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Summer Orzo Pasta Salad

Categories Easy Recipes, Healthy Recipes, Main Course, Salad, Side Dish

This Summer Orzo Pasta Salad is delicious and as the name indicates, it’s perfect for summer! It’s light and fresh with a simple and delicious lemon and olive oil vinaigrette that takes 1 minute to mix together.

I could eat this salad on repeat all summer long. I grew up eating pasta salads during the summer and I still love them as a grown woman! They don’t heat up the kitchen when it’s already hot, they are easy to make and the leftovers taste great!

This salad has chopped cucumber, tomatoes, I love using red and gold cherry tomatoes, shallots, feta, arugula and fresh basil. It’s such a yummy combo!

The orzo is the perfect pasta for this salad because it effortlessly absorbs the dressing and lets the flavors from the vegetables, herbs, lemon vinaigrette and feta shine.

This summer orzo pasta salad takes about 15 minutes to make prep to finish! It’s quick and easy and can be made ahead of time too. If you are making a day in advance just hold off on adding the arugula until right before serving so then it keeps it’s crispness and doesn’t get wilty at all.

Here’s what you need to make this summer orzo pasta salad:

Serves 4

  • 8 ounces orzo pasta – cooked according to package directions then rinsed in cold water
  • 1 shallot – minced
  • 1 cucumber – peeled and chopped
  • 1 cup tomatoes – red and gold cherry tomatoes are my favorite but any will work, sliced into bite size pieces
  • 2 handfuls arugula
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil – roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup feta – crumbed

Lemon vinaigrette:

  • 1 lemon juiced or 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

  1. Cook orzo according to package directions, drain pasta, rinse in cold water and let it dry off for a minute while you prepare the rest of the salad.
  2. In a large bowl, add shallots, cucumber, tomatoes, orzo pasta, arugula, basil and feta and mix together.
  3. In a small bowl, add lemon juice, salt and pepper and whisk in your olive oil. The mixture will thicken slightly.
  4. Pour vinaigrette over the pasta salad and mix well.
  5. Enjoy!

Here are a few other pasta salad’s you may like:

Garden Rotini Pasta Salad
Greek Pasta Salad
Mediterranean chickpea pasta salad
Italian Vegetable and Sausage Pasta

Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Summer Orzo Pasta Salad

This summer orzo pasta salad is fresh, flavor packed and delicious!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Course: Dinner, Main Course, Salad
Cuisine: Dinner, lunch, main course, pasta, Salad
Keyword: basil, cucumber, Dinner, feta, Lemon, main course, pasta, Salad, Vegetables, Weeknight Dinner
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces orzo pasta – cooked according to package directions then rinsed in cold water
  • 1 shallot – minced
  • 1 cucumber – peeled and chopped
  • 1 cup tomatoes – red and gold cherry tomatoes are my favorite but any will work sliced into bite size pieces
  • 2 handfuls arugula
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil – roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup feta – crumbed
  • Lemon vinaigrette:
  • 1 lemon juiced or 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

  • Cook orzo according to package directions, drain pasta, rinse in cold water and let it dry off for a minute while you prepare the rest of the salad.
  • In a large bowl, add shallots, cucumber, tomatoes, orzo pasta, arugula, basil and feta and mix together.
  • In a small bowl, add lemon juice, salt and pepper and whisk in your olive oil. The mixture will thicken slightly.
  • Pour vinaigrette over the pasta salad and mix well.
  • Enjoy!