This Herb-Lovers Lemony Orzo Salad recipe is easy to make and filled with the best fresh and zesty flavors! Perfect for serving as a main dish or side, and easy to customize with your favorite add-ins.
As long as I live, I’m pretty sure that I will never grow tired of chopping up fresh herbs in the kitchen. ♡
I’m convinced they are one of life’s best little luxuries. And every time I place them on my cutting board and give them a quick slice, or a rough chop, or maybe a fine chiffonade, I can’t help but lean down to inhale those magical fresh scents again and again. And then “oooh” and “ahhh” and insist that Barclay come take a whiff too. And then, inevitably, sprinkle an extra handful into the recipe, just for good measure.
Fresh herbs are just the best.
And this time of year, they are downright overflowing in the markets here around Barcelona. So this weekend, I decided to put a big crop of fresh basil and mint to use in a zippy lemony orzo salad. It’s filled with lots of fresh cucumber, red onion, chickpeas and spinach, and tossed with a simple dressing of lemon juice and olive oil, and sprinkled with a bit of feta or goat cheese (if you’d like). But all of those freshly-chopped herbs are undoubtedly what take this recipe over the top. Feel free to add in any of your faves (a bit of dill, thyme, parsley and/or rosemary would also be delicious here).
And of course, feel free to sprinkle in an extra handful for good measure.
Lemony Orzo Salad Ingredients:
Here’s what I used to make this pasta salad. But please feel free to sub in your favorite ingredients in any of these categories!
- orzo (or any pasta shape)
- chickpeas (or white beans, for extra protein)
- veggies (English cucumber and red onions)
- greens (baby spinach or arugula)
- herbs (basil, mint…or whatever sounds good!)
- lemons (I like to use the zest and juice of two large lemons, but begin with one and see what you think)
- olive oil, salt and pepper (don’t skimp on the S&P with this recipe!)
- cheese (crumbled feta or goat, if desired)
Also, I realized afterwards that some toasted pine nuts or almonds would be delicious in this salad, if you feel like tossing a few in.
How To Make Pasta Salad:
Super duper easy! Simply…
- Prepare your pasta. Cook it al dente according to package instructions, being sure to generously salt your pasta water. Then drain and rinse with cold water until chilled.
- Toss all of your ingredients. Combine the pasta and the remaining ingredients in a large bowl, and toss until evenly combined.
- Taste and season. Don’t skip this step! ;) Give the pasta salad a taste, then season with a few pinches of salt and pepper and extra lemon juice (if needed) until the balances of everything tastes right to you.
- Serve! Then serve it up! Or if you’re making this orzo salad in advance, cover and refrigerate it for up to 3 days until ready to use.
Super simple. Super fresh. And super good.
Enjoy, friends!
Herb-Lovers Lemony Orzo Salad
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 -6 servings 1x
Description
This Herb-Lovers Lemony Orzo Salad is full of fresh and zesty ingredients that everyone will love! Perfect for serving as a main dish or side, and easy to customize with your favorite add-ins.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces uncooked orzo (or any pasta shape)
- 2 large handfuls fresh baby spinach, chopped
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
- 1 English cucumber, diced
- half a small red onion, diced
- 1 cup roughly-chopped fresh basil leaves
- 1 cup roughly-chopped fresh mint leaves
- 1-2 lemons, zested and juiced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste
- optional: 1/2 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in a large stockpot of generously-salted water until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain pasta then rinse thoroughly in a strainer with cold water until the pasta is chilled. Transfer pasta to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl (using cheese if desired). Toss until evenly combined. Taste, and season with a few generous pinches of salt and pepper, to taste. (I used about 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.) Also feel free to add in extra lemon juice if you’d like an extra-lemony salad. (
- Serve immediately. Or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
This salad is amazing! I left the mint out, but can imagine a little would be delish! Next time?
Ali, I took this to a gathering recently and it was SUCH a hit! So many of our friends came up separately and commented to the effect of, “okay, we’re going to stop asking who made the GOOD food every time because we know you always find the best recipes!” And then the subsequent “omg, can you send me the link for that???” requests :)
Also, I added a generous dash of sumac because the mint got me thinking fattoush-y vibes and then that Garlic Expressions dressing (aka my nectar of the gods)… woooowwww. Not a nibble was left behind!
Excellent!! I also added the slivered almonds which gave it a nice texture and used parsley, basil, and a little dill. I agree you don’t need a ton of pasta. I used half a box of orzo with one of those giant containers of arugula and 2 added red bell peppers. I subbed ricotta salata for the cheese. Amazing!!! FYI-You find orzo in the pasta aisle, in a small box. It looks like rice in the box but it’s called orzo. And it’s usually stocked at eye level or on the top shelf. If you can’t find orzo I can also see Israeli couscous (the big couscous) being a good substitute.
This salad is fantastic! I don’t really care for chickpeas so I added avocado and green beans instead. All of my roommates loved it!
Delish! I added green olives and sliced almonds to mine! Fantastic! Thank you!
This is very flavorful and perfect summer pasta salad !
We served alongside pork kabobs in pita with all the fixings !!
Just made this recipe and it is delish! I used the whole package of orzo (16 oz) and used 1/2 spinach and 1/2 arugula. Also used 3 lemons and the zest as well as 1/2 & 1/2 olive and lemon olive oil. Can you tell I LOVE lemon? Added the Feta and toasted Pine Nuts. Sprinkled with crushed red pepper. I also LOVE hot. BTW if you have a Trader Joes nearby they have the bags of orzo.
This recipe is amazing!!! So fresh and so delicious. I’m partial to arugula so I usually use that. There are many additions you can throw in that will compliment this dish. I’ve shared this recipe with several friends…as soon as you make it for people, everyone will want the recipe!
Love this recipe.
Made this last night for dinner. What a wonderful, light healthy salad. So versatile. Definitely a keeper.
I made this tonight with grilled chicken and it was fantastic. Clean, fresh and and so perfect for a summer side.