Pinch My Salt

Food, Recipes, and Photography

Whole Wheat Greek Orzo Salad

by 19 Comments

Whole Wheat Greek Orzo Salad recipe | pinchmysalt.com

My aunt, cousin, and I took an overnight trip to the coast last weekend that started with a day of wandering around beautiful Monterey and ended with a Mother’s Day 5K run through the artichoke fields of Castroville.  It was quite an adventure.

One of the many highlights of the trip was lunch at the adorable Red House Cafe in Pacific Grove where we sampled a variety of sandwiches and salads. Our favorite was a lightly dressed Greek orzo salad with fresh herbs.

The orzo salad was simple and delicious and I’ve been thinking about orzo ever since. When I saw a bag of organic whole wheat orzo at Whole Foods yesterday I decided it was time to make a Greek orzo salad of my own.

Nutrition

Calories

1031 cal

Fat

4 g

Carbs

214 g

Protein

35 g
Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

Yields 4 to 6 servings

Whole Wheat Greek Orzo Salad
Save RecipeSave Recipe
Print Recipe

Ingredients

8 ounces whole wheat orzo pasta

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped

1 cup grape (or cherry) tomatoes, finely chopped

1/3 cup kalamata olives, finely chopped

2 tablespoons minced fresh mint leaves

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

salt, to taste

fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain pasta through a sieve, rinse with cold water, then allow to drain well again. In a large bowl, toss pasta with olive oil, vinegar, and lemon juice. Add remaining ingredients and toss well. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. If made ahead, refrigerate until ready to serve. Can be served cold or at room temperature.

Notes

You might try adding one or more of the following extra ingredients: finely chopped red onion, red bell pepper, artichoke hearts, fresh chopped dill, or grated lemon zest. These types of salads are endlessly adaptable—ingredient amounts can easily be changed to suit your own taste. Taste, adjust, and enjoy!

7.8.1.2
95
https://pinchmysalt.com/whole-wheat-greek-orzo-salad/

Related Recipes:

Around the Web:

Healthy whole wheat Greek orzo salad recipe | pinchmysalt.com

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ruby says

    ohhh, that looks good! I'll have to try making it for a bbq side dish. One of our many upcoming bbq's by the pool! ;-)
    Reply

  2. DessertForTwo says

    Yum! I make a version of this with dill instead of mint and I leave out the olives. The longer it sits in the fridge-the better! Love that! Red House Cafe is amazing, huh?
    Reply

  4. Sage & Style says

    I love whole wheat orzo. I also love adding mint to salads lately. My husband asks me to make it as a side for his lunch all the time so I'll swap this in for the next round!
    Reply

  6. Kalyn says

    Love the sound of this; in fact I recently got some whole wheat orzo and have been thinking of trying a recipe that's similar to yours.
    Reply

  7. Jodi says

    Thanks for this amazing recipe! It's definitely going to make my summer grilling rotation. Can't wait to try it out! The 5K run sounds amazing. I loved going to Watsonville every year to visit my Aunt, that area is beautiful!
    Reply

  8. Joy @ The Herbed Kitchen says

    Beautiful! I love using mint in a variety of recipes, in fact, our little plant is picked clean on a regular basis. I'm jealous you get to use orzo, I'm thinking I might try a mix of quinoa and rice to make it gluten-free.
    Reply

  12. Natalie says

    I made this last night! It was delish. I used half of the amount of feta cheese, and decided I'm not the hugest fan of mint.
    Reply

  13. Poor Taste says

    I've never been able to figure out what to do with orzo, so thank goodness for this. A perfect salad to pack for lunch! I do switch out the herbs depending on what I haven't killed in my container garden — tried with rosemary which is actually pretty tasty.
    Reply

  14. Liz@Simple Italian Cooking says

    @Poor Taste There are lots of things you can do with Orzo! It goes great in soups, salads (hot and cold), and I've used them in a risotto recipe instead of rice (:http://www.simpleitaliancooking.com/recipes/risotto-orzo-recipe.htm). You can mix it with beef or other veggies and cook and then stuff them in veggies like tomatoes or peppers too. Now you know!
    Reply

  15. Mollie says

    I'm with Poor Taste on this one, I can't figure out how to make orzo for the life of me! I linked to this recipe on my blog post about orzo. I'd love to use a picture link, would it be okay to use your picture if I give proper credit where it's due? Once again, thanks for a great post :)
    Reply

  16. Ayesha says

    What are your thoughts on adding tuna to this recipe, to add some protein and make it a complete balanced meal?
    Reply

Leave a Reply