Orzo Pasta Salad with Garden Vegetables and Lemon Vinaigrette
Here’s an orzo pasta salad you’ll reach for all year long from cozy weeknight dinners to picnics and potlucks. Tender orzo, crisp vegetables, feta cheese, and a bright lemon vinaigrette come together in a fresh, flavorful dish that’s easy to make ahead!
This orzo salad has become a back-pocket recipe for me, not only because it’s easy to make and easy to use up vegetables you have on hand, but because we all look forward to it. With crisp vegetables, creamy feta, and a bright lemon vinaigrette, it’s fresh enough for warm weather meals yet hearty enough to pair with almost anything all year long.
I especially love making it with chickpea orzo for a little extra protein, but traditional orzo works just as well. It’s colorful, fresh, and full of texture, and the flavors only get better after a little time in the refrigerator. Whether you serve it alongside grilled chicken, burgers, or enjoy it as a light lunch, this is one of those dependable recipes you’ll be happy to have in your collection.
Recipe Variations
- Use seasonal vegetables. In early summer, two kinds of peas were in season, as well as colorful peppers. Other times of the year I use carrots and broccoli. I also like to steam cut asparagus or green beans and add them with onions and peppers.
- Serve on different greens. I always serve this on greens and use the tender lettuce pictured in early summer, massaged kale in late summer, spinach in fall and spring, and cabbage in the winter.
- Swap the cheese. Queso fresco, shredded parmesan, or a grated sharp cheddar all add wonderfully different flavor.
- Add a cooked protein. Crumble in bacon, add rotisserie chicken, throw in precooked shrimp, or use leftover pulled pork. Basically any leftover protein works here.
- Change out the pasta. Listen, this is called an orzo pasta salad, but we all know that any type of pasta will work in this same recipe, right? It will! Use whatever you have on hand.
Why Protein Pasta?
I know there’s starting to be a “protein overload” and jokes abound about manufacturers adding protein to everything from popcorn to candy. But here’s the thing with regular pasta: it’s a lot of carbs with little other nutritional value and so I started to avoid it in our regular menus.
Adding protein AND fiber to pasta by using beans (and other things like pea protein or lentil flour) opened up the world of quick and easy pasta meals to me again. For example, 1 cup of this salad will provide 15 grams of protein between the pasta, cheese, and vegetables.
Because of this, I’m all for finding protein-rich pasta that you enjoy. We’ve tried a lot to narrow down what we like and chickpea pasta like the orzo brand shown above, and the Banza brand are our go-to for gluten free options. For a non-gluten free option, we’ve found this wheat-based protein pasta to be almost indistinguishable from regular for most people.
Protein Orzo Pasta?? There are not a lot of orzo protein pastas around – I just found one, made only of chickpeas, to try for this recipe. We were pleasantly surprised at how well this worked! While the shape is more square, the texture reminded us of regular orzo.
How to Make Orzo Pasta Salad
While the pasta is cooking, slice fresh snap peas and prep any other veggies you’re using.
Add the vegetables to a large bowl (large enough to toss with the dressing later) as you prepare them.
Mix up the dressing (the lemon vinaigrette I always make – so easy and good!). Drain the pasta, add to the veggies in the bowl and toss with enough of the dressing to coat everything well.
Add the crumbled feta cheese and gently toss to incorporate, but not so much that it breaks up the cheese too much.
Serve the salad on a bed of lettuce, spinach, or massaged kale and sprinkle with any chopped fresh herb you have. Chives are a favorite around here.
I hope you enjoy this orzo pasta salad and if you make it, be sure to leave a rating and review so I know how you liked it!
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Garden Vegetable Orzo Pasta Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
Equipment
- 3-qt or larger saucepan
- large bowl for mixing and/or serving
Ingredients
- 10 oz package of orzo pasta bonus points for healthy 1-ingredient chickpea pasta like this
- 1 large sweet pepper chopped (to equal about 1 cup)
- 1 medium sweet onion chopped
- 1 cup of sliced snap or snow peas
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese or to taste (also good with parmesan, grated sharp cheddar, or other strong cheese)
- lettuce or spinach for serving optional
- chives or parsley for garnish optional
Lemon Vinaigrette
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice (preferably fresh)
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried herbs optional (basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano or a mix like Italian)*
- 1/2 teaspoon honey or maple syrup, optional
Instructions
- Start water (with a tablespoon of salt added) boiling in a 3-quart or larger pot and when boiling add orzo and cook according to package directions just until al dente (still firm to the bite).
- Prepare the vegetables and add them to a large bowl as they are chopped and sliced.
- Make the lemon vinaigrette by adding all the ingredients to a jar or glass measuring cup and whisking well.
- When the orzo is done, drain well and rinse with cold water to cool a bit. Add to the bowl with the vegetables. Pour some of the dressing over and stir until everything is coated.
- Stir in the crumbeled feta and add more dressing as needed to taste.
- Serve as is or layer on top of a bed of lettuce sprinkled with chopped fresh herbs.
Notes
Nutrition
More Easy Pasta Recipes
- Greek Style Pasta Salad with Green Beans & Tomatoes
- Quick Summer Pasta Salad with Tomatoes
- One Pot Italian Pasta with Sausage & Spinach
