This easy Mediterranean orzo pasta salad with crunchy vegetables, spinach, briny olives, and feta cheese is the perfect meal-prepped meal or flavorful pasta salad side.
I LOVE any recipe that shines with Mediterranean flavors, and this orzo pasta salad is just one example of that fact. Because if you’ve been a reader here for a while, or perused my recipe archives, you’ll see that Mediterranean recipes are very well represented.
I just can’t get enough, because when I make this pasta salad, I literally eat it all week long. This feta-laden orzo salad can be served as a meatless main or a hearty side, and it’s a VERY good one to add to the ever-growing list.
This Mediterranean orzo salad is a little bit Greek, a little bit Italian, and every bit delicious.
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
- When it comes to feta cheese, always choose the block feta instead of crumbles, which can taste more chalky and dry.
- For the perfect bite every time, dice the veggies into bite-sized pieces so you can get a little of everything on your fork.
- If possible, make this orzo salad the night before to give the flavors time to meld and reach peak levels of delicious.
What’s in This Recipe?
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Orzo pasta — Looks like long-grain rice, but it’s actually pasta! Always choose a high quality pasta (Italian-made DeLallo is my favorite).
- Veggies — I loaded up this salad with Mediterranean vegetables like red bell pepper, cucumber, spinach, and red onion, but you can mix and match whatever is in your produce drawer.
- Castelvetrano green olives — These mild, buttery olives from Sicily are perfectly poppable on their own but also work beautifully in salads.
- Kalamata olives — Bold, briny, and fruity, these Greek olives pack in lots of flavor yet have a similar buttery texture to the Castelvetrano olives. To make things easier, choose pitted olives.
- Feta cheese — Less than a cup of crumbled feta adds just the right amount of creamy, salty texture to the hearty orzo salad.
- Dressing — The pasta salad dressing gets a dose of Mediterranean flavor thanks to a combination of lemon juice, dried oregano, olive oil, and canola oil. The canola oil is milder than olive oil so the combo makes a mellower dressing that flavors but doesn’t take over.
Ingredient Substitutions
You can swap other Mediterranean-inspired ingredients for those listed above, like:
- Artichoke hearts
- Tomatoes or sun-dried tomatoes
- Green peppers or roasted peppers
- Avocado
- Grilled eggplant
- Garbanzo or cannellini beans
- Arugula
- Dried basil or Italian seasoning
How to Make Mediterranean Orzo Salad
- Cook the orzo pasta. Be sure to cook the orzo just until al denté as it will absorb the dressing as it sits, and you don’t want it to become mushy. Rinse and drain the pasta and make sure it’s cool before adding the other ingredients.
- Add the veggies and feta. Once the orzo has cooled, add to a large serving bowl along with the vegetables.
Heidi’s Tip: Chop the vegetables in same bite-size pieces so the flavors are equally enjoyed with each forkful. Roughly tear the baby spinach leaves in big pieces for the best green, leafy bites.
- Whisk together the dressing. There isn’t much to this dressing except for the glorious fact that It’s easy to make. But, if you have my Greek salad dressing in the fridge, feel free to use it instead.
- Chill. Toss the orzo salad with the dressing to coat every nook and cranny in the lemon vinaigrette. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to give the flavors time to meld and for the orzo to soak up some of the dressing.
FAQs
Go for it! If you don’t want to make the quick, whisk-together vinaigrette, try substituting it with Greek or Italian dressing. Homemade and store-bought both work.
To make this a main dish salad, top it with Greek marinated chicken, grilled shrimp, grilled balsamic chicken, or pan-seared salmon.
This dish is easy to make gluten-free by using your favorite brand of gluten-free orzo pasta. Read the instructions to see how long the orzo must be cooked (aim for a chewy al dente texture).
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
All of the ingredients in this pasta salad hold up well and develop even more flavor over time, making it a great pasta salad recipe to make ahead of time for meal prep, picnics, bbqs and parties.
This pasta salad can be made the day before serving and will last in the refrigerator for up to one week.
What to Serve with Mediterranean Orzo Pasta Salad
- Mediterranean Grilled Pork Chops
- Chicken Gyros With Tzatziki Sauce
- Grilled Balsamic Chicken With Olive Tapenade
- Greek Chicken Kebabs
- Pork Souvlaki With Lemon Rice
- Caprese Chicken
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a 
rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Mediterranean Orzo Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Pasta Salad:
- 16 ounces orzo
- 3 cups baby spinach leaves , gently torn into large pieces
- 1 ½ chopped red bell pepper , about one red bell pepper
- 1 cup cucumber , diced and seeded, about one medium
- ¾ cup red onion , diced
- 5 ounces Castelvetrano green olives , drained and halved
- 5 ounces Kalamata pitted olives , drained and halved
- 7 ounces feta cheese
Dressing:
- ½ cup canola oil
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 lemon , juiced
- 1 ½ teaspoons oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil, season with salt, and cook the orzo for 10 minutes. Drain, rinse, and set aside to cool.
- Transfer the cooled orzo to a large mixing bowl. Add the spinach, chopped vegetables, and olives, then crumble half of the feta cheese over the pasta.
- In a small bowl, whisk the canola oil, olive oil, lemon juice, oregano and salt and pepper until mixed. Pour the vinaigrette over the pasta mixture and gently fold until the pasta and veggies are coated. Taste for seasoning and top with the remaining feta cheese.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
More Mediterranean-Inspired Pasta Salads
- Greek Pasta Salad
- Kale Caesar Pasta Salad
- Creamy Tuscan Pasta Salad
- Easy Italian Spaghetti Salad
- Nicoise Pasta Salad
- Asparagus Orzo Salad
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Cheryl
All I will say is yummmmmm! One of my top favorites
Pam
I made this wonderful salad exactly as written the first time and it was delicious. The second time I substituted quite a bit with what I had handy because I hate going to the store once I’m home and comfy. I swapped a really good red wine vinegar for the lemon juice; basil for the oregano; pecorino-reggiano for the feta, then threw in a few roasted red pepper strips and it was great. Everyone loved it and I handed out your original recipe and website! The next day I added little cubes of salami, more basil and some mozzarella pearls and it made a refreshing and delicious lunch. Thanks so much!
So glad you enjoyed it Pam, and that you swapped in a few ingredients to switch it up too. Thanks for the comment!
Regena Moore
Perfect recipe! We made this last week for dinner by the pool with friends and it was a hit. We had enough leftover for the remainder of the week and it kept really well. This will be a keeper for sure!
Thanks for making and sharing it Regena, and glad you could eat it through the week for less cooking :)
Jenny
Sooooo good! I added garbanzo beans for protein and used only olive oil because I love the flavor.
Great idea to add the garbanzo beans. I love ’em too.
Patty Irick
Not a fan of feta cheese. What other kind would work in this recipe. Sounds relish !
Patti, try goat cheese or skip the cheese.
Phyllis Dubuque
Just made this. Wonderful! Will make again!
Phyllis
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Thank you Phyllis!
Pat DaShiell
Added extra lemon juice , artichoke hearts and crushed garlic. Turned out delicious. Probably will taste even better tomorrow!
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Thanks fo rthe tip!
Sarah
I thought it came out pretty good but needed extra flavor as it was a little bland. I drizzled a little Italian dressing on top and mixed it up with the olive oil dressing. It was even better that way!
Roxie
I too added a little Italian dressing, along with the recipes dressing. I really enjoyed this said and will make again! Thanks for the recipe and Sarah, thanks for the too!
Vasyl Green
So so SOOOO delicious and simple! And you’re right; it tastes even better the day after!
So glad you liked it too Vasyl :) and yes, like us, it gets better with age :)
sophy
I love everything Mediterranean! This pasta salad looks impressive with all the beautiful and colourful ingredients in it. It’s your perfect Sunday brunch dish along with a glass of wine.