Perfect as a summer side or main dish this Mediterranean Orzo Pasta Salad is full of delicious add-ins like cucumbers, artichokes, and roasted red peppers! Great to make ahead for a party or potluck!
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Mediterranean Orzo Salad
This is one of those great pasta salads that is pretty much perfect for any occasion. Potlucks, parties, picnics, beach days, and heck just a great lunch or dinner at home.
This Mediterranean Orzo Salad is filled with goodies like artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, cucumber, olives, and feta!
One of my favorite parts about this one is that a lot of the add-ins come pretty much ready to go in jars. So while there is some chopping of ingredients it is definitely on the conservative side, so the prep doesn’t take forever.
Ingredients
- Olive Oil – Use a good tasting olive oil here since it won’t be cooked, you will want one that taste good raw.
- Red Wine Vinegar – For the acid in this salad I like the red wine vinegar, you would sub out part of it for lemon juice if you wanted.
- Dried Oregano – To flavor the dressing, just a little goes a long way here.
- Kosher Salt – If you are looking to sub the kosher salt for a different kind of salt use sea salt or if you want to use table salt use half of the amount.
- Ground Black Pepper – Just a touch of freshly ground black pepper here for flavor, use as much or as little as you please.
- Orzo Pasta – If you live in Australia they call this pasta risoni, but it can be found fairly common in groceries everywhere. My kids often will mistaken it for rice when I am cooking it because that what it is shaped like. I like it in this pasta salad because it has good scoop-ability, but if you would like to sub for a different pasta shape that will work!
- Jar Marinated Artichoke Hearts – I opt for the marinated artichokes for more flavor but and jarred artichoke hearts will work. I like to give them a quick chop to make them easier to eat.
- Jar Roasted Red Peppers – Roasted red peppers in jars might come in a few different heat varieties at your store, you will want the mild version. You will find them either chopped or in bigger sections and then you will want to give them a quick chop yourself.
- English Cucumber – I like to use English cucumbers over the traditional kind in pasta salads because they are less seedy as well as a little less watery so they won’t affect the pasta salad consistency too much.
- Red Onion – Red onion does well to even out the pasta salad with a bit of a bite, if you are not an onion loving person feel free to reduce the onion as needed.
- Kalamata Olives – Kalamata olives usually come either sliced or pitted at the grocery, you may use either but you may want to half the pitted olives to make them easier to eat.
- Fresh Parsley – Fresh parsley definitely adds the finishing touches, I like to use flat parsley here but either will work!
- Feta Cheese – And last feta cheese for the salty finish!
For a complete detailed list of the ingredients continue towards the bottom of the page.
pro tip
For a lot of the add-ins for this pasta salad it is okay to not use exact amounts. I noticed that almost every brand of jarred roasted red peppers sold a slightly different size, for example 10-ounces vs. 12-ounces vs. 16 ounces. It will be okay to sub out here, just use your judgement when adding things together.
Instructions
Cook orzo according to the package instructions and drain. Rinse with cold water to cool the pasta.
In a small bowl or jar mix together olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, salt, & pepper to make the dressing.
In a large bowl or container add together the cooked orzo, artichokes, roasted red peppers, cucumber, onion, olives, and dressing. Mix together.
Add in the parsley and feta and stir in. Serve immediately or rest in the fridge to cool. Keeps in the fridge 3 to 4 days.
tips, tricks and questions
What is a good substitute for orzo?
If you can’t find orzo no sweat! You can really sub out any pasta shape here, but if you are looking for something similar you could use Ditalini Pasta which is small in size much like orzo or even use broken up spaghetti!
Make this pasta salad your own, you could also add:
Spinach, green olives, cooked chicken, tuna, chickpeas, and more could all be added!
How long does this last in the fridge?
This pasta salad can last 3 to 5 days in the fridge. I found it kept pretty well and the leftovers could be used for lunches for a few days.
If you like this Mediterranean Orzo Pasta Salad Recipe you might also like:
Mediterranean Orzo Pasta Salad
This Mediterranean inspired pasta salad is made with delicious orzo pasta, cucumber, onions, roasted peppers, olives, and more! Perfect for a picnic or potluck!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 16 ounces (1 pound) dried orzo pasta
- 1 (12-ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
- 1 (10-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained and coarsely chopped
- 1/2 large english cucumber, diced
- 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup sliced & pitted kalamata olives
- 1/2 cup loosely packed coarsely chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 1 cup (6 ounces) feta cheese, crumbled
Instructions
- Cook orzo according to the package instructions and drain. Rinse with cold water to cool the pasta.
- In a small bowl or jar mix together olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, salt, & pepper to make the dressing.
- In a large bowl or container add together the cooked orzo, artichokes, roasted red peppers, cucumber, onion, olives, and dressing. Mix together.
- Add in the parsley and feta and stir in. Serve immediately or rest in the fridge to cool. Keeps in the fridge 3 to 4 days.
Notes
For a lot of the add-ins for this pasta salad it is okay to not use exact amounts. I noticed that almost every brand of jarred roasted red peppers sold a slightly different size, for example 10-ounces vs. 12-ounces vs. 16 ounces. It will be okay to sub out here, just use your judgement when adding things together!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1/8 of the dishAmount Per Serving: Calories: 759Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 236mgCarbohydrates: 131gFiber: 7gSugar: 6gProtein: 24g
Nutritional data is automated, final nutritional information will depend on ingredients used and any changes made.
MT says
I made this and it is so good. I didn’t have quite all the ingredients but it was still wonderful. Thank you for the recipe !
Lauren Schmidt says
So glad you enjoyed this one!
Margaret says
I made this but subbed quinoa for the orzo and it was delicious!