Here is a recipe for Greek Pasta Salad- the perfect make-ahead salad for summertime picnics, BBQs, potlucks, and easy summer dinners. A hearty ratio of fresh vine ripe veggies and herbs, tender orzo pasta, and chickpeas tossed in the tastiest Greek Salad Dressing! Video.
If you surrender to the wind, you can ride it. ~ Toni Morrison
Summer is picking up the pace as it does here in the San Juan Islands of the PNW. Sometimes I feel like the sunny season is almost over, when truly it really is just beginning. There is a frenzied palpable energy of not wanting to miss out on any of the summer goodness! The warm season is short here. And there is so much to do! I am reminding myself that whatever I get to experience will be enough. There is a perfect amount of time to soak up summer. It gives me a sense of ease to say that. I am choosing (hopefully, I will remember to remind myself often) to just flow with it all and revel in the beauty of the simple things.
Which brings us to picnics, BBQs, and potlucks! Such a gift to share time and meals with our community again. I am always looking for good potluck dishes to share at gatherings. This Greek Pasta Salad is great to include in the potluck repertoire!
Greek Pasta Salad is filled with fresh crunchy veggies and zesty herbs with just enough pasta to complement and soak up the delicious Greek Salad Dressing. I love how orzo pasta doesn’t take up a lot of space in the salad. It just adds to it without stealing the show. You can add feta or keep it vegan.
Greek Pasta Salad | 60-second Video
Many things to love about this Greek Pasta Salad!
- The ingredients are easily obtained and it is fairly quick to make!
- It can be made ahead of time.
- It is packed with summer seasonal veggies.
- It is so deliciously good and will satisfy most palates.
- It is perfect for sharing!
Greek Pasta Salad Ingredients
- orzo pasta
- red onion
- red bell pepper (or 1/2 red, 1/2 green)
- fresh oregano
- canned chickpeas
- kalamata olives
- cucumbers
- cherry tomatoes
- fresh parsley (optional basil and mint)
- feta cheese (sheep’s feta is the best!), optional
How to make Greek Pasta Salad
Step 1: Get the pasta cooking
Orzo takes about 6 minutes in boiling water. Salting the cooking water will heighten the flavor immensely!
Step 2: Make the dressing
We make the Greek Salad Dressing right off the bat. Using dried oregano gives a more zesty punch to the dressing.
Greek Salad Dressing Ingredients:
- red wine vinegar
- fresh lemon juice
- dijon mustard
- garlic
- dried oregano
- salt
- black pepper
- olive oil
This is a great dressing to double up on. You’ll be happy to see it in your fridge. It is so very versatile! Not only great for pasta salads, but also perfect for green and vegetable salads and as a marinade for chicken. It keeps for at least 2 weeks refrigerated.
Step 3: Chop the veggies
We marinate the diced onions in the vinaigrette first to mellow them and follow with the veggies as we chop them. Bell peppers, chickpeas and olives all get a jump on soaking up flavor from the dressing before adding the pasta.
Step 4: Mix it all together
Add in cooked orzo pasta, more dressing and cubed feta cheese (if using). Mix to combine.
Step 5: Adjust the flavor
Taste and adjust flavor adding more dressing, salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon if needed.
Add fresh basil and mint just before serving.
Hope you enjoy this delicious Greek Pasta Salad!
Other summer salads you may enjoy!
- Classic Greek Salad
- Caprese Pasta Salad
- Summer Pasta Salad with Cilantro Pesto
- Pasta Primavera
- Lemon Basil Orzo Salad
- Farmers Market Pasta Salad
- Middle Eastern Chickpea Salad (Balela Salad)
- Mediterranean Farro Salad w/ Marinated Zucchini and Chickpeas
- Lemony Chickpea Quinoa Salad
- 35 Easy Delicious Potluck Ideas
Greek Pasta Salad
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 minutes
- Total Time: 31 minutes
- Yield: 8 cups 1x
- Category: Pasta Salad, Salad
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: Mediteranean
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This healthy Greek Pasta Salad is the perfect make-ahead pasta salad for summertime picnics, BBQs, potlucks, and easy dinners. A hearty ratio of fresh veggies combined with tender orzo pasta, chickpeas tossed in the tastiest Greek salad dressing.
Ingredients
Greek Pasta Salad
- 1 1/2 cups, 9-10 oz, orzo pasta uncooked
- 1/4 red onion, about 1/3 cup, diced small
- 1 red bell pepper (or 1/2 red, 1/2 green), chopped small
- 2 tablespoons fresh oregano or 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 15 oz can chickpeas, 1 1/2 cups, drained
- 1/3 cup kalamata olives, sliced
- 2 cups thin skinned cucumber, chopped small
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup basil and/or mint for garnish if desired
- 6–8 oz feta cheese (sheep’s feta is the best!), optional
Greek Salad Dressing:
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Cook the orzo pasta according to the package directions in salted water. Drain and rinse with cool water and set aside.
- Make the dressing by whisking together red wine vinegar, lemon juice, dijon mustard, garlic, dried oregano, salt, and black pepper. Drizzle in olive oil, whisking all the while to emulsify.
- Add diced red onions and a 1/2 cup of the vinaigrette to a large bowl. Allowing them to marinate while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
- Add bell peppers next along with oregano, chickpeas, and kalamata olives.
- Add cucumbers, tomatoes and parsley. Toss altogether. Add in cooked orzo pasta, 1/4 cup more of dressing and cubed feta cheese (if using). Gently mix.
- Taste and adjust flavor adding more dressing, salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon if needed.
Toss with basil and mint just before serving.
Notes
Add red pepper flakes if desired.
Salad will keep up to 4 days in the fridge.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 290
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 698.4 mg
- Fat: 17.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 26.9 g
- Fiber: 4.8 g
- Protein: 9 g
- Cholesterol: 18.9 mg
Wow, this is so tasty! I usually make tons of Greek salad especially during summer, but never thought of adding orzo! Everything goes together so well, this is my new favourite, thank you!
So happy you like it Kat!
Made this last night – Fab, as usual from your website.
We’re so happy you gave this a go Eric!
Made this last night – gorgeous
Thank you.
Great to hear!
Easy & delicious! They were out of Orzo pasta at the store and so I used Farro instead as I had that at home, very good but next time I want to try it with orzo, the texture will be different. I made it to take for my work lunches this weeks 👍
The Farro sounds good and healthy! Love that you are nurturing yourself with lunches for the week.
Hi Sylvia,
I just wondering do you measure the 1 1/2 cups orzo pasta dry and cook it or is this 1 1/2 cooked? Thank you 🙂
1 1/2 cups uncooked orzo pasta.
This was my first time making pasta salad and it turned out so good! I love Greek food so this recipe was perfect.
We are so happy you liked this one Kayla!
Made this last night for dinner and it was delicious! Looking forward to the leftovers as the ingredients and dressing will have had time to “get to know one another”.
Thanks Art, yes, always better with a little time. 😉
The perfect summer salad. So easy even with making the dressing—-which is what I like to do! I also love the sheep feta! 2 thumbs up!
So glad you enjoyed Josie!
Yum. I love pasta salads as they’re so versatile and forgiving. I used extra chickpeas I had frozen a few weeks ago, and added some baby artichoke hearts. No cherry tomatoes yet, but I just rehydrated some of the dried ones from years gone by. No orzo, but we had bowtie pasta, and my husband wants meat so he added cooked ground turkey (which I would have rather left out, but he helped so I’m not going to mess with that arrangement! Thanks!
Ha Ha, I hear you Janet! Sounds delicious!
Tonia,
Thank you for a delicious salad. I was unable to go to Greece this year, the third time I have missed my annual journey, but enjoying this salad tonight with a steamed artichoke, Moroccan meatballs and Feasting at Home’s Vegan Hollandaise really helped.
Being gluten intolerant, I substituted quinoa, rice fusilli for the orzo and black eyed peas instead of chick peas. I look forward to serving the leftovers with barbequed lamb chops tomorrow night.
Hi Martie, I am so glad you enjoyed this and that it soothed your travel longings if only a little bit. I love all your adjustments, yummy!
Um, I posted an earlier question about leftover storage, but re-read the recipe and it did address that. Sorry, ignore my previous question.
I love everything in your salad and make a similar one, but I have never added orzo to it. Is this a salad that can be eaten the next day or two?
Of course! Pasta salads are often even better the next day after the dressing has soaked in to every component.
Lovely and bright pasta salad! I used charred corn instead of beans and added some almonds for crunch. My husband and I enjoyed it with bbq sausages.
Yum! That sounds so good!
Delicious! My new go-to for bringing a dish to summer parties!
Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed!
Loved it and very simple to make
Can I make this a day ahead? I have a party of 15 and I’m trying to prep as much as I can in advance. Maybe combine everything but the tomatoes?
That should work great!
This recipe is so delicious! Originally made it to use up neglected orzo I had sitting in my kitchen, but now I had to go buy more orzo so I can make again!
Ha! Awesome, so glad you enjoyed!
Delicious and flavorful! Love the bean component.
Great to hear Lisa!
Made this salad for a pool part for my ladies book club. It was light, refreshing and everyone loved it. I omitted the chick peas and added a bit more feta and olives. The herbs really come through! A keeper for sure.
Great to hear Alyce!
Delicious summer salad. This is a great way to use fresh herbs from the garden. It makes a large quantity, so if it’s just for two you may want to halve the recipe.
Thanks Stephanie!
This is phenomenal and perfect for this PNW heat wave! Great tips on adding dressing to the onions to marinate while chopping the rest of the ingredients. Thank you for sharing!
Great to hear!
Hi Slyvia,
I altered the cheickpeas with lentils, and it actually worked!
Yum, sounds interesting!
My teenage boys surprised me and made this for dinner tonight so we wouldn’t have to cook in this heat wave! The only change they did was add kidney beans, instead of garbanzo beans, because we made a recipe with garbanzo beans a couple days ago. Wow! Absolutely delicious! They used all the fresh herbs and all the veggies. I loved teaching my boys how to cook well so we can eat well. They love to make your vegetarian meals! Thank you for all your excellent recipes!
Oh I love that! It is so gratifying to be cooked for by your kids! So happy to hear you are enjoying the recipes.
Just made this, had everything in, absolutely delicious! Marinating the onions made them mild and delicious, great tip!
Wonderful to hear!
Mmmm. I am going to make this tonight!
Great! Hope you like it!