Orzo Salad With Feta Recipe

Our orzo salad with feta cheese is perfect for cookouts. It’s light-hearted yet carries a biblical amount of flavor. The combination of orzo, veggies, and cheese tossed with honey olive dressing will steal your heart.

Let’s learn more about this salad.

Is Orzo Salad Healthy?

Absolutely. Not only is orzo salad easy to make but it’s also nutritious.

Tomatoes, one of the main ingredients in our salad, are packed with vitamins and minerals.

Approximately 833 IU of vitamin A can be extracted from 3.5 oz of fresh tomatoes, making them a great source. Meeting the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of vitamin A may be beneficial to your eyesight and immune system. Besides, adding tomatoes to your daily routine also helps increase Lycopene intake. Lycopene with its long list of health benefits makes a great addition to a healthy eating pattern.

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For all the nutrients it provides, orzo salad only contains 214 calories. Moreover, our chefs made sure the amounts of sodium and saturated fat fall within healthy limits (at 285.4 mg and 2 g, respectively).

Ingredients You Will Need

In today’s recipe, all the ingredients are kept straightforward. With a quick ride to your local grocery, you’ll easily have a basket full of these goodies.

• Orzo: Orzo is the heart and soul of this Italian salad. Once cooked al dente, this rice-shaped pasta will perform as a perfect base for your toppings.
• Cherry tomatoes: Snappy on the outside and juicy on the inside, cherry tomatoes bring a burst of umami flavor to the dish.
• Cucumber: Cucumber is low in calories and high in water content, making it a must-have ingredient for your diet. With a crunchy texture and refreshing taste, cucumber makes this salad the perfect remedy for hot days.
• Olives: The tanginess and zestiness of olives make this salad stand out.
• Cheese: Feta cheese mixes a bold, rich, and slightly savory flavor into our salad.
• Herbs: Basil and parsley add the aromatics to our salad not to mention a pop of green.
• Onion and garlic: Sweet onion and slightly spicy garlic work harmoniously together in our salad.
• Dressing: Our salad is served with the all-time favorite honey olive oil dressing. Moreover, with different choices of honey, the dressing can underline a unique aftertaste (floral, fruity, woody, or smokey).

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Should You Rinse Orzo?

The answer is yes.

Unlike long-shaped pasta, orzo needs a rinsing step to prevent any bumps and lumps during tossing. Moreover, running orzo under the faucet also stops the cooking process. Hence, we don’t have to worry about mushy and overcooked pasta.

Now that everything is clear, it’s cooking time.

Tips for Making

Here are some tips to prepare Orzo salad to perfection:

• Don’t add too much salt: While cooking orzo, you shouldn’t season the water as the pasta tends to soak it up and become too salty.
• Cook the pasta a little past al dente: Pasta can dry out quickly. With this trick, it will stay tender after cooling. However, make sure you do not make the mistake of overcooking the pasta.
• Let time do the trick: Allowing your salad to rest in the fridge before serving will enhance the flavor of your dish.
• Options for vegan: If you are a vegetarian, you can substitute feta with a plant-based cheese. Though the taste of this cheese might be milder and less visible, our salad will stay just as rich.

How to Serve

Orzo salad with feta cheese makes a great lunch on its own. As a side dish, you can enjoy this salad with grilled chicken breasts, BBQ steaks, or toast.

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How to Store the Leftovers

If stored properly in an air-tight container, your salad should last up to 4 days in the fridge. However, we strongly suggest finishing up your leftovers on day one or two. The longer it stays there the less appealing it tastes.

How to Make Orzo Salad with Feta

5 from 1 vote

Our orzo salad with feta cheese is perfect for cookouts. It's light-hearted yet carries a biblical amount of flavor. The combination of orzo, veggies, and cheese tossed with honey olive dressing will steal your heart.

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• cook TIME 7 mins
• prep TIME 5 mins
• total TIME 12 mins

• COURSE Side Dish
• CUISINE Italian
• SERVINGS
  4

  servings
• CALORIES 219 kcal

INGREDIENTS

1x2x3x

• 4 oz orzo
• 4 oz cherry tomato (cut in half)
• 4 oz cucumber (cubed)
• 1 oz black olive (cut in half)
• 1 tbsp garlic (minced)
• 1 oz onion (minced)
• 1/4 cup parsley (chopped)
• 2 tbsp basil (chopped)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 oz feta cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

Image instructions

1

Cook 4 oz orzo in a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.

2

In a mixing bowl, combine cooked orzo, 4 oz halved cherry tomato, 4 oz cubed cucumber, 1 oz halved black olive, 1 tbsp minced garlic, 1 oz minced onion, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 2 tbsp chopped basil, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 2 tbsp lime juice, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp honey, and 1 oz feta cheese. Toss well.

3

Enjoy.

NUTRITION

Nutrition Facts

How to Make Orzo Salad with Feta

Amount Per Serving (1 serving)

Calories 219Calories from Fat 90

% Daily Value*

Fat 10g

15%

Saturated Fat 2g

13%

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 6g

Cholesterol 1mg

0%

Sodium 285mg

12%

Potassium 225mg

6%

Carbohydrate 28g

9%

Fiber 2g

8%

Sugar 4g

4%

Protein 6g

12%

Vitamin A 565IU

11%

Vitamin C 16mg

19%

Calcium 69mg

7%

Iron 2mg

11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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