This easy Greek Orzo Pasta Salad recipe is filled with crisp veggies, fresh herbs, briny olives, and a zesty oil-free dressing. It's incredibly flavorful and perfect for summer! (Vegan, oil-free, gluten-free option.)
This easy Greek Orzo Salad is light, healthy, and packed with amazing, bold flavor!
It combines tender orzo with crisp veggies, fresh herbs, briny olives, and a zesty homemade dressing. (So good!)
Plus you can easily customize it however you wish. Add vegan feta crumbles, different veggies or herbs, or even white beans for a protein boost.
It's a refreshing, crowd-pleasing side dish, especially in the summertime. Bring it along to picnics, barbecues, potlucks, or summer gatherings. (It's also great for meal prep and light lunches at home.)
Ingredients for Greek Orzo Salad
For this recipe, you'll toss together in a large bowl:
- Orzo pasta: This is small, rice-shaped pasta and it's typically not gluten-free. So be sure to seek out gluten-free orzo if needed, or substitute with another small gluten-free pasta if needed.
- English cucumber: This is also called hothouse cucumber. It adds lots of refreshing crunch to the salad!
- Grape tomatoes: You'll need one dry pint of grape tomatoes, which is about 11 ounces. Or you can swap in cherry tomatoes instead.
- Red onion
- Kalamata olives: I like the briny flavor of Kalamata, but you can substitute black olives if you prefer.
- Fresh parsley: This adds vibrant, fresh flavor to the salad. You could also include fresh dill or basil as well.
- Greek dressing: You'll need one batch of my oil-free Vegan Greek Salad Dressing for this recipe. It combines zesty flavors like red wine vinegar, lemon juice, tahini, miso, Dijon mustard, garlic, and dried oregano.
Customizing
Vegetables: Include other veggies like diced green bell pepper, roasted red bell pepper, artichoke hearts, or anything else that sounds good.
Add cheese: Feel free to add dairy-free feta cheese crumbles. (Pine nuts could be a tasty addition for a crunch and texture as well.)
Add greens: For more nutrients, you can stir in finely chopped baby spinach, arugula, or kale.
More protein: Toss in chickpeas or other white beans for some extra plant-based protein.
Adding oil: This recipe is made oil-free, but you can add a drizzle of good quality extra-virgin olive oil if you wish.
Serving
You can either serve this dish immediately (at room temperature) or chilled. It's a great choice for picnics, potlucks, meal prep, summer side dish for cookouts, or simply enjoyment at home.
Storing
Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I find it keeps for about 4 days.
For more inspiration, also browse all vegan salad recipes.
Greek Orzo Pasta Salad (Easy!)
Ingredients
- 8 oz. orzo pasta (uncooked)
- 1 English/hothouse cucumber
- 1 pint grape tomatoes
- 1/3 cup red onion
- 1/3 cup Kalamata olives
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 1 batch Vegan Greek Dressing
Instructions
- Make the dressing: Make one batch of Vegan Greek Dressing using the tahini option. (You'll have a choice of using hummus or tahini, and I use tahini for this salad.) You can also make the dressing ahead of time and store it in the fridge until ready.
- Cook the orzo: Cook your orzo according to package directions, leaving it al dente (slightly firm, not mushy or overcooked). I boil my orzo in salted water for about 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.When orzo is cooked, carefully pour it in a large mesh strainer and rinse with cool water to halt the cooking. Then drain it very well.
- Prepare the veggies: While the orzo is cooking, dice the cucumber and slice the grape tomatoes in half. Finely dice the onion. Cut the Kalamata olives in half. Roughly chop the fresh parsley, large stems removed. Place all in a large mixing bowl.
- Assemble: Add the orzo and dressing to the veggies. (Note: This is a fairly heavily-dressed salad, so feel free to use less dressing if desired.) Then gently toss to combine.
- Serve: Either serve this dish immediately at room temperature, or let it chill in the refrigerator first. I find it keeps for about 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving (Estimate)
Sodium content: This is omitted as I cannot provide an accurate number. I encourage you to calculate your own to provide a much more precise reading based on the exact ingredients, brands, and amounts you're using.
If you're enjoying this vegan Greek Orzo Pasta Salad recipe, also check out:
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