Orzo pasta salad made with all the traditional Greek flavors you love and is a super easy side dish that you can make ahead of time for your next potluck!
Juicy cherry tomatoes, tangy feta cheese, red onions, roasted chickpeas and black olives all coated in a homemade salad dressing made with fresh lemon juice. This pasta salad is so bright and fresh!
We have a traditional Greek pasta salad on the blog, but I’m pretty obsessed with this orzo version. Just like I’m obsessed with our lemon orzo with parmesan and peas! Orzo is just so fun and so versatile!
What is Orzo?
Orzo is a rice-shaped pasta that can be traditionally prepared as pasta or cooked and served in much the same way as rice.
Ingredients Needed to Make Greek Orzo Pasta Salad
In most grocery stores, you walk in and you’re in the produce section. So grab a few plastic produce bags and knock off half this list right there:
Chickpeas
- Chickpeas: roasting chickpeas, or garbanzo beans, adds a great crunchy texture to the salad and is high in plant-based protein
- Olive Oil: helps roast the chickpeas
- Cumin: adds flavor
- Smoked Paprika: adds flavor and smokiness
- Salt: adds flavor
Dressing
- Olive Oil: the base of the dressing, extra virgin olive oil is preferred
- Garlic: adds flavor
- Red Wine Vinegar: adds acid and tanginess to the dressing
- Lemon Zest and Juice: adds freshness, acidity and flavor
- Dijon Mustard: adds zesty flavor and acts as an emulsifier for the oil and vinegar
- Oregano: fresh is highly recommended but if you want to use dried oregano, go with 1 teaspoon
- Dill: fresh dill is best, but if you must use dried, go with 1/2 teaspoon
- Salt and Black Pepper: adds flavor and enhances all the ingredients
Salad
- Red Onion: adds flavor and crunchy texture
- Red Wine Vinegar: helps pickle the onions
- Orzo: You’ll find orzo right next to all your other pastas, and remember that you’re looking for a pasta that looks like rice.
- Olive Oil: helps toast the orzo and sauté the garlic
- Garlic: adds flavor
- Chicken Broth: cooks the orzo
- Lemon Zest and Juice: adds freshness and flavor
- Cracked Pepper: adds a little heat
- Salt: adds flavor
- Feta: I like to buy a block of feta and then crumble it up myself.
- Grape Tomatoes: sliced in half
- Sun Dried Tomatoes: drained from their oil and roughly chopped
- Spinach: fresh and roughly chopped