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Tomato Feta Orzo Salad is a light but flavor packed salad mixing orzo, feta, tomatoes, cucumber, arugula and fresh herbs and topped with a Balsamic dressing. This is a great way to use up your summer produce and makes a great dish for a crowd!
Today’s Tomato Feta Orzo Salad is a light but flavor packed orzo salad that mixes orzo pasta, fresh vegetables, parsley and basil, feta cheese, arugula and a balsamic dressing. The dressing uses a small amount of tomato paste to add even more tomato flavor to the salad. If that isn’t your thing you can leave that out.
If you like orzo salad recipes you also might like this Summer Orzo Pasta Salad, Fall Orzo Pasta Salad, Arugula Orzo Salad, Tomato Feta Orzo Salad, Greek Orzo Pasta Salad or this Caprese Orzo Pasta Salad.Some other orzo recipes you might like are this Lemon Orzo Recipe, Lemon Chicken Orzo, Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup or this Mediterranean Orzo Pasta Recipe.
Recipe Ingredients
See full list of ingredients with exact measurements in recipe card below.
- Pasta: I used orzo pasta in this salad. I like how it is small and compliments the other ingredients and lets them shine.
- Vegetables: the vegetables in this salad are english cucumber and cherry tomatoes.
- Fresh Herbs: fresh herbs take this salad to the next level. It mixes together fresh basil and fresh parsley.
- Greens: Arugula is a peppery green that adds nice flavor to this salad.
- Cheese: Creamy, salty feta cheese is the perfect addition to this salad along with the veggies, orzo and tomatoes.
- Dressing: The dressing is a nice complement to the other ingredients using olive oil, balsamic vinegar, tomato paste, Dijon mustard and lemon juice.
How to Make this Tomato Feta Orzo Salad
Step 1: Cook Orzo: Cook the orzo according to the package.
Step 2: Mix Salad Ingredients: While the pasta cooks mix the cucumber, tomato, basil, parsley, arugula, feta cheese and toss together. Add the orzo once cooled and mix well.
Step 3: Create Dressing: In a mason jar or salad dressing container combine the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, tomato paste, mustard, squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper. Shake or whisk well.
Step 4: Dress and Serve: Drizzle the dressing over the salad and gently toss. Add the Parmesan cheese and serve!
Recipe Tip: You can prep some of this salad ahead of time. I would wait to add the tomatoes, cucumbers, arugula until you are ready to serve because that can tend to become soggy and not as fresh after sitting. If you do have leftovers I would add more balsamic vinegar and olive oil to freshen it up when you are ready to eat the salad again.
Recipe Variations
- Olives: I am an olive lover and never regret when I add olives to a salad. Kalamata or green olives would be great in this tomato orzo salad.
- Nuts: Nuts are always a nice addition to salads for the crunch and healthy benefits. I especially love pine nuts, silvered almonds and walnuts.
- Cheese: I used feta cheese and finished the salad off with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese. I think that goat cheese or mozzarella would also be great additions.
- Vegetables: When it comes to pasta salads my suggestion is to use whatever you have on hand. I especially like zucchini, red onion, carrots, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and bell peppers in this salad.
- Beans: If you want to keep this salad vegetarian but add protein try adding beans. I love chickpeas, white beans or kidney beans.
Storage Instructions
Store the salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. When you go to serve it again you might want to add more dressing in and remix the salad. The orzo tends to soak up the dressing when it sits.
More Orzo Pasta Recipes
Salads
Arugula Orzo Salad
Salads
Summer Orzo Pasta Salad
Salads
Caprese Orzo Pasta Salad
Vegetarian
Greek Orzo Pasta Salad
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Tomato Feta Orzo Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ounces orzo pasta, cooked according to package (try whole wheat for a healthier version)
- 1/2 english cucumber, diced
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup basil leaves, chopped
- 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
- 1 cup arugula
- 3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
Instructions
- Cook the orzo accoarding to the package.
- While the pasta cooks mix the cucumber, tomato, basil, parsley, arugula, feta chese and toss together. Add the orzo once cooled and mix well.
- In a mason jar or salad dressing container combine the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, tomato paste, mustard, squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper. Shake or whisk well.
- Drizzle the dressing over the salad and gently toss. Add the Parmesan cheese and serve!
Notes
- Store the salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. When you go to serve it again you might want to add more dressing in and remix the salad. The orzo tends to soak up the dressing when it sits.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was so good…I was hoping we would have leftovers from the fourth but it is all gone!
Thanks for sharing such nice and healthy recipes. We are surely going to try this.