Greek Orzo Pasta Salad

Beat the summer heat with this delicious Greek orzo pasta salad full of your favorite Greek ingredients!

There’s nothing better on a warm day than cold pasta salad. Living in Florida we have plenty of those day even right now in early March, when it’s still snowing everywhere else. Even without warm weather, this orzo pasta salad is perfect for travel or work since you don’t need to heat it up!

Ingredients

There are endless options with ingredients when making pasta salad. I decided to go the Greek route, since I’ve been on a Greek Salad kick lately. The flavors of the kalamata olives, feta, and cucumbers, go so well with an oregano and lemon vinaigrette.

Prep

Another reason I love this pasta salad recipe, is it’s easy and quick to make. I chopped up my cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, cucumber, and parsley. I sliced my red onions on the mandoline for them to be more uniform, but please be careful and use the guard. If you do not have a mandoline, you can easily just thinly slice with a knife.

Vinaigrette

My favorite part of any pasta salad is the dressing or vinaigrette that it’s in. When the pasta soaks up all that flavor, every bite is so delicious. For this recipe I decided to use olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon, oregano, salt, and black pepper. These basic ingredients come together to make such a bright vinaigrette.

Orzo Preparation

I cooked my orzo al dente, you do not want to overcook it because when it soaks up all the vinaigrette it will get soggy. Once al dente, I remove from the pot, drain, and run cold water over it before adding it to the dish. You don’t want the orzo to be hot when adding to the other ingredients.

Marinating

I allow the dish to “marinate” for minimum an hour in the refrigerator before enjoying it. This will allow all the ingredients to get cold (for that refreshing bite) and most importantly to give the ingredients a chance to meld with the vinaigrette.

In the end you are left with this bright and refreshing greek orzo pasta salad that is perfect for picnics or to enjoy throughout the week.

Things you’ll need: small pot for pasta, large mixing bowl, small bowl to assemble vinaigrette, lemon squeeze, mandoline (optional)

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Greek Orzo Pasta Salad

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★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Stephanie
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 8 minutes
• Total Time: 18 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x

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Description

Greek orzo pasta salad with delicious vegetables and marinated in a lemony oregano vinaigrette. Perfect for a cookout or to enjoy meal prepped throughout the week!

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Ingredients

• 8 oz Orzo pasta
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1 cup English cucumber, diced
• 1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup kalamata olives, sliced in half
• 1/4 cup feta cheese
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 lemon, freshly squeeze juice
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

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Instructions

1. In a small pasta pot, cook pasta al dente according to package instructions. Remove from heat, drain, rinse the pasta, then set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, oregano, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients including the vinaigrette. Toss to ensure all the ingredients are combined. Place in refrigerator for at least an hour before serving to marinate.

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Notes

• Store in refrigerator
• Can drizzle a little olive oil when enjoying leftovers if needed. 

• Category: Salad
• Cuisine: Greek

Keywords: pasta salad, orzo, greek salad, vinaigrette, salad, cold