The best orzo salad recipe, sure to please a crowd! Loaded with fresh herbs, chickpeas, feta cheese, and a bright lemon vinaigrette, this recipe is one of my all-time favorites. It’s easy and you can make it ahead of time. Serve it as a main course, a side dish, or top it with chicken, fish, steak, anything you like.
When I set out to make an orzo salad recipe, of course I wanted it to be delicious. And sure, I wanted it to be quick to prepare, because hey, I was using orzo for a reason: it’s as small as a grain of rice, so it cooks up in no time. But I never expected it to be the best orzo salad recipe ever…or for it to be one of my favorite side dishes of all time.
I think it’s the fragrant mint and sweet basil. Or maybe the creamy cool feta cheese. It could be the bright and zingy lemon vinaigrette that the orzo gets tossed with to give it a real freshness. It’s too hard to choose. To bump up the protein, I added chickpeas, and to perk up the texture, I threw in crispy-crunchy red onion and celery.
How To Make Minted Orzo Salad with Feta and Chickpeas – Step By Step
- Boil the orzo in the chicken broth until tender. Drain and let cool slightly.
- Combine the orzo with the chickpeas, feta, red onion, celery, basil, and mint in a large bowl.
- Combine all vinaigrette ingredients in a blender and pulse until well combined and emulsified. Pour over the orzo salad and toss to coat. Let stand for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend before serving at room temperature or even chilled.
The Best Orzo Salad Recipe!
Everyone who ate this minted orzo salad with chickpeas and feta raved about it! For a salad that requires so little cooking/prep time, taste greats hot or cold, and works even better when you make it ahead of time, you can’t go wrong here. Next time you want a sure-fire win for a potluck, just boil up some orzo in chicken broth (instant flavor booster!), whisk up the simple lemon vinaigrette, and toss it all with mint, feta, and a few other fresh ingredients!
Top Tips For Minted Orzo Salad with Feta and Chickpeas.
- Make sure to drain and rinse the chickpeas.
- When cooking orzo, you do not need to add cooking oil to the pasta water; adding oil prevents sauces and seasonings from adhering to the orzo.
- After cooking the orzo, let it cool slightly before combining with the rest of the ingredients.
- Let the salad stand for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to combine.
Check Out These Other Tasty Salad Recipes
Farro Beet Mason Jar Salad with Pistachios and Apricots
Southwestern Shrimp Caesar Salad
Healthy Pepperoni Pasta Salad by Well Plated
Chopped Wedge Salad by Skinnytaste
If you have tried this Minted Orzo Salad with Feta and Chickpeas recipe, or any other recipe on my blog, then please rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious, healthy, family friendly food!
Minted Orzo Salad with Chickpeas and Feta
Ingredients
Orzo Salad:
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups dry orzo pasta
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 medium red onion finely chopped (about 2/3 cup)
- 1 large celery stalk finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint leaves
Lemon Vinaigrette:
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Boil the orzo in the chicken broth until tender. Drain and let cool slightly.
- Combine the orzo with the chickpeas, feta, red onion, celery, basil, and mint in a large bowl.
- Combine all vinaigrette ingredients in a blender and pulse until well combined and emulsified. Pour over the orzo salad and toss to coat. Let stand for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend before serving at room temperature or even chilled.
last night i tried to make a simple mix up salad like this one (pearled barley, cucumber, roasted grape tomatoes, basil, kale and a peanut dressing) but something was a little off and it wasn’t my favorite combo. this looks great though – minus feta – but i bet goat cheese would be equally delicious!
feta is goat cheese which I love in it because it gives it a slightly salty tase. Personally I like green onions with it rather than the red onion..
you are my new favorite person! high five for your weight loss and double high five for your tasty recipes and travel adventures.
This looks wonderful! I’m growing 6 different types of mint in my garden…I’ll have to try a mixture of them in this recipe.
This sounds so delicious! I love receiving your newsletters everyday :)
Congratulations on your weight loss, you have inspired me to try harder. which book would you recommend reading first or had the most impact on your journey, the salad looks great but I don’t see serving size or calorie count.
This looks incredible – can’t wait to try it out!
Ohh yum. Mint is such a summer flavor to me. I remember my mom growing it in her garden and I would steal little bits to chew on. I once thought I could live off mint, if I ever needed to run away from home I’d just take a little mint plant with me.
Hehe good job on this, love the flavor combo.
this looks like one of my favorite side dishes at whole foods’ salad bar. sooo glad i can recreate it now!!
Hey! I’ve just come across your blog from Pinterest. LOVE it! I now have it booked to my favorites and have been reading up for the last 30 minutes. Thanks so much for sharing your weight loss journey, the beautiful pictures, and these amazing photos of food! YUM
Made this for dinner tonight – it was a really big hit! Thank you for sharing.
Hii, i find your story so, so inspiring! Well done! I will definitely be trying this soon :)
yum!!!! I love easy salads with packed flavor!!!
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This looks very refreshing and delicious! Chickpeas are one of my favorite fiber-licious foods, but I wouldn’t have thought of pairing them with mint. Love it!
Looks.so.delicious!! I have been doing a juice cleanse for 3 days and drooling over food (which I will eat again tomorrow, yay!)
I just made this and it was delicious! Perfect for a summer afternoon. Thank you for this great recipe!
looks great! how many servings is this? I want to serve it for my in law this week and want to know if should double the recipe or not.
looks delicious! i love that combo of flavors!
I made this on friday and it was DELICIOUS! thank you! I served it to 6 people to go along with our meal, and there was still some left over. YUM, I will definitely make this again this summer.
I am eating this salad over salad as I type…yum, yum! I’ll be adding this to the rotation:)
Love the idea of putting this over a leafy green salad! My family will be eating that tonight! Great thinking:)
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Can I find the mint leaves at the grocery store? Or do I have to go to a special market for them?
Hey! Yes, you can find mint leaves at nearly all large grocery stores :)
Andie
I NEVER make recipes from blogs, just pin them for fun in the hopes that someday I’ll try them. I made this, and it was OUT of this world. Reminded me of a lot of the age-old Armenian recipes we make with mint. Now I’m brining it to all my family get togethers – thank you!!
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This looks amazing! We have basil and mint growing here at home and I can’t wait to try this!
I have just made this and it is really delicious!! All my favourite things! Will post a link from my blog.
I stumbled across this recipe on Pinterest and made it for a pot luck today and it got rave reviews! Thank you for the wonderful salad recipe a friend of mine will now be taking it to her next party next weekend!
My husband is not a fan of celery, does it effect the taste much if you leave it out?
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have been looking for the receipe and now found it/ will make it today- sounds wonderful
This recipe was under vegetarian, but has chicken broth in it. Suggestions on a replacement? I’d like to try it cuz it sounds yummy!!!
Ohh, gosh, good point Angie! Sorry about that. Try substituting vegetable broth instead!
Andie
My new favorite dish! Doubled garbanzo beans, added tons if mint & loved it! Will try with different grains for added fiber/nutrients. Many thanks!
This looks delicious! I would love to make this for an upcoming event, how many does this serve?
Thanks!
Hey Katie,
It serves 6!
Andie
I found your blog and this recipe on Pinterest and I made it last night—LOVE IT! The best salad ever. Thank you so much for a new favorite!
Sure would like caloric info consistently . U have great ideas. It’s not that hard to do but, it may mean the difference in wanting to try recipe…..thanks for all u do!
I understand and I thank you. I just added the nutrition info for this recipe above, if that helps for now. As a personal assignment, I’m working on going back and editing older recipes to include the nutrition in nearly all of them.
I appreciate you being here,
Andie
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Made this tonight for dinner. Hubby loved it! Great salad.
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I am not a cook at all, but had to bring a dish to a friend’s potluck yesterday. So, I made this one – and it was a HUGE hit! Everyone kept raving about it. I think it’s the dressing that really nails it. So great. Thank you!
FYI for other readers: I substituted vegetable broth for the chicken, and goat cheese for the feta. Equally delicious.
I made this, and it’s terrific! Thanks for a great recipe! I subbed fresh cilantro for the basil, and as a result, the mint+cilantro tastes like dill. So good! :)
This looks absolutely delicious! I can’t wait to make it this weekend!
I substituted the orzo for quinoa (you can also use couscous) and it’s equally delicious. Great one this recipe!
I just made this. It’s fantastic. Feels a little more like a summer salad but it’s February in Connecticut and I am dreaming of warm sunny days. Thank you for the inspiration, it fits in my diet plan and exercise efforts and it’s delicious !
Can I make this the night before to serve the next day?
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What is the name of your blog?
Did you used to serve this with Red Wine Vinaigrette? I seem to remember that from about two years ago?
Yes! But if you sub red wine vinegar for the lemon juice, it works out just as tasty! I also reduced the olive oil slightly.
Andie
Made this over the weekend and it was delicious but what to know the serving size . Is it a cup, 1/2 a cup ?
Hi Debbie! Thanks! It’s about a 2/3 cup serving
Andie!
Another hit in the Hansen Household! I made the whole batch ( I knew it would be good)so that I could serve some tonight…I am having my bestie’s over for dinner since my husband is out of town:) They are going to love it! Thanks! XOXOXO
I LOVE that you are cooking through all my recipes! Thank you, a million times, Carol!! xoxoxo
I have made this for 4 get togethers and everyone raved about it! I added sliced black olives and cherry tomatoes instead of celery. This salad is so easy and SO good.
Ah that’s incredible to hear!! Thank you so much Darlene! And those swaps/additions are great; I’m trying them next time I make it! xo
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I made this yesterday & it was a hit. Very satisfying & a great side dish. Love the orzo+mint combination!
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