Cucumber, tomato, bell pepper, Kalamata olives, red onion, and gluten-free orzo...it must be a Greek Orzo Salad! This easy dish is colorful, nutritious, and filled with delicious Mediterranean flavor. I think you'll love it!
This dish is pure SUMMERTIME! It's filled with in-season produce, topped with my favorite Mediterranean House Dressing, and totally filling thanks to gluten-free orzo pasta. I love that it stores so well, so it's the perfect dish to make and have ready in the refrigerator as soon as we come in hungry from a morning at the pool!
Greek Orzo Salad Ingredients
This is a super classic, fresh, and bright Greek Orzo Salad. It's perfect for a light summer meal, to keep in the refrigerator for a quick lunch, or as a side dish with your favorite entrees. I've filled it with:
- Gluten-free orzo pasta
- Red onion
- English cucumber
- Grape or cherry tomatoes
- Kalamata olives (make sure they're pitted!)
- Red and orange bell peppers
- Scallions (also known as green onions)
- Fresh dill & chives (we grow these in our garden!)
The Best Gluten-Free Pasta
Orzo pasta is the one that looks like rice. It's teeny-tiny and so fun to use in salads since it incorporates with other ingredients so well! You can use any of your favorite orzo pastas for this salad. I love Andean Dreams quinoa orzo. It has an awesome texture and taste that works perfectly. If you aren't gluten-free, feel free to use regular wheat orzo!
All About Cucumber
I use cucumber in a lot of summertime recipes because it tastes so refreshing, but it's also great for hydration, especially in the hot months! Cucumbers are 96% water, which is one of the highest water contents of any food! They are low in calories and high in vitamin C and fiber, which makes them great for stomach health.
Vegan Feta Cheese
The vegan feta is an optional addition, but I love the creamy texture it adds to this dish. The brand VioLife makes a fantastic dairy-free feta that I use in so many recipes! I even used a block of it for my Vegan Baked Feta Pasta. It melts and tastes just like regular cheese but has a super clean, plant-based ingredient list.
Greek Pasta Salad Dressing
I used my go-to dressing on top of this orzo salad: Easy Mediterranean House Dressing. I almost always have a batch of this in the fridge because it's a total staple! It's made from oil, vinegar, lemon, tahini, maple, and garlic, and it's absolutely perfect. I love this dressing!
This Greek Orzo Salad is vegan (no eggs or dairy!), soy-free, and even gluten-free! If you use cassava orzo by Jovial it is grain-free/paleo too! It's made without refined sugar or nuts, making it a totally allergy-friendly option. Please tag me on Instagram if you post about this recipe, and drop a review below to help others find and enjoy this dish as well!
More Savory Salads
Creamy Broccoli & Zucchini Pasta Salad
Best Vegan Mediterranean Veggie Pasta Salad
Lemon Olive Oil & Dill Potato Salad
Creamy Vegan Picnic Pasta Salad
Vegan Summer Macaroni Salad
Mediterranean Zucchini Noodle Salad
Easy Vegan Mexican Quinoa Salad
Creamy Vegan Cucumber Salad with Dill & Red Onion
Vegan Tzatziki Potato Salad
Easy Greek Orzo Salad (vegan + gluten-free)
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Cucumber, tomato, bell pepper, Kalamata olives, red onion, and gluten-free orzo...it must be a colorful, easy Greek Orzo Salad!
Ingredients
For the orzo:
- 8-ounces gluten-free orzo (such as Jovial cassava orzo or Andean Dreams quinoa orzo)
- ½ red onion, finely diced sliced (about 1 cup of diced red onion)
- 1 cup diced English cucumber (skin removed if desired)
- 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 bell peppers (red, orange or yellow), stem and seeds removed, finely diced (about 1 ½ cups when diced)
- ¾ cup pitted kalamata olives, halved (or pitted black olives)
- 4 scallions, diced
- ¾ cup fresh dill, finely minced (or sub fresh Italian flat leaf parsley leaves)
- ¼ cup diced fresh chives
- optional: ½ cup vegan feta cheese, crumbled (I love VioLife brand)
Dressing:
- 1 batch of my homemade Mediterranean House Dressing
Instructions
- Cook orzo according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Place the cooked orzo in a large mixing bowl.
- To the mixing bowl, add onion, cucumber, tomatoes, bell peppers, olives, scallions, dill and chives. Add crumbled vegan feta cheese if using.
- Pour the entire batch of the dressing overtop the orzo and veggies and toss well. Serve immediately.
Notes
This dish is best when fresh if using gluten-free orzo but it can be stored for up to three days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
This dish is best served chilled. I like to chill the veggies and dressing in advance of assembling for best results.
Add cooked chickpeas to make this a meal.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: Side
- Cuisine: Greek
Megan feldman says
Loved this for lunch! Even better the second day. I used grain free cassava orzo and it was amazing! Will be making on the rotation!
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you so much, Megan! I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed this! It goes make for an easy portable lunch for sure and I agree it gets better as the flavors mingle! Thank you for the five star review! Best, Elaine
Anne Mostella says
Great way to use up the veggies I planted this summer!
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you for the five star rating, Anne! Yes, definitely a fantastic way to use up those end of summer garden veggies! Congrats on a successful garden! Best, Elaine