Boy oh boy do I love this salad. If you’re looking for a great homemade lunch ideas, this is it. I have been making this Mediterranean Orzo Salad, or a variation of it for many years. It’s so easy and I usually just throw it together when I feel lazy and don’t want to spend time cooking. Since spring is in full bloom, it just feels right to eat as many salads as I possibly can. Everything tastes so refreshing and it just makes me happy.
Ingredients in Mediterranean Orzo Salad
I love making this salad for lunch. I usually have a ton of left overs, so I stretch it out for a coupe of days. We all have things to do and places to be (well, maybe not lately) but I love having the leftovers to not worry about cooking every day.
There are many variations of this salad and all of them are delicious, but there are a few ingredients that definitely makes this salad great.
First and most important in my opinion, feta cheese. Because.. do I need an explanation? It’s cheese. It really makes the salad have this amazing creaminess and you just really don’t want to skip it.
Second, the Kalamata olives. A lot of Mediterranean dishes use Kalamata olives, this is a staple in their diets. Don’t skip this ingredient, it really adds a wonderful saltiness and texture to the Mediterranean Orzo Salad.
I would also say red onions are not to be skipped, or substituted. I like the bitterness that they add to the dish and it’s also is quite the Mediterranean ingredient.
Not sure if this is just me, but I also prefer using the Kirby cucumbers over the regular long cucumbers you find at the grocery store. I find Kirby cucumbers to have much more flavor than the others and I love the freshness it adds to the salad. You can certainly still use the regular cucumbers, it’s just my preference, so I suggest it in my recipe.
There a few ingredients you can skip if you don’t have them on hand. Chickpeas is one of them. I like using chickpeas because it adds the extra fiber and protein to my diet. It helps you feel fuller, which is great especially if you are looking to lose or maintain weight.
You can also skip artichoke hearts if you’re not particularly fond of them. They add a nice texture to the salad, but ultimately, not a necessity.
Try these other lunch recipes.
EASY POKE BOWL WITH SPICY MAYO
QUINOA SALAD WITH SHRIMP AND ZESTY VINAIGRETTE
Mediterranean Orzo Salad
Equipment
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Large bowl
- Small food processor
Ingredients
For Mediterranean Orzo Salad:
- 1 cup orzo
- 2-3 oz Kalamata olives sliced
- 1 small red onion
- 1 can low sodium sweet corn
- 1 can chickpeas
- 2 medium tomatoes
- ½ cup quartered artichoke hearts
- 3 Kirby cucumbers or 1 small regular cucumber
- ¾ cup feta cheese
- Chives
- Dill dry or fresh
- Cilantro optional
- Salt & pepper
For vinaigrette:
- ¾ cup EVOO
- 2 tbsp spicy Dijon mustard
- 2 lemons juiced
- 4 garlic gloves
- 2 tbsp pine tree nuts
Instructions
Make the vinaigrette.
- Add all the ingredients into the food processor and pulse on medium until everything is blended and mixed well.
Make the Mediterranean Orzo Salad.
- Cook the orzo according to the package instructions. Once cooked, drain the water and rinse with cold water until orzo is cooled.
- Dice the onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, chives and cilantro.
- Drain the liquid from chickpeas and corn.
- Add the orzo, olives, onion, chickpeas, corn, artichoke hearts, cucumber, tomatoes, feta and the spices together in a bowl, top with the vinaigrette and mix everything together until well blended.
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