Spinach and Orzo Salad

This colorful spinach and orzo salad is bursting with freshness! Made with creamy feta cheese, toasted pine nuts, onions, tomatoes, and olives. It’s light, hearty and so delicious!

Why This Recipe Works

• It’s light and easy to make.
• This orzo salad makes a great vegetarian side dish or light main meal.
• You can easily add a protein like grilled chicken or shrimp.

Ingredient Notes

See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.

• Orzo Pasta: Orzo looks and feels like rice, but it’s actually tiny pasta.
• Vegetables: We add in finely chopped fresh spinach and chopped red onions.
• Additional add-ins: Feta cheese, toasted pine nuts, sun-dried tomatoes, and kalamata olives. These ingredients add tremendous flavor to this Mediterranean salad.
• Orzo salad dressing: We make a homemade dressing with equal parts of olive oil and balsamic vinegar along with a pinch of black pepper and dried basil.

How To Make This Recipe

1. Cook the orzo. Drain, rinse in cold water and set aside.
2. Toss the spinach, feta cheese, onions, pine nuts, sun-dried tomatoes, and kalamata olives in a large bowl. Add the cooked orzo and stir well.
3. Whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dried basil, and pepper. Pour over the spinach and orzo salad and toss.
4. Taste salad and add salt to taste if necessary.
5. Refrigerate and serve cold.

Expert Tips

• You can make this spinach and orzo salad ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator. You can even double the ingredients to make an extra large salad for serving a big group.
• Feel free to use the ingredient amounts listed in the recipe as a guide and add more or less depending on your preferences.
• You might like to consider adding cooked, chopped bacon to your orzo salad.

Frequently Asked Questions

Spinach and Orzo Salad

By: Joanie Zisk

Prep: 20 minutes mins

Total: 20 minutes mins

Servings: 8 servings

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A classic Spinach and Orzo Salad combining red onion, feta cheese, pine nuts, basil, sun dried tomatoes and tossed with a balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing. A delicious and colorful cold salad.

Equipment

• Mixing bowl

Ingredients 

• ▢ 1 16-ounce package uncooked orzo pasta
• ▢ 10 ounces baby spinach leaves, finely chopped
• ▢ 1/2 pound feta cheese , crumbled
• ▢ 1/2 medium red onion , finely chopped
• ▢ 3/4 cup toasted pine nuts
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• ▢ 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes , chopped
• ▢ 1/2 cup kalamata olives (optional)

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Instructions 

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the orzo and cook for about 8 minutes or until al dente. Drain, rinse in cold water and set aside.
• Toss the spinach, feta, onion, pine nuts, basil and pepper in a large bowl. Add the orzo and stir well. Mix together the olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl. Pour over the spinach and orzo salad and toss.
• Top with sun dried tomatoes and kalamata olives.
• Refrigerate and serve cold.

Notes

Expert Tips

• You can make this spinach and orzo salad ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator. You can even double the ingredients to make an extra large salad for serving a big group.
• Feel free to use the ingredient amounts listed in the recipe as a guide and add more or less depending on your preferences.
• You might like to consider adding cooked, chopped bacon to your orzo salad.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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