Olives, bell pepper, spinach, and feta cheese top orzo pasta in this light and refreshing Mediterranean Orzo Salad. Wonderful as a side dish or a light lunch, and perfect for potlucks. Ready in 20 minutes!
We’re also crazy for this Orzo Salad made with lemon, asparagus, and shrimp.
This Mediterranean Orzo Salad is a great mix of Greek and Italian flavors, making it 100% delicious. We love how versatile it is, either as a light vegetarian lunch, or a side dish paired with grilled chicken or salmon. Plus perfect for those of us looking to bring something to a summer gathering.
Sure you can find something similar in the grocery store deli case, but trust me, this homemade orzo salad is so much better and super quick to make.
Orzo Salad Ingredients
You only need a handful of simple, fresh ingredients.
- Orzo: Many people think orzo is a grain, but it’s actually a pasta. It’s a great pantry item to have on hand.
- Vegetables: Red bell pepper, spinach, and scallions.
- Black olives: These add a salty component and a nice contrasting color. Green olives are good, too.
- Feta cheese: We love feta cheese. Its flavor is salty, tangy, and lemony.
- Seasonings: Dried oregano, salt, and pepper.
- Dressing: Just extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, and lemon juice.
Possible Additions
- Other veggies: Red onion, artichoke hearts, cherry tomatoes.
- Beans: Garbanzo or cannellini beans.
- Meat and/or seafood: Grilled chicken or shrimp.
Make Ahead and Storing Leftovers
Everything in this orzo salad blends so well together and great for making ahead of time so the flavors can deepen even more. It’s a perfect dish to bring to potlucks and picnics or pack it for work and skip the cafeteria.
This salad can be made the day before serving. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep up to 3 days.
What to Serve with Mediterranean Orzo Salad
We enjoy this Mediterranean orzo salad year round with so many other dishes. Here are a few ideas:
More Potluck Salad Recipes
I hope you love this delicious and simple recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Mediterranean Orzo Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup orzo pasta ,uncooked
- 1/3 cup diced red bell pepper
- 2 ounce can sliced black olives ,drained
- 1 cup finely chopped spinach
- 1 whole scallion ,diced
- 3 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Cook orzo according to package directions, al dente, about 10 minutes; drain and transfer to a medium bowl.
- Toss in remaining ingredients.
- Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking.
- Serve warm or cool and enjoy!
Nutrition
Other Notes
Wonderful salad. I added chopped up grilled chicken and served it as a light dinner. We all loved it!
I love orzo salads like this! The size and texture of orzo is so perfect
I really love using orzo in salad-type preparations. This sounds delish
Added chicken and used Italian seasoning instead of just oregano, but kept everything else the same. Just delicious – thank you!
This salad is calling my name, like a siren song. I love Mediterranean flavors. I am soooo down with this, you have NO IDEA.
We had a potluck situation at work and this was a big hit. I love that it’s vegetarian, so everyone could eat it.
I added some grilled asparagus and extra feta. Served it with crusty bread and ribs. It was the perfect side. Will make again.
This is such a great recipe. It’s so incredibly simple, but hits all the notes. And you can easily add other vegetables or meat if you wanted.
This looks so refreshing. Can’t wait to make it.
GREAT summer salad! Doubled all the ingredients so we would have leftovers the next day.
I am loving everything about this.
Love an orzo salad!! :) Especially if feta is involved!
Man, that looks good. I love me pasta salads (too bad I have to watch the amount of pasta). And I love your proportions. Usually the vinegar and oil ratios are reversed in vinaigrette-type dressings. I always reverse them because I love the tang of vinegar, especially with a good red-wine base.
Simple and delicious!!
Served this for a ladies luncheon and everyone loved it. It was perfect and so pretty on the buffet table.
Had this dish last night. It’s so pretty and tasted great. I used arugula instead of of spinach.
I’m in the mood for Mediterranean flavors no matter what the season!
I love Orzo and I love Mediterranean, so this was pretty much an all star recipe. YUM!
This salad was so light and healthy. Absolutely delicious.
So many great flavors and easy to put together.
It’s already feeling like fall here but I’m still in summer mode as far as food goes! Love this salad – will be trying!
This orzo salad sounds so fresh and delicious! Pinning!
This is beautiful! Feta cheese…olives…spinach!? I knew I would love it!
LOVE this salad AMY!
Tasty salad! It still feels like summer to me too!
We’re big fans of Mediterranean flavors and foods – this looks delicious!