Greek Orzo Salad plus Shrimp

At a glance

What stands out: This main dish Greek orzo salad is zinging with all the Greek flavors you love: kalamata olives, tomatoes, feta, lemon, fresh mint, parsley, and more. It is reliable for everyday meals but easily could be served to guests (and it makes a lot).

How long it takes: 30 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: pasta pot, large bowl, skillet
Servings: 8

There’s something about the simple combination of cucumbers, red onions, olives, tomatoes, with crumbly feta cheese that we just can’t resist. We love our Greek chopped salad or Greek pasta salad which both include garbanzo beans and red wine vinegar dressing. We make those salads often.

Today’s recipe adds sautéed shrimp to the salad, a bright lemony vinaigrette, and our favorite pasta for salads: orzo! The crunchy, salty, fresh, and tangy combination is sure to make you do a happy dance. Serve the salad with chilled glass of prosecco or an Aperol spritz. A bowlful of olive oil roasted almonds rounds things off nicely. Enjoy!

Straightforward Greek Orzo Salad

This Greek pasta salad is a real crowd pleaser! Each forkful bursts with flavor: tangy cheese, briny shrimp, fruity kalamata olives, juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, peppery parsley, and fresh mint. A simple vinaigrette made with extra virgin olive oil and fresh lemon juice brings it all together. (If you prefer a hot dish, try our Greek baked orzo with shrimp.)

A light entrée. This salad is just reliable for warm summer days when you are looking for a lighter and just-filling-enough dinner with 21 grams of protein per serving. (If you like the idea of pasta salad for dinner, try our crab pasta salad or chicken macaroni salad, too.)

Orzo is the reliable pasta. Orzo is a little rice-shaped pasta that is the reliable vehicle to carry the rest of the flavors in the dish. We love using orzo instead of rice because it has a pretty neutral flavor and lightly chewy texture without any of the stickiness. It cooks much more quickly which is another definite plus.

A delightful dressing. Bright lemony oregano vinaigrette serves double-duty both as a dressing and as a marinade for the shrimp. If you don’t care for shrimp, cooked or grilled chicken works great, too, or chickpeas for a vegetarian salad.

TB Said:

“Memorable! The blend of flavors was wonderful. Excellent recipe. Our husband ate 2 bowls.”

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What goes in

We'll talk about a few of the ingredients here but refer to the recipe card for more specific instructions.

• Orzo: You’ll need a 16 ounce box of orzo. Look for orzo by the other dry pastas. Whole wheat or gluten-free orzo is fine, if you can find it. If you don’t want to use orzo, cauliflower rice or quinoa are good alternatives.
• Shrimp: Here in Michigan, frozen shrimp is usually a standby choice. You’ll need a pound of shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tail off. If it’s frozen, thaw it out by running cold water over it.
• Vegetables: The salad includes crunchy tender-skinned cucumbers, red onion, and cherry tomatoes. You can use other types of tomatoes if you wish. The salad also includes tangy Kalamata olives.
• Feta Cheese: For best flavor, use full fat feta cheese, preferable from a block (crumble it yourself).
• Fresh Parsley & Mint Leaves: We like flat leaf Italian parsley because it has more flavor than curly parsley. Don’t substitute dry mint; it would be better to omit the mint if you can’t find fresh.
• From-scratch Vinaigrette: Lemon juice is the base of the simple vinaigrette; it’s whisked with extra virgin olive oil, fresh minced garlic, dried oregano, salt, and pepper.

Cooking Tip

We like to soak our red onions in ice water to take out some of the sharp flavor. It will stay nice and crisp in the ice water but won’t overpower the salad. If that sounds good to you, slice the onion first so it has time to soak.

How it comes together

Prep work. Begin by putting a pot of water on the stove to boil. While that’s heating up and the pasta cooks, the vinaigrette, shrimp, and vegetables can be prepped. If your shrimp is still frozen, put it in a colander in the sink and run cool water over it to thaw it out (5 minutes or so).

Prepare the vinaigrette. Squeeze the juice out of a couple of lemons, add the olive oil, fresh garlic (minced or pressed), dried oregano, salt and pepper. Whisk the dressing until the ingredients are combined.

Cook shrimp. Put the shrimp in a bowl and add a couple tablespoons of the dressing as a quickie marinade, stirring until the shrimp is coated. Heat up a medium-sized skillet and add the shrimp. It will cook quickly. Flip it once. The shrimp will curl up and turn an opaque light pink color when it’s done. Remove the shrimp from the pan and spread it on a plate to cool.

Prep veggies. Slice the cucumber and tomatoes, and finely chop the herbs. By now, the orzo should be cooked al dente. Using a colander, drain it in the sink, rinse it with cool water, and drain it thoroughly.

Put the orzo into a large bowl. Now that they’re cool enough to handle, roughly chop the shrimp (if you want).

Combine. Pour in the remaining vinaigrette and mix well. Add the chopped veggies, herbs, olives, and feta to the salad bowl and combine. Gently mix it all together.

Serve. Your salad is ready to serve, or if you prefer, it can be refrigerated for a couple of hours. Check the seasoning, and add more salt and pepper if desired. Another speedy squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of olive oil perks up the flavor, too.

Ways to change it

• Sub in chicken for the shrimp. Try poached chicken or oven roasted chicken breasts. Grilled chicken that has been marinated with Greek marinade is a great add-in.
• Make it vegetarian. Substitute chickpeas (garbanzo beans) or cannellini beans for the shrimp. You may want to try our vegetarian-friendly barley salad with tomatoes, cucumber, and parsley.
• Take a shortcut. Substitute store-bought Greek salad dressing for the from-scratch vinaigrette, or another dressing of your choice.
• Like orzo pasta salads? Try bruschetta orzo pasta salad, creamy southwestern orzo salad, spring orzo salad, or orzo salad with yogurt dill dressing.
• Looking for a no-carb alternative? Try our grilled shrimp salad. The marinated and grilled shrimp is served on leafy green lettuce, with tomatoes, avocados, and sliced cucumber.

Make-Ahead Ideas

Some of the components of the salad can be prepped up to a day ahead and stored separately in the refrigerator until you’re ready to combine them and serve the salad. The veggies can be chopped, the vinaigrette prepared, and the shrimp and orzo can be cooked.

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerate: Leftover salad can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days as long as it’s refrigerated promptly.

To Serve: Because the orzo continues to absorb the dressing as it sits, you may need to refresh the salad with a bit more dressing. Usually, all it takes is a squeeze of lemon and drizzle of olive oil to perk it up again.

Free Meal Plans

Interested in weekly meal plans that include this recipe? Take a look at our Meal Plan #21 or Meal Plan #70. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list. Let us do the planning for you this week!

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• Yield: 8
• Prep: 15 minutes
• Cook: 15 minutes
• Total: 30 minutes

Ingredients

For Dressing:

• 6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2 lemons)
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more to taste

For Salad:

• 1 box (16 ounces) orzo pasta, uncooked
• 16 ounces peeled, deveined shrimp, tail removed, size 31/40 (thawed if frozen)
• ½ English cucumber
• ½ medium red onion (see note)
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• ½ cup pitted kalamata olives
• ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
• ¼ cup minced fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh mint leaves

Method

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the orzo and cook according to the package instructions.
2. Meanwhile, In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine dressing ingredients: lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Whisk together.
3. In a separate bowl, combine shrimp and 2 tablespoons of dressing. Heat skillet over medium high heat. Add shrimp with marinade to pan and sauté three minutes, flipping halfway, until shrimp is opaque and curled. Remove from pan and set aside to cool. Chop shrimp roughly (or cut in half).
4. Quarter the cucumber and cut it into ½ inch thick slices. Quarter the onion half and slice thinly. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. If the kalamata olives are whole, we usually cut them in half, too (make sure to remove any pits!).
5. Drain orzo, rinse with cold water, and drain thoroughly. Transfer to a very large bowl, add remaining dressing, and stir to combine. Add cucumber, onion, tomatoes, olives, feta, parsley, and mint leaves; toss to combine. Add shrimp and toss.
6. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

Pro tip: To tone down the sharp flavor of onion, soak the sliced onion in ice water for 10 to 15 minutes; drain well and add it to the salad.

Storage: Leftover salad can be refrigerated for up to three days. To serve, refresh the salad by adding a squeeze of lemon and/or a drizzle of olive oil.

Vegetarian: Omit shrimp, add chickpeas and/or additional feta, if desired.

Chicken alternative: Cooked or grilled chicken can be substituted for the shrimp. It’s especially good with chicken that has been marinated in Greek marinade.