Lemon Orzo Salad

This Lemon Orzo Salad is made with fresh produce like tomatoes, zucchini and basil, and the lemons make it light and refreshing. It's healthy and a perfect make-ahead lunch recipe or side dish, so what are you waiting for? Dig in! 

I love a good pasta salad, and this lemon orzo salad is right up there with my Mediterranean pasta salad in terms of favorites. It's a recipe I created back in 2017 and one that I continue to make to this day. If you're a fan of lemony pasta, I promise you'll love this recipe!

It's made with zucchini, tomato, herbs, and feta cheese and is such an easy dish to prep for summertime get-togethers (along with my grilled chicken thighs and my no bake chocolate pie).

Why this salad is the best

• It's an easy and delicious way to utilize summer produce like tomatoes, zucchini and fresh basil, or honestly whatever fresh herbs you have on hand (think: parsley, chives..). 
• It's delicious hot OR cold (yes really), so choose your preference and eat up!
• You can enjoy it fresh or as leftovers the next day and it's just as tasty

Ingredients

• Orzo - Even though it resembles long grain rice, orzo is a part of the pasta family, and I find it to be a nice change of pace from my usual pasta. With that said, you should be able to easily find it in the Italian food aisle at the grocery store.

• Vegetables - This recipe calls for tomatoes, zucchini, and basil, but if you're looking for one or more substitutions, you could try: peas, spinach and/or asparagus. Another note: though I used grape tomatoes (they're my favorite!), ANY kind of tomatoes will work.

• Herbs - Fresh herbs are best, and while I opted to use basil, fresh parsley or even chopped chives would be delicious! 

• Olive oil - Make sure you use a high-quality extra-virgin olive oil. The olive oil plus lemon juice are what gives this pasta salad it's flavor! 

• Lemon juice - I want to tell you to use freshly squeezed, but I used pre-squeezed lemon juice because it's easier 🙂 If you go this route, make sure to use lemon juice with "lemons" being the only ingredient! 

• Feta cheese - I love adding feta cheese to salads (like my favorite chickpea salad), but two notes: 1) it's optional, and 2) you can sub goat cheese if you can't find feta, or even use vegan feta to keep this salad plant-based. 

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Cook the orzo until it's al dente. What does this mean? It means you want to cook it so that it has a bite to it. I like to think of it as cooking the orzo so that it's not too soft, which should only take 5 minutes or so.

Step 2: Prep the lemon vinaigrette. While the orzo cooks, whisk the lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, water, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl, then set it aside.

Step 3: Slice the veggies. I cut the tomatoes in half and the zucchini into fourths so that they're smaller in size, which is ideal for this salad.

Step 4: Add the pasta to the bowl with the lemon juice. Once it's done cooking, drain it as you normally would (reserve ¼ cup pasta water first), then transfer it to the big bowl of lemon juice and let it sit for 10 minutes. This will allow the pasta to soak up the lemon/olive oil/water, which will prevent the pasta from getting too dry, and add a ton of flavor to it as well.

Step 5: Combine everything and eat up! The final step is to add the tomatoes, zucchini, basil, and feta cheese to the bowl, then to stir everything together.

Tips and tricks

• Ingredient substitutions: If you want to use different vegetables, try peas, artichokes or spinach. If you want to use different cheese, try goat cheese or use vegan feta.
• Want to add protein? Try adding grilled chicken or even some chickpeas
• I recommend reserving ¼ cup of the pasta water before draining the pasta in case the cooked orzo becomes too dry (it should't!)
• Storage: Store this pasta in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
• Make it ahead: This recipe can easily be made ahead of time. Simply cook the pasta and have it sit in the bowl with lemon juice, then add the vegetables and store it in the refrigerator. Before serving, add the cheese.

Should orzo be served hot or cold? 

Either one! If I'm making this lemon orzo salad for just myself and my husband, we'll usually eat it hot. However, if I'm making it for a crowd, I'll serve it cold. Both ways are delicious! 

How long will this last in the refrigerator?

This pasta will last one week when stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. The good news is that, unlike other pasta recipes, this one won't dry up in the refrigerator. It'll be good as new for a solid week, which is perfect for enjoying leftovers.

Can you freeze orzo?

Personally, I wouldn't. The texture will be off, and it just won't taste as fresh, and the best part of this salad is that it's FRESH. So, do yourself a favor and enjoy it the day of or the following day.

Other recipes you might enjoy:

• Strawberry Crisp
• Grilled Asparagus Pasta Salad
• Broccoli Cauliflower Salad 

If you made and loved this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below!

UPDATE NOTE: This recipe was originally published in 2017. It was updated in April 2022 with new photos.