Another day, another salad! I try to make some sort of salad each week that I can build meals on or just eat as a quick meal on its own when I’m on the go. If there’s already a salad made, I’m way more likely to actually eat it. I love combining a little pasta, a lot of vegetables, and maybe some beans too. This combo always makes a salad that is filling enough to serve as a light meal, but light enough to act as a side dish for one of my dinners. This Italian Orzo Salad is no exception.
Substitutions
Orzo – Orzo can be a bit more difficult to find than other pastas, but you can substitute any small-shaped pasta in its place.
Homemade Vinaigrette – If you don’t feel like putting together your own vinaigrette for this salad, feel free to use your favorite bottled Italian style dressing, adding as much or as little to the salad as you prefer.
Grape Tomatoes – I wouldn’t suggest using a larger fresh tomato in this salad unless you plan to make and serve this salad the same day. Larger tomatoes are juicier and will have more cut edges, which will seep more water as the salad is stored. Oil-packed sun dried tomatoes would also be awesome in this, if you can find them for an affordable price.
Garbanzo Beans – Cannellini beans would make an excellent substitution, and would fit the Italian theme.
Add-Ins
If you’re not concerned about keeping this Italian Orzo Salad vegan, Parmesan cheese would be awesome on this salad, as would fresh mozzarella, or even diced salami.
Italian Orzo Salad
Servings 4 about 1.25 cups eachIngredients
Italian Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup olive oil ($0.64)
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar ($0.20)
- 1 Tbsp lemon Juice ($0.05)
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning blend* ($0.10)
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard ($0.03)
- 1 tsp sugar ($0.02)
Salad
- 1 cup orzo (uncooked) ($1.15)
- 1 15oz. can chickpeas ($0.55)
- 4 oz. fresh spinach ($0.60)
- 2 roasted red peppers (1/2 of 12oz. jar) ($1.00)
- 1/3 cup kalamata olives ($1.00)
- 1/2 12oz. jar quartered artichoke hearts ($1.40)
- 1 pint grape tomatoes ($1.99)
Instructions
- Make the vinaigrette first so the flavors have time to blend. Add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, Italian seasoning blend, garlic powder, salt, Dijon, and sugar in a bowl or jar. Whisk the ingredients together or close the jar and shake until combined. Set the dressing aside.
- Cook the orzo according to the package directions (boil until tender). Drain the orzo in a colander and rinse briefly with cool water. Allow the orzo to cool and drain as you prepare the rest of the ingredients. You want the pasta to be as cool and dry as possible.
- Rinse and drain the can of chickpeas, again allowing them to drain very well as you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Roughly chop the spinach and place it in a large bowl. Remove the roasted red peppers, olives, and artichoke hearts from their brines. Slice the olives and roasted red peppers, and roughly chop the artichoke hearts. Slice the grape tomatoes in half. Place the chopped vegetables in the bowl with the spinach.
- Finally, add the drained orzo and chickpeas to the bowl with the other ingredients. Stir the vinaigrette once more, then add half to the bowl. Toss the salad ingredients together until coated, and add more dressing if desired (I used the entire batch, but it's always best to start with half and add more as needed).
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
How to Make Italian Orzo Salad – Step by Step Photos
Make the vinaigrette first, so the flavors have time to blend (or use your favorite bottled Italian dressing). Combine 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp Italian seasoning blend, 1/8 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, and 1/2 tsp sugar in a bowl or jar. Whisk the ingredients together or place the lid on the jar and shake until combined. Set the dressing aside.
Cook one cup orzo according to the package directions (boil until tender) then drain in a colander. Rinse briefly with cool water, then let it drain and cool as you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Also rinse and drain the chickpeas. It’s best if these two ingredients are not very wet (or hot) when you assemble the salad, or they’ll wilt the spinach and water down the dressing.
Roughly chop about 4 oz. fresh spinach. You don’t have to stress over the exact measurement of this, just eyeball half of an 8 oz. bag of spinach. Place the chopped spinach in a large bowl.
Slice about 1/3 cup kalamata olives and slice 2 roasted red peppers (about 1/2 of a 12 oz. jar). Add these to the bowl with the spinach.
Roughly chop the quartered artichoke hearts (again I used about 1/2 of a 12 oz. jar). Add these to the bowl with the other ingredients.
Slice the grape tomatoes in half, and add them to the bowl.
Finally, add the cooled and drained orzo and chickpeas to the bowl.
If you plan on keeping the salad in the fridge for a few days, toss the salad ingredients together then store it that way, without the dressing. If serving immediately, stir the vinaigrette once more, then add half to the salad and toss to combine. Add more dressing if desired (I added all of the dressing).
And that’s it! I served my Italian Orzo Salad with two slices of my Freezer Garlic Bread on the side. ;)
This was amazing!!!! I made some substitutions due to some picky eaters…no olives, and subbed black beans for the chick peas. Also threw in some leftover chicken. Huge hit with the family!
We have made this 3 times in the last six weeks or so (which is a high compliment). We like it hot (maybe because it’s winter). So good! Thank you!
Made this and served it for dinner with some salami slices! Delish! Cant wait to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow! I did use store bought dressing and used more like 5 tablespoons because I looove dressing! :)
I cannot wait to try this recipe! It looks amazing, I’m always looking for variations on pasta salads and I’ve never tried orzo!
I have a question for you though- where the heck did you get the gorgeous knife in the spinach picture???
I actually won that gorgeous knife in a contest! Lucky me because they aren’t cheap (unfortunately). The brand is Shun, but I don’t know exactly what model it is.
Highly recommend going the non-vegan route of adding parm and salami. Divine. The salad does come out heavily dressed but what’s wrong with that?
I made this exactly as written, and it was amazing. Super flavorful. This is the only cooking website I trust. The italian dressing is the best salad dressing I’ve ever made! The only thing I’d change is I think 1/2-3/4 of the salad dressing would suffice. I added the entire amount, and it was just slightly wetter than I would have liked.
Thank you!
This recipe is bomb. Great framework, lets you improvise when you may not have/like all the listed ingredients or want to add more heft to it. It’s become one of our favorite make-ahead lunches. Thanks, Beth!!!
You’re welcome Sarah!
Made recipe exactly as described. Was really good. I used jarred olives, peppers, and artichokes (as the recipe does). Given that, I should have reduced the amount of oil in the viniagrette by about a third or half. I’d also add more lemon to the viniagrette. Next time, I’ll add substantially more spinach and probably have a grilled chicken breast for those who didn’t think it was hearty enough. Thanks for the recipe!!
I made a ton of substitutions and it still was delicious, it’s a great framework!
Chick peas = black beans
Orzo = bow ties
Roasted peppers = fresh
Spinach = arugula
Red wine vinegar = apple cider vinegar
And I left out the olives.
I know I made a totally different salad, but I’m still excited to eat it for lunches this week!
This is delicious! I added some chopped chicken thighs (I marinated them in the marinade for your Greek Pasta Salad recipe) and added a bit of crumbled feta. SO yummy – thanks for another great recipe!
I’ll be making this all summer! I love that it had staple ingredients you have in the fridge/pantry and doesn’t rely on fresh ingredients. Means I could make this salad with whatever veggies and leftovers I have!
I just made this with fresh sun gold tomatoes from the garden. I omitted the olives as no one cares for them and doubled the artichokes instead. I let me girls grate a little Parmesan over theirs to encourage them to try it. My oldest daughter told me I should make this salad more often. Next time I think I will add fresh basil as well. I love having an alternative to traditional pasta salad, especially one that doesn’t require cucumbers as my my garden cucumbers are long since done. Thanks for the delicious way to use up seasonal produce.
This salad got us happily through the most recent heat wave. It was perfect when freshly made and the leftovers were even better. I wasn’t sure whether the artichokes called for were the marinated kind, but I had a can of plain ones on hand so I used those and they worked fine.
My next project is going to be mixing up a double batch of the dressing to use for regular salads. It’s that good!
This salad is delicious! I’ve had a large portion as a meal twice and we’ve eaten it as a side twice and there’s still a serving left so it goes a long way. This is the first homemade dressing I’ve ever made and liked and the ratio of salad to dressing in the recipe is just right. Thanks so much!
So good! I left out the olives because I don’t like them and threw in the entire jar of artichoke hearts to compensate. I also added some fresh mozzarella pearls based on your suggestion in the post. What a great, easy, and healthy lunch for the work week!
This sounds amazing!! Definitely going to try this!!!