Greek Orzo Salad | Cathy’s Vegan Kitchen

this Greek Barley Pasta Salad The recipe is loaded with fresh, crunchy vegetables, chickpeas, and kalamata olives in a lemon dressing. All these refreshing summer flavors taste like summer in a bowl.

When the weather starts to warm, I crave light summer salads. Since I love pasta but want to keep it light, I made a Greek orzo salad recipe with a Mediterranean flair today. Greek orzo pasta salad is loaded with fresh, crunchy vegetables that taste like summer in a bowl.

What is Orzo Pasta?

Orzo looks like rice, but it’s actually rice-shaped pasta. Although traditional orzo is not gluten-free, gluten-free orzo is Currently available and works well with this recipe. For example, Delallo makes a gluten-free, corn and rice orzo, which is fabulous. For this Greek orzo salad recipe, though, I used regular orzo, since that’s what I found during the pandemic.

Unlike other pastas, orzo cooks incredibly quickly, so most of the work in this salad is chopping the vegetables and preparing the quick and easy dressing.

How to cook orjo

1. Bring 4 cups water and 2 teaspoons salt to a rolling boil
2. Add 1 ½ cups or 8 ounces of cooked orzo, stir, and bring back to a boil.
3. Cover and simmer for 8 minutes
4. Remove the orzo from the heat, pour into a colander, and immediately run cold water through the colander.
5. Drain completely and transfer the cold orjo to a bowl

Salad ingredients

• Barley Pasta: Often mistaken for the shape of rice, orzo is actually a type of pasta. Orzo falls into the category of small pastas known as “pastina”. It is widely used in soups but is also great for salads.
• English Cucumber: English cucumbers have fewer seeds and are less watery than other cucumbers.
• Grape tomatoes: Grape tomatoes are sweet and bite-sized perfect for salads.
• Chickpeas: Chickpeas are crunchy and provide texture and protein to this Greek orzo salad recipe.
• Red Onion: Red onions are sweet and tangy and work well with other salad ingredients.
• Deal: I prefer fresh dill whenever possible. It brings freshness to the salad.
• Mint: Fresh mint adds even more flavor.
• Kalamata Olives: Kalamata olives are sour and salty and deepen the flavor of salads.
• Red Chilli Bell: Red bell peppers are sweet and beautiful in this salad.

Substitute salad ingredients

• Like orzo, ditalini is also considered “patina” or “small pasta”. This is my favorite substitute for orzo.
• Substitute Persian cucumber, which is similar to English cucumber.
• Cherry tomatoes work well in this Greek orzo salad recipe.
• White beans, such as navy or cannellini beans, are similar in size, texture and flavor to chickpeas.
• Try green onions or shallots as a substitute for red onions.
• The general rule is to use half the amount of fresh herbs when using dried herbs instead of fresh herbs.
• Black or green olives can replace Kalamata olives.
• Try baby bell peppers instead of red bell peppers.

Greek Orzo Salad Dressing Ingredients

• Lemon juice and zest: Fresh lemon juice is the highlight of this oil-free dressing.
• Red Wine Vinegar: Quite simply, red wine vinegar is fermented red wine. Bacteria and oxygen are added to red wine, turning it into acetic acid. This is what gives vinegar its tart taste. Red wine vinegar is then diluted to contain about 5% acetic acid and water.
• Water: In the absence of oil, water acts as an emulsifier.
• Dijon Mustard: Dijon mustard adds a sharp and tangy flavor to the dressing.
• Garlic Powder: Garlic powder adds a deep flavor.
• Stay red chilies: The main difference between chilli and red pepper flakes is the main ingredient. While red chili flakes are made using different types of red chilies, red chili flakes are made with only chilies. Red chili flakes can be stored in larger quantities and have a longer shelf life.
• Italian Spices: Italian seasoning is a blend of herbs present in Italian seasoning, usually basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram, along with other herbs and spices, sometimes making an appearance.
• Do the salt and pepper test: Add salt and pepper to meet personal preference.

Substitute Greek Orzo salad dressing ingredients

• Use bottled lemon juice when fresh juice is not available. To replace lemon zest, add ½ teaspoon more lemon juice.
• Choose balsamic vinegar or white wine vinegar instead of red wine vinegar.
• Stone-ground mustard is similar to Dijon mustard.
• Using minced garlic gives the same flavor you get with powdered garlic. When you cook minced garlic, it imparts a fresh and pleasant aroma that is not available with garlic powder.
• Red pepper resembles red pepper flakes; Be careful, though, because cayenne pepper is much spicier than red pepper flakes.
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning = ½ teaspoon dried oregano and ½ teaspoon dried basil. 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning = ½ teaspoon dried oregano, ¼ teaspoon each dried basil and thyme.

Recipe FAQs

advice

• Typically, this is 1 cup of orzo to 2 cups of water or broth. After cooking there is usually liquid left over which must be drained before use.
• If pasta ever needs to be cooked al dente, orzo makes the case because it turns mushy if overcooked. Most brands say to cook the pasta for 9 to 10 minutes, but adjust it to about seven minutes and keep checking until it’s just done.
• Covering for more than 15 minutes will cause the orzo pasta to freeze; So prepare the salad by soaking it in cold water without pre-cooking it.
• And for reference, one cup of dry orzo yields about two cups of cooked orzo.
• Contrary to popular myth, adding oil to water does not stop the pasta from sticking together. The pasta will be slippery, so your delicious sauce won’t stick. Instead, add salt to the pasta water when it comes to a boil and before adding the pasta.
• For another great dressing option, try citrus dressing for salads!

For a refreshing and quick meal, try this Greek Orzo Salad recipe!

Summer vegan salad to enjoy!

If you like this Greek orzo pasta salad recipe, give us a 5-star review and comment below. We want to hear from you!

📖 Recipe

Greek orzo salad

Cathy Carmichael

This Greek orzo pasta salad recipe is loaded with fresh, crunchy vegetables with an oil-free lemon dressing. All these refreshing summer flavors taste like summer in a bowl.

Q. Time 10 minutes minutes

cooking time 8 minutes minutes

total time 18 minutes minutes

course salad

cuisine Mediterranean

serving 6 serving

calories 297 kcal

material

1x2x3x

Oil-Free Greek Orzo Salad Dressing

instructions

Cooking orzo pasta

• Bring 4 cups water and 2 teaspoons salt to a rolling boil.

• Add 1 ½ cups or 8 ounces of raw orzo, stir and bring to a boil again.

• Cover and simmer for 8 minutes.

• Remove the orzo from the heat, pour into a colander, and immediately run cold water through the colander.

• Drain completely and transfer the cold orjo to a bowl.

Greek Orzo Pasta Salad Dressing

• Whisk the ingredients together.

• If eating immediately, pour over all the dressing and stir.

• If you plan to eat Greek orzo pasta later, add only half the dressing; Add the rest and stir just before serving.

• Salad will last for 4 days, refrigerated.

Comment

• Typically, this is 1 cup of orzo to 2 cups of water or broth. After cooking there is usually liquid left over which must be drained before use.
• If pasta ever needs to be cooked al dente, orzo makes the case because it turns mushy if overcooked. Most brands say to cook the pasta for 9 to 10 minutes, but adjust it to about seven minutes and keep checking until it’s just done.
• Covering for more than 15 minutes will cause the orzo pasta to freeze; So prepare the salad by soaking it in cold water without pre-cooking it.
• And for reference, one cup of dry orzo yields about two cups of cooked orzo.
• Contrary to popular myth, adding oil to water does not stop the pasta from sticking together. The pasta will be slippery, so your delicious sauce won’t stick. Instead, add salt to the pasta water when it comes to a boil and before adding the pasta.

nutrition

Calories: 297kcalSugars: 53gProtein: 12gFat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fats: 2gSodium: 206mgPotassium: 467mgFiber: 8gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 731IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 68mgIron: 3mg

Oh! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher and vegetarian and blogger. My entire blog is completely plant-based vegan. I truly believe that what we eat and how we live determines our health and the preservation of our planet! 🙂