This delicious and light vegetarian cold orzo salad recipe is tossed with lemon juice, fresh dill, crunchy diced cucumbers, and savory and salty Feta cheese.
Lemon dill orzo salad is very addicting and a perfect Greek inspired side dish for a picnic, potluck, or large gathering.
Serve this cold lemon orzo salad recipe with something light like gazpacho, pickled shrimp, pan fried piece of chicken or with seared scallops.
Parmesan cheese is pictured with this lemon orzo pasta recipe but it's even better with feta cheese. And, even better with both cheeses! Vegans leave out cheese or substitute dairy free cheese.
This looks like a lot of orzo pasta salad when it's finished but it goes down easy!
What is Orzo? Is Orzo Rice?
Orzo often gets confused with arborio rice which is used for risotta. But orzo, is a pasta, like spaghetti, macaroni, fusilli, etc... It's just a tiny shape that looks like short grain rice.
Orzo is a small pasta that is perfect with the addition of lemon and feta. It isn't able to soak up a lot of sauce like marinara does for spaghetti so lighter or more delicate flavors work best for cold orzo salads (like lemon and olive oil). It is also very good in soups.
So having said all that! Orzo is pasta not rice. It has gluten which rice does not. But, it can be interchangeable with a lot of cold rice salad recipes since they are the same size and a similar texture.
Tips for Making Lemon Dill Orzo Salad with Feta Cheese
Cook the orzo first, strain and add the olive oil and lemon juice mixture immediately. Keep stirring it or it will clump together.
Pro - tip: Speed the cooling process along by rinsing the cooked orzo in cold water in a strainer before adding the lemon and olive oil mixture.
Do not add remaining ingredients until orzo is cool because the cucumbers will get soggy and the herbs will wilt. We're looking for a fresh, bright, vibrant, and crunchy lemon feta orzo salad!
Seed the cucumbers because the water released from them will make the lemon feta orzo salad soggy.
Pro - tip: Seed the cucumbers and put the seeds in a pitcher and fill with water and keep it in the fridge. Use a small strainer over your glass when pouring a refreshing cup of cucumber water and throw the seeds back in the pitcher a couple times to maximize getting the most cups out of the cucumber water.
Cold Lemon Dill Orzo with Feta FAQS
Orzo is not different than pasta. It is tiny pasta that resembles rice. Many people confuse it with arborio rice, which is used to make risotto. Orzo has gluten like all wheat pastas. Rice is gluten free.
Yes, usually. Orzo and Rice can be substituted in nearly all COLD rice or orzo recipes. I have eaten this orzo feta salad recipe with rice substituted for the orzo but rice does get soggier than orzo so don't make it in advance. Make sure that the rice is cooled before adding any of the other ingredients.
Serving Suggestion
Serve this light, summery cold lemon dill orzo salad dish with a complementary recipe like scallops or shrimp, or pair it with a tomato tart or a cold vegetable soup.
You May Also Like
If you like this orzo salad recipe you may enjoy similar make ahead cold dishes like:
Things In My Kitchen:
- Old School Juicer - just like the one my mama gave me.
- Over The Sink Colander - Don't set your clean colander in your dirty sink!
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Lemon Dill Orzo Salad with Feta
EatSimpleFood.com
This light vegetarian cold orzo salad recipe is tossed with lemon juice, dill, crunchy cucumber, and Feta cheese.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 lb orzo
- ⅔ cup (~ 4-5 lemons) lemon juice
- ⅔ cup olive oil
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 large cucumber, seeded & diced
- ½ cup red onion, thinly diced
- 1 ½ cup green onions, sliced
- ¾ cup dill, chopped
- ¾ cup parsley, chopped
- ½ lb feta cheese - optional as garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add orzo and cook 8-10 minutes or until desired doneness. Drain and place in a large bowl.
- Mix olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a small bowl or jar.
- Toss mixture with orzo and place in refrigerator to cool, stirring occasionally.
- When cool, mix in remaining ingredients, except feta cheese.
- Add salt to taste and top with feta cheese. Happy Eating! Beckie
Notes
- Rinse orzo in cool water after draining and before adding oil and lemon mixture if you're trying to cool the orzo faster to add the remaining ingredients. This orzo salad with feta recipe is best served cold.
- Don't like or have feta cheese? No problem! Try adding Parmesan cheese or goat cheese (chèvre) to this lemon orzo pasta salad.
- This is a basic recipe - add your favorite nuts, like pine nuts or sliced almonds if you want to up the game.
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