I love this easy orzo pasta salad recipe with a simple lemon dressing, tomatoes, cucumber, and fresh herbs. It’s quick and always a hit with everyone I share it with!
I know it’s a bold claim to call this the best orzo pasta salad, but it’s always the first dish to disappear whenever I serve it. The homemade dressing is so light and refreshing, making this the perfect salad for summer!
I often enjoy it as a side dish during the warmer months or turn it into my main meal (especially on hot days). It’s a real keeper of a recipe since it can be ready in just 20 minutes! I also recommend trying my orzo pasta with tomatoes and parmesan.
Key Ingredients
- Orzo: I prefer orzo pasta for this recipe, but you can use any small dried pasta like ditalini or small shells. This recipe is also delicious when made with couscous or quinoa. If you need it, here’s our recipe for how to cook quinoa.
- Veggies: I love the combination of fresh cucumber and tomato in this salad. You can also try other fresh veggies, like bell peppers, radishes, or even zucchini (similar to what I use in my easy pasta salad).
- Olives and Artichokes: I add sliced olives and drained marinated hearts for a Mediterranean or Greek twist.
- Fresh herbs: I always add plenty of fresh herbs to my summer salads. I especially love fresh mint, parsley, cilantro, basil, and dill. Use whatever you have on hand or prefer.
- Lemon salad dressing: My homemade dressing is dairy-free, making this recipe perfect for picnics or warm weather. It features a delightful combination of olive oil, mustard, fresh lemon, and a touch of honey (or maple syrup) for balance. I use a similar dressing in this easy couscous salad.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make the Best Orzo Pasta Salad
Tip 1: Make the salad while the orzo cooks. Orzo cooks quickly, usually in under 10 minutes, so it’s the perfect time to prep the rest of the salad. I like to make the lemon dressing right in the bottom of a large bowl, then build the salad on top for easy mixing later.
Tip 2: Add the warm orzo to the dressing. Once the orzo is cooked and drained, add it directly to the dressing while it’s still warm. The warm pasta absorbs the bright, lemony flavors and makes the salad extra delicious.
Tip 3: Finish with veggies and herbs. We love cucumber and tomato in this salad, but the real secret is using plenty of fresh herbs. Here we used chopped mint, but parsley, cilantro, dill, or basil all work beautifully. You’ll also see olives and artichoke hearts in the photos, which are both excellent.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve the salad as a side or a main meal. It’s amazing to take as a pot luck dish or side for cookouts. Sometimes, I toss on a bit of extra protein and especially love our grilled chicken, poached salmon, poached shrimp, or this easy baked tofu.
This goes really well next to other light, summery dishes like Caprese salad, shrimp cocktail, red pepper hummus, creamy cucumber salad, garlic basil baked chicken, and marinated steak.
More Orzo Recipes
Easy Orzo Pasta Salad
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
We love this light orzo salad! Use your favorite fresh herbs (we love mint, dill, basil, parsley, or cilantro).
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 ½ cups dried orzo pasta (226g)
1 medium English cucumber, diced
1 large tomato, diced or 8 ounces halved cherry tomatoes
½ cup coarsely chopped fresh herbs like parsley, cilantro, basil, dill, or mint
½ cup pitted olives, halved
1 cup canned or jarred artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil (60ml)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon honey or maple syrup
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 to 4 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice, depending on taste
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
1Cook pasta: Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the orzo and cook until tender, 6 to 10 minutes (check the box for the recommended cooking time). Drain.
2Make dressing: While the orzo cooks, whisk the oil, mustard, honey, lemon zest, lemon juice, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a large bowl.
3Make salad: Add the drained orzo to the lemon dressing and mix well. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool down a bit. Stir in the cucumber, tomato, herbs, olives, and artichokes. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as needed. Enjoy warm or cover, then refrigerate until cool, about 1 hour.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Make ahead: This salad is delicious when eaten straight away, but you can also make it, cover it, and refrigerate for up to 4 hours. This way, all the flavors marry and mingle, making for an even more delicious salad. If you plan to make it a day or two ahead, keep the tomatoes, cucumbers, and fresh herbs separate until you’re ready to serve. This way, they will remain crisp, and the herbs will stay bright green.
- Artichokes: If you use marinated artichokes sold in oil, you can substitute some of the olive oil called for in the recipe above with the oil in the jar.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Made this for supper tonight.. Had some fresh spinach left so added that also. Delicious😀
Took this to a potluck and it is now a requested family favorite. The herbs and dressing give it such a fresh taste. I only had parsley available then, but even that was flavorful. Who knew? I have a new respect for parsley! ha! But, the recommended mix of of parsley, dill, basil, and especially the mint truly make it shine. I sometimes add flakes of oil-packed tuna to individual servings as one reviewer suggested. The tuna pairs really well with it when you want to turn it into a full meal. Thanks for another fantastic recipe!!
You are so welcome. We are thrilled that you love the recipe 🙂
I made a double batch for Easter & came home with only One serving left. 2 days later, I had to make another round to have at home. So Good!!!
This was absolutely delish! I pairee it with ground turkey mixed w garbanzo shredded zucchini and mediteranean spices like cavenders etc. topped the orzo woth slices og avocado and a dollop of toum garlic sauce and tazitki. So so good!
My family loves this salad! It makes a great side dish or lunch. I add chicken peas for extra protein if served alone as a main dish.
Absolutely delighted to see this recipe
It’a another hot, humid New England summer day, and I wanted to make a big salad for dinner. I came across this recipe and loved the sound of the dressing and the possibilities. I chopped celery, carrots, radishes, tomato,green onion and castelvetrano olives. We love Orzo, but I chose to use Ditalini. Added a drained jar of Italian tuna, flaked, and it was fantastic! The dressing is perfection! Thank you.
Made this and tweaked it with honey mustard sauce from Chik Fillet. Added black olives, radishes. Green pepper, green onion, citrus pepper; fresh parsley, spearmint and pepper mint, dill. I love the taste, but I added a tbsp of banana pepper pickled juice. Married well with all flavors!! Thanks!
Excellent salad, perfect just the way it’s written. Something about that lemon and maple syrup makes this so tasty. Yummy.
I made it exactly as written and was given rave reviews. Another winner!
I made this salad by adding zucchini and green peppers that I needed to use. That said, next time I will exclude the zucchini. I also used Kalamata olives instead of green olives. The lemon dressing was easy to make and was delicious! I will make this again and try green olives.
Delicious! I am not a fan of cold artichoke so I omitted it. i need to choose another veggie to replace it bt it was a winner!
This salad is out of this world…and I don’t even like olives! That is until now! 🙂
This was delicious! The only change I made was to use sliced black olives instead of green. Everyone loved it!
I’ve just made this, except for the artichoke….it is so lovely and the dressing is outstanding
So happy you enjoyed it, Kathy!
Question: I do not like mustard. Do you have any suggestions as to what I can use in its place?
Thank you!
I am allergic to mustard and I substitute Turmeric.
For this recipe, I’d just leave it out.
Very good flavour profile. I made the dressing with all the ingrediants suggested but doubled the honey and used the full 4 Tbsps of lemon juice. Included a small jar of artichokes with the marinade and a generous amount of cilantro…chef’s kiss 👩🍳
Sounds great!
This salad is full of flavor and very versatile. I’ve made it 3 times this week because it’s so fresh and satisfying on a hot summer day!
I have made this recipe countless times and figured I should finally comment. It is phenomenal! I am dairy free and it really is nice to be able to actually eat something I bring to a potluck. I love the advice of adding the orzo to the dressing while it’s still warm to soak up the flavors. It really works. All of the fresh herbs– any combination of them– also adds such a freshness. I could eat half the bowl by myself haha. If you’re on the fence about making this, just do it!
Great salad. Just as you stated – easy and quick. My son devoured this. It’s now on my summer rotation.
For the dressing, is it okay to use a variety of herbs or should you just use one of the herbs suggested?
It’s really up to you. I love mint and dill, but I use whatever I have access to.
This was a delicious side dish (and lunch!). I added a bit of feta cheese when serving and it was well received by everyone!
Made this today and it is delicious! I followed the recipe, minus olives and used fresh parsley, basil and some chives. Dang! Keeper
So happy you gave our recipe a try, Colleen!
How do I make this one day ahead?
Hi Wendy, Store it in an airtight container in the fridge. The tomatoes and cucumbers will wilt a little overtime. If you are concerned, you can make the salad with the tomatoes, cucumbers, and herbs, then toss them in the day you plan to serve your salad.
Salad was delicious but it was too dry. Next time I make it I’ll add more dressing.
Thanks for sharing Rosa!
What a delicious salad! I was limited to veggies I had in the frig so just added tomatoes, artichoke hearts and celery and it was really good. Next time I will make it with your ingredients but I wanted to try it today.
Love this salad, but no way will I put in honey in the dressing. I have a great Lebanese salad dressing given to my by a Lebanese friend and it does not call for honey or mustard, its just lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and chopped mint. But I love your salad ingredients.
Oh yum, looking forward to trying your version!! I make one similar and add some cooked farro and cubed feta.
That would be delicious 🙂
Delicious. Personally, I found it a bit too oily and that was after cooking more pasta than the recipe called for. In the end I cooked about 600g pasta and added some more lemon to cut through the oil and it was perfect. Definitely making again.
This salad is excellent with anything or in a large bowl by itself! I will be making this very frequently! It’s my new favorite!
Prepared with orzo (first time using it, lovely, truly absorbs the flavors around it), and a variety of add-ons: cubed beets, chickpeas, red onion, cucumbers, tomatoes, red bell pepper, carrots, chopped parsley, feta cheese. Did not need to add any extra dressing as the orzo soaked in the lemon-dijon-honey mix and after tossing the entire pasta had a lovely flavor.
Delicious! Thinking I might add goat cheese and chicken as well to make it a meal.
Delicious, great accompaniment to spot prawns. Definitely a. Keeper.
I’ve made this twice and added black olives with the green for a little more diversity. It’s a great side dish with any meal! Will explore adding grilled shrimp and making it an entree next time!
Absolute Deliciousness! Just added a little lime along with the lemon + asparagus & avocado on the side. My ENTIRE family loved it! My adult children think they have dietary needs… Vegan… vegetarian…paleo … what the heck ever. We all sat down and enjoyed this wonderful dish together ?