Orzo Pasta Salad

There’s a secret to making the most refreshing summertime orzo pasta salad! My secret ingredient is freshly squeezed orange juice. The orange juice gives this salad the lightest most refreshing taste with a hint of sweetness. I encourage you to also add orange zest if you want more citrus in this dish.

This salad has crunch from the veggies, creaminess from the feta, and zest from the orange juice. It is the perfect summer dish.

Whenever I serve this salad on the table I get bombarded with questions on how to make it. Now that you know my secret, please give it a try this summer when you’re hosting or bring it along if you’re being hosted. I promise, this salad will be first to disappear from the table. This recipe is the perfect side for meal-prep and you can make it ahead of time.

Orzo pasta salad by the modern nonna orzo pasta salad

Orzo Pasta Salad

Themodernnonnathemodernnonna
This salad has crunch from the veggies, creaminess from the feta, and zest from the orange juice. It is the perfect summer dish.
4.75 from 4 votes
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 8 mins
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • one small pack of orzo (340 grams) boiled to al-dente in salted water
  • ¼ cup of olive oil, to taste to taste
  • ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 3 finely diced mini cucumbers
  • 2 finely diced tomatoes
  • ½ finely diced bell pepper, to taste to taste
  • ½ of a finely diced red onion I soaked mine in water for 20 minutes to make it milder
  • ½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley to taste
  • 1 tablespoon dry oregano
  • salt to taste
  • crumbled feta measure with your heart
  • olives are optional* I didn’t have any on hand

Instructions
 

  • Boil the orzo pasta in boiling salted water as per the package directions.
  • Strain it and let it cool completely. Add the olive oil, orange juice, finely chopped veggies, seasoning and fresh good quality feta which you measure with your heart.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

You can absolutely use any small pastina or even couscous as well.
This salad will work beautifully with quinoa too.
Feel free to measure everything with your heart and taste and adjust as you go.
The boiling water should be as salty as the sea as it’s your only chance to flavor the orzo.
Any herbs of choice can be used if you don’t like parsley.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
If you love one of my recipes, please leave a review. It would mean so much to me if you did. Thank you for being here and bringing me into your kitchen.

8 Responses

  1. 5 stars
    So refreshing and east to make! This is going to be a staple in my house! Thank you!

  2. 4 stars
    I made this as a side dish for dinner. I opted for no parsley as I don’t care for it. I used the tablespoon of oregano but for my taste it was too much and too bitter. I’ll probably use less next time. I also used 1/8 tsp of fresh thyme, and did put a handful of Callamata olives in mine. Overall it was very tasty and refreshing. I’ll probably just tweak it a little differently next time.

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