Best Mediterranean Orzo Salad Recipes

MEDITERRANEAN ORZO SALAD

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook orzo in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until tender yet firm to the bite, about 9 minutes. Drain well. Rinse with cold water and drain well again.
• Combine orzo, cherry tomatoes, red onion, cucumber, olives, and Asiago cheese in a large bowl.
• Whisk garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl to make the vinaigrette. Drizzle over the orzo mixture and toss lightly to combine. Add basil and parsley and mix well. Let sit for 20 minutes for flavors to blend, stirring occasionally.

MEDITERRANEAN SHRIMP ORZO SALAD

Steps:

• Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain; rinse with cold water and drain well., In a large bowl, combine orzo, shrimp, vegetables, olives and herbs. Add vinaigrette; toss to coat. Refrigerate, covered, until serving.

MEDITERRANEAN ORZO CHICKEN SALAD

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta; rinse with cold water and drain well., In a large bowl, combine pasta, chicken, tomatoes, cheese, olives and onion. In a small bowl, whisk remaining ingredients until blended. Drizzle over salad; toss to coat.

EASY MEDITERRANEAN ORZO SALAD

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook orzo in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain well.
• Toss orzo with lemon-infused olive oil. Add olives, artichoke hearts, chickpeas, roasted red peppers, pine nuts, and ricotta salata. Toss to combine. Refrigerate to chill and allow flavors to build.

MEDITERRANEAN CHICKEN AND ORZO SALAD IN RED PEPPER CUPS

Steps:

• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the orzo, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink, transfer to a bowl, and let cool in the refrigerator.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, oregano, basil, onion powder, salt, and pepper. In a large bowl, stir together the cooked orzo, tomatoes, olives, feta cheese, and chicken breast meat until thoroughly combined. Pour the dressing over the orzo mixture, lightly mix to coat all ingredients with dressing, and spoon into the red pepper halves. Garnish each serving with an oregano sprig.

MEDITERRANEAN ORZO SPINACH SALAD

Steps:

• Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add orzo pasta, cook for 5 minutes, or until al dente. Drain.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Place the lamb and garlic in the skillet. Season lamb with coriander, salt, and pepper. Cook until evenly browned. Remove from heat, and drain.
• In a large bowl, mix the spinach, tomatoes, lemon juice and zest, mint, parsley, green onions, and remaining olive oil. Toss with the orzo, lamb, and feta cheese to serve.

MEDITERRANEAN CHICKEN AND ORZO SALAD WITH SUN-DRIED TOMATOES AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the orzo according to the package directions. Drain well.
• In a large bowl, combine the orzo with the chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, olives, and pine nuts.
• To make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.
• Divide the greens equally among four to six plates and serve the chicken and orzo salad on top.

MEDITERRANEAN ORZO SALAD

Steps:

• Make the dressing: Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and a pinch each of salt and pepper in a jar. Shake well.
• Make the salad: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the orzo and cook as the label directs. Drain and let cool.
• Combine the orzo, chickpeas, red and yellow tomatoes, olives, feta, parsley and red onion in a large mixing bowl and pour the dressing over the top; stir to combine. Taste and add salt and pepper, if needed. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. Top with more feta and parsley.

MEDITERRANEAN-STYLE ORZO SALAD WITH CORN

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the orzo and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 7 minutes, or until tender. Drain well and transfer to a large serving bowl.
• Add the corn, red pepper, olives and scallions and toss well. Add the basil, capers, parsley, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and gently toss. (The salad can be made about 2 hours ahead of time. Cover and refrigerate until 30 minutes before serving.) Decorate the salad with the edible flowers right before serving.

MEDITERRANEAN EGGPLANT STEAKS AND ORZO SALAD WITH WALNUTS, OREGANO AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• Heat grill pan to medium-high. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place a pot of water on stove to boil for pasta. Salt water and cook orzo to al dente.
• Brush the eggplant steaks lightly with extra-virgin olive oil and season liberally on both sides with salt and pepper. Grill 3 to 4 minutes for small eggplant and 4 to 6 minutes for large eggplant, turning occasionally, until the steaks begin to become tender but are not fully cooked.
• While eggplant cooks, defrost spinach in microwave on defrost setting, 7 to 8 minutes. Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in a skillet and add roasted peppers and garlic. Squeeze the spinach dry and separate as you add it to the skillet. Season the spinach with salt and pepper and heat through. Stir in olives and remove from heat. Place the eggplants on baking sheets. Top each steak with a few forkfuls of spinach mixture. Spread a few rounded spoonfuls of hummus evenly across the steaks on top of the spinach, covering it completely in a thin layer. Toss the bread crumbs with 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and parsley. Divide the bread crumbs and scatter them over the steaks on top of the hummus. Bake to brown bread crumbs, 5 minutes or so.
• Toast walnuts while you cut up the tomatoes and place in a bowl. Cool nuts slightly, chop and add to tomatoes. Add the zest and juice of a lemon, 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, feta and oregano. Drain pasta, toss with tomato mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve 2 steaks per person with orzo alongside.

MEDITERRANEAN ORZO SALAD WITH FETA VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Cook the orzo according to package directions. Drain; rinse with cold water.
• Combine orzo, spinach, and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl.
• Drain artichokes, reserving marinade.
• Coarsely chop artichokes, and add them along with the reserved marinade and 1/2 cup of feta cheese to orzo mixture, tossing gently to coat.
• Sprinkle each serving with remaining feta cheese.

MEDITERRANEAN ORZO SALAD WITH FETA VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Cook the orzo according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain; rinse with cold water. Combine orzo, spinach, and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl. Drain artichokes, reserving marinade. Coarsely chop artichokes, and add artichokes, reserved marinade, and 1/2 cup feta cheese to orzo mixture, tossing gently to coat. Sprinkle each serving with remaining feta cheese. Nutritional Information Calories:338 (29% from fat) Fat:11g (sat 3.8g,mono 2.7g,poly 0.5g) Protein:11.9g

MEDITERRANEAN-STYLE ORZO PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Cook orzo as directed on package, omitting salt; drain. Place in large bowl.
• Whisk dressing, basil and lemon juice until blended. Add to orzo with remaining ingredients; mix lightly.
• Refrigerate 1 hour.

MEDITERRANEAN ORZO SALAD WITH FETA

Steps:

• Cook the pasta according to instructions on package. Drain and rinse under cool water.
• Add orzo to spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, red onion, kalamata olives, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
• Drain the artichoke hearts, but keep the marinade for later.
• Coarsely chop artichoke hearts and add to orzo.
• Add marinade and feta cheese.
• Mix well.
• Add more salt if needed.

MEDITERRANEAN ORZO SALAD WITH FETA & PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Cook orzo in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain well in colander - do not rinse. While pasta is cooking, remove zest from lemon with micro-plane being careful not to grate any of the bitter white pith, set aside. Juice lemons. In a large bowl, whisk together 6 tablespoons of the lemon juice and the olive oil. Add HOT, drained orzo to lemon juice/olive oil mixture, mix well. Add salt & freshly ground black pepper. Set aside until cooled to room temperature, stirring often. Meanwhile, toast pine nuts in a dry skillet over low heat until uniformly browned, empty onto a plate or cutting board to cool. Slice green onions, halve cherry tomatoes, pit and quarter olives, crumble feta cheese, and chop basil. When orzo is completely cooled, mix in green onions, cherry tomatoes, olives, feta cheese, pine nuts, basil and lemon zest. Season to taste with reserved 3 or 4 tablespoons lemon juice and additional salt & pepper. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

MEDITERRANEAN ORZO SALAD

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Prepare the pasta according to package instructions.
• In a colander, drain the cooked pasta, then rinse with cold water and drain well. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, olives, feta cheese and the reserved pasta. Add the dressing and toss well to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

MEDITERRANEAN ORZO SALAD

Steps:

• Cook orzo according to package directions, omitting salt. Rinse with cold water and drain well.
• Mix orzo, bell pepper, cheese, olives and chopped fresh basil in a large bowl. (If using dried basil, add to dressing.).
• Whisk together salad dressing & seasoning mix, oil, vinegar and sugar.
• Stir dressing into orzo mixture.
• Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
• Garnish with basil leaves before serving, if desired.

MEDITERRANEAN ORZO SALAD

Steps:

• Cook orzo in boiling water until al dente (about 8 minutes). Drain and place in large bowl. Add garlic, capers, olives and anchovies (if using) to orzo and stir to distribute evenly. Follow by adding in chopped herbs and lemon zest and stir to combine. Add bell pepper and tomatoes and gently stir everything together. In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and olive oil and whisk together. Pour over orzo, season with salt and pepper and stir everything together. Serve chilled or at room temperature.