.
Lastly, add the slightly cooled orzo to the mixing bowl then drizzle with enough dressing to coat and stir to combine.
You can absolutely eat this orzo salad warm – it’s actually incredibly delicious this way! – but I usually stick it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to give all the flavors a chance to meld.
That’s all she wrote! This easy pasta salad recipe is not only absolutely gorgeous but absolutely DELICIOUS. I know you’ll just gobble it up. Enjoy!
More Summery Side Dish Recipes
- Healthy Chickpea Salad
- Fruit Salad Recipe for a Crowd
- The Best Pasta Salad
- Green Beans with Bacon
- Best Baked Beans EVER
- Sesame Noodle Salad
- Napa Sweet Corn Salad
- Cucumber and Tomato Salad
- Marinated Vegetable Salad
Ingredients
- 6 oz dry gluten free orzo pasta
- 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 2 Tablespoons gluten free capers, drained
For the Lemon Dressing:
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 clove garlic, microplaned or finely minced
- salt and pepper
Directions
- Cook orzo according to package directions then drain and set aside to cool slightly.
- Add slightly cooled pasta to a large mixing bowl with tomatoes, olives, feta cheese, parsley, and capers. Drizzle on enough Lemon Dressing to coat then toss to combine. Chill for 10-15 minutes before serving then add additional dressing if desired.
For the Lemon Dressing:
- Combine ingredients in a mason jar with a tight fitting lid then shake to combine. Alternatively, you can add lemon juice, salt, pepper, honey and garlic to a food processor then process while slowly drizzling in olive oil. Can be made up to 5 days ahead of time.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
I’m getting so antsy for grilling/spring/summer/gardening (even though I don’t have a garden). Other people do and then bring their stuff to the farmer’s market :)
Beautiful salad!
This looks so good! We must have been craving the same flavors; I made a delicious wrap for my dinner with hummus, feta, cucumber, grape tomatoes, and kalamata olives. Delicious!
Whaaaat?! Are you pouring EVOO in the lid of your food processor? I have the same exact make and model, is this some secret I don’t know about??
Yep! There’s a little hole on each end that streams the oil in for dressings! :)
Amazing. I had no idea. I whipped it right out of the box and used it when I got it for Christmas, never bothering to read anything about it. I also just found the tiny little spatula a few weeks ago. So cute! If there are any other cool features I’m missing, you just let me know, ok? ;)
I really hope that you are right because I am SOOO ready for Spring!
Sounds delicious! I love it when I see Iowa Girl Cooks has arrived in my e-mail. Every recipe I have tried has been great! Thank you so much!!
Just got back from a little “ramble” over to A Southern Season in Chapel Hill, NC and brought back – among other goodies – a full pound and a half of roasted vegetable Orzo which is SO wonderful with asparagus and flaked salmon…haven’t quite learned how to duplicate that at home…especially the absolutely exquisite precision of the tiny cubed veggies…..but am thrilled to see this variation….Thanks Kristin and Happy travels to our Southern neighbor…..I hope you’ll have time to take in the Middleton gardens and statuary installations…..It ought to be gorgeous….because it ALWAYS is…
https://www.middletonplace.org/
This recipe is so similar to the one they used to have at Macaroni Grill – it was so good. I remember they had julienned raddichio and spinach in it along with chopped sun-dried tomatoes – and grilled chicken. Thanks so much for this recipe. 60’s? – surely you jest – how is it that it is still chilly up here in Minneapolis? Come on warm weather, we’re waiting for you. Enjoy your trip to Charleston – it’s a great city!
we’re going to be in Charleston for our anniversary (April 3), too!! would LOVE to run into you guys!!
This is the first real meal that has sounded good since I found I am preggo! So excited to make it!
As for the whole soft cheese, most things I am seeing in the grocery stores are pasteurized. I think smaller family owned or local cheeses may not go through the same processing as things carried in most grocery stores. With the exception of Brie and the like :) missing Brie but glad I can eat most cheeses I like…once my appetite returns! ;)
Yum! This looks really good. I love orzo salads, but I never think about making them!
I live in AK and we grill all year round. Granted it is more pleasent in the summer months! It’s not uncommon for us to have to shovel a path across the deck to get to our grill :)
Hope you get your spring soon! Here in Northern California we’ve been in the 60’s for the past week or two, with occasional rainy days…you should come visit :)
I absolutely love pasta salads like this during the spring & summer! I’ve got a boatload of lemons at the moment too, so I will definitely be trying this dressing!
I hear you on the ready for spring! We got married (in Minnesota) April 28 and had 6 inches of snowfall the day after the wedding, postponing the honeymoon by a day.