This lemon orzo salad with feta is tangy and bright, with tons of fresh lemon flavor from both lemon zest and lemon juice. You can make this easy summer side dish with only 8 ingredients and in 25 minutes!
Note: this post was originally published in 2022 and updated in 2024 with new photos and improved instructions. The recipe was also simplified.
Are you a lemon lover like me? I am a little bit obsessed with lemon, as you can see from my recipes for lemon butter chicken, lemon herb roasted asparagus, and lemon popsicles! Lemon is such a light and bright flavor, and it perks up anything you add it to.
This lemon orzo pasta salad is no different; it's packed with tons of tangy lemon flavor, from both fresh lemon juice and lemon zest. In addition to the bright lemony flavor, this orzo salad also features a generous amount of briny, tangy feta cheese. This delicious flavor duo makes this orzo salad so flavorful and satisfying - the perfect addition to any summer potluck or cookout!
To top it off, this easy lemon orzo with feta can be made in only about 25 minutes, with only 8 ingredients!
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. If you make a purchase through the link, it won’t cost you more but I may earn a small commission. I only recommend products that I personally use and love!
Jump to:
Recipe ingredients
Ingredient notes
- Lemons: you will need both the juice and zest from the lemons. I highly recommend squeezing the lemon juice fresh since it makes up the main flavor of the salad.
- Olive oil: I like to use extra-virgin olive oil because it is so flavorful, but if you don't have extra-virgin olive oil, you can also use regular olive oil.
- Feta cheese: block (not crumbled) feta is nice to use here because you can create bigger chunks of cheese. But crumbled feta would also work great.
Step by step photos
Here's how to make this easy lemon orzo with feta, step by step. For a brief slideshow of these steps, check out my lemon orzo pasta salad web story!
1. The first step is to put a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Once the water boils, add a generous pinch of salt and cook the orzo according to the package directions. While you're waiting for the water to boil, and while the pasta is cooking, you can do the rest of the prep for the recipe.
First, chop the parsley and red onion.
Top Tip
Be sure to rinse the parsley very well before chopping, since it can be very sandy! A good method is to dunk the parsley (leaf-side down) in a bowl of water and swish it around (repeat if necessary). Then dry it well with paper towels.
2. Then, cut each grape tomato in half. Set the veggies aside for now.
3. Now we will prep the lemon zest and lemon juice for the dressing. Before squeezing the lemons, we have to zest them. You will need fine zest so it blends well into the salad. For fine zest, I like using this Microplane (affiliate link). It's easy to use and makes tons of fine zest very quickly!
After zesting, cut the lemons in half and squeeze out the juice. We need a half cup, so this will probably take between 2 - 3 lemons.
4. Then grab a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt to the bowl. Whisk everything together.
5. Once the orzo has finished cooking, drain it and rinse it under cold water to quickly cool it down. Drain it very well and then add the orzo to the bowl with the dressing, along with the tomatoes, parsley, and red onion we prepped earlier.
6. Mix all the ingredients together so the dressing evenly coats the pasta and vegetables.
7. Finally, crumble the feta cheese into the salad (or just add the cheese in if you bought pre-crumbled feta). Stir the salad again, gently, to avoid breaking up the cheese too much.
To finish the lemon orzo salad, you can give it a taste and adjust the seasoning if needed, by sprinkling in more salt and/or lemon juice.
Tips and tricks
- The lemon flavor in this lemon orzo feta salad is bold - it's perfect for anyone who loves that bright tangy flavor! But, if you prefer a more subtle flavor, you can always reduce the amount of lemon, taste the finished salad, and add more to taste.
- You will likely need about 2 - 3 lemons to gather enough juice for the dressing. But, sometimes you get a lemon that turns out to be a "lemon" (ha, see what I did there!). And by "lemon," I mean one that doesn't have much juice inside. So, I always buy an extra lemon when shopping, just in case!
- When zesting the lemons, make sure to take only the yellow part; the white pith underneath can be bitter.
Additions and substitutions
There are so many ways to customize this simple lemon feta orzo recipe. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- If you don't like feta cheese, some other good substitutions would be crumbled goat cheese or small balls of fresh mozzarella cheese.
- Feel free to substitute cherry tomatoes instead of grape tomatoes. If the cherry tomatoes are on the larger side, cut them into quarters instead of halves.
- To bulk up the salad, try adding a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas or some cooked shredded or chopped chicken.
- For even more tangy flavor, you can add in some marinated artichoke hearts and/or Kalamata olives.
Serving suggestions
- You can serve the lemon orzo salad right away, when it's slightly warm or at room temperature.
- But, I think it tastes best if you let it sit in the fridge for an hour or two to let all the flavors meld together.
- This orzo salad is great as a cookout side for hamburgers, hotdogs, or grilled chicken.
- It would also work well as a quick and easy lunch side, to serve alongside a cup of soup or a sandwich (I recommend my recipe for tuna melt wraps!).
Make ahead and storage instructions
- You can easily make this lemon orzo salad ahead of time. In fact, it tastes even better if you let it sit in the fridge, covered, for a couple hours before serving.
- But, as the salad sits in the fridge, the pasta continues to absorb the moisture in the dressing, making the texture of the salad drier. And, the tomatoes will also become softer over time. Therefore, if you're making the salad for a party, I recommend making it only one day in advance.
- To serve the salad after making it the day before, let it sit at room temperature for 20 - 30 minutes, and then give it a stir. If the orzo looks dry, drizzle in a bit of extra-virgin olive oil and a small sprinkle of water and/or lemon juice. Then stir the salad again and serve!
- Any leftover lemon orzo salad should be stored tightly covered in the fridge, for up to 3 - 4 days.
Recipe FAQs
Lemon orzo with feta will taste great served warm, straight after making it, at room temperature, or cold. However, if the orzo salad has been in the fridge for longer than a couple hours, the olive oil will likely have solidified due to the cold temperature. If this occurs, I recommend letting the salad sit at room temperature for 20 - 30 minutes, and stirring it again before serving.
Rinsing the cooked orzo before adding it the rest of the pasta salad ingredients is an important step. Rinsing it in cold water will stop the cooking process so the orzo doesn't get overcooked and mushy in the salad.
The cold water will also help to bring down the temperature of the orzo so the heat won't soften the other ingredients too much. You don't need the orzo to be fully room temperature after rinsing. If it's still warm that's ok, we just don't want it to be steaming! And, be sure to drain the orzo well before adding it to the salad.
Related recipes
If you’ve tried this recipe, please leave a star rating and/or review in the comments section below, I would love to hear from you! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. And sign up for my weekly newsletter to get recipes delivered straight to you!
Print📖 Recipe
Lemon Orzo Salad
This lemon orzo salad is an easy side dish that you can make with only 8 ingredients! It's full of bright lemony flavor from lemon juice and lemon zest. This is a great summer side for barbecues and picnics!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: side dish
- Method: mix, boil
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 12 ounces (340 g) uncooked orzo pasta (scant 2 cups)
- ⅔ cup (80 g) chopped red onion (about ½ medium red onion)
- 1 cup (36 g) chopped parsley (see note 1)
- 1 ½ cups (225 g) grape tomatoes
- ⅔ cup (156 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup (118 ml) lemon juice (from about 2 - 3 lemons)
- 2 teaspoons (4 g) finely grated lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
- 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt, plus more for pasta water
- 10 ounces (283 g) feta cheese
Instructions
- Cook orzo according to the package directions, in generously salted water.
- Meanwhile, prep the vegetables: chop the onion and parsley, and cut the grape tomatoes in half. Set aside.
- Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, extra-virgin olive oil and salt to a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
- When the orzo is cooked to al dente, drain it in a colander and rinse it well under cold water. Drain the orzo well.
- Add the orzo to the bowl with the lemon dressing. Add in the onion, parsley, and tomatoes. Stir to combine.
- Crumble the feta cheese into the bowl and gently stir to combine.
- Taste the salad and sprinkle in more salt and/or lemon juice if desired. Serve immediately, or, for best flavor, cover the orzo salad and refrigerate for 1 - 2 hours.
Notes
Parsley can be sandy so be sure to rinse it well and pat it dry with paper towels before chopping.
The lemon flavor in the dressing is bold, perfect for anyone who loves tangy flavor! But, if you prefer a more subtle lemon flavor, you can reduce the amount of lemon in the dressing. Then, when you taste the finished salad you can add more to taste.
If the orzo is ready before all of the remaining steps are finished, drain the pasta, rinse it well under cold water, and set it aside until ready to use.
This salad tastes the best when eaten the day it is made or one day after. However, any leftovers can be stored in the fridge, tightly covered, and will last for 3 - 4 days.
The nutrition information below is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator; the nutrition counts of your dish will vary based on the brand and exact amounts of ingredients used. This nutrition estimate should not be considered a substitute for professional medical, health, or nutritional advice. See our full disclosure policy.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅛ recipe
- Calories: 334
- Sugar: 3.5 g
- Sodium: 715 mg
- Fat: 16.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 5.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 36.5 g
- Fiber: 2.3 g
- Protein: 10.8 g
- Cholesterol: 23 mg
Beth says
Can I sub a gluten free pasta like rotini ?
Kate says
Hi Beth, I definitely think that you can sub in a gluten free pasta for the orzo. My only concern would be that the measurements may be off a bit since rotini is a much larger pasta shape than orzo. So you may end up with too little or too much dressing compared with the pasta. I think you could solve this by cooking a full 12 ounces (by weight) of the rotini, and only add in some of it to the dressing and stir. If it seems like there is still a lot of dressing in the bottom of the bowl, you can add more as needed. Or, you can try to substitute a smaller gluten free pasta that is a similar size to the orzo. I hope this helps answer your question, and if you end up making the salad I really hope you enjoy it!