Recipes › Fresh bowls & lunches› Mediterranean orzo salad with tomato and feta
Fresh bowls & lunches · Easy · Serves 6

Mediterranean orzo salad with tomato and feta

A Mediterranean orzo salad with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, olives, and feta in a lemon-oregano dressing. Travels beautifully, feeds a crowd, and packs perfectly for lunch.

Anna Lind Harper
by Anna Lind Harper
Tested twice · Published 2026-06-18
A large shallow cream-speckled stoneware serving bowl on a pale wooden outdoor table, filled with a Mediterranean orzo salad: tender orzo glossed with olive oil and scattered with halved red and yellow cherry tomatoes, half-moons of cucumber, slivers of red onion, glistening pitted kalamata olives, a generous crumble of white feta, and a lot of chopped fresh parsley and dill. A wooden serving spoon rests in the bowl, a halved lemon and a small bunch of herbs sit beside it, and dappled late-afternoon light falls across the table.
Prep
20 min
Cook
10 min
Serves
6
Difficulty
easy

This is the salad I make when I want lunches sorted for a few days and something to carry to a backyard table. Tender orzo tossed with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, kalamata olives, red onion, and feta, in a lemony oregano dressing that tastes like summer.

It holds up for days in the fridge and packs into a container without complaint, which makes it my default work lunch and the thing I always offer to bring to a cookout.

“Orzo, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, olives, feta, a lemony oregano dressing. It travels beautifully and feeds a crowd.”
Why this one earns a weeknight

What you'll love about it

  • 01It travels and holds for days, so it is genuinely good packed-lunch and picnic food.
  • 02Everything but the boiling is a fold-together job, and even that is ten minutes.
  • 03Briny olives, sweet tomatoes, salty feta, and lemon make every bite a little different.
  • 04It feeds a crowd, or feeds you all week from one bowl.
Anna, in a warm rust short-sleeve linen top, spooning the finished Mediterranean orzo salad from a large mixing bowl into a serving bowl with a wooden spoon, by her sunny kitchen window. Cherry tomatoes, cucumber, olives, and feta are visible, with a halved lemon and a small dish of feta on the marble counter.
Fold it gently, then let it rest so the orzo drinks up the dressing.
Ingredients

For the salad

  • 1½ cupsdried orzo
  • 2 cupscherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1English cucumber, quartered lengthwise and sliced
  • ½ cupkalamata olives, pitted and halved
  • ⅓ cupthinly sliced red onion
  • 5 ozfeta, crumbled or cubed
  • ½ cupfresh parsley, chopped
  • ¼ cupfresh dill or basil, chopped

For the lemon-oregano dressing

  • ⅓ cupolive oil
  • 3 Tbspred wine vinegar
  • 2 Tbspfresh lemon juice
  • 1 tspdried oregano
  • 1small garlic clove, grated
  • 1 tspdijon mustard
  • ¾ tspkosher salt
  • black pepper

To serve

  • extra crumbled feta
  • lemon wedges
  • flaky sea salt
Method

How I make it

  1. 01
    Cook the orzo.
    Boil the orzo in well-salted water until just al dente, about one minute less than the package says. Drain, rinse briefly under cool water to stop the cooking, drain well again, and toss with a splash of olive oil so it doesn't clump.
  2. 02
    Whisk the dressing.
    In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, oregano, grated garlic, dijon, salt, and a few cracks of pepper.
  3. 03
    Toss it together.
    In a large bowl, combine the orzo, tomatoes, cucumber, olives, red onion, parsley, and dill. Pour over the dressing and fold to coat. Add the feta and fold once more, gently. Taste and adjust the salt and lemon.
  4. 04
    Let it rest.
    Let the salad sit at least 20 minutes, or chill for an hour, so the orzo drinks up the dressing. If it looks thirsty before serving, loosen it with a splash more olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.
    A pair of hands in a warm rust short-sleeve linen top spooning a portion of the orzo salad into a glass meal-prep container on a marble counter, the large serving bowl beside it.
    It packs into a container without complaint, which is why it's my default work lunch.
A close macro of the orzo salad: tender orzo glossy with dressing, halved red and yellow cherry tomatoes, cucumber, glistening kalamata olives, big crumbles of feta, and flecks of parsley and dill.
A note from Anna

Orzo drinks up dressing as it sits, so make a little extra and hold some back. When you pull the salad from the fridge it often looks thirsty, and a splash of olive oil with a squeeze of lemon brings it right back to life. Cook the orzo on the firm side of al dente, since it keeps softening in the dressing over the next few days. And salt your pasta water like the sea; that is seasoning you can't add back in later.

What to serve with it

Round out the table.

  • ·01
    Grilled chicken or shrimp
    If you want to turn it into a bigger plate.
  • ·02
    Warm pita and hummus
    For an easy mezze-style lunch spread.
  • ·03
    A crisp white or sparkling lemonade
    It is built for eating outside.
Storage & reheating

Keeping the leftovers good.

Fridge: Keeps for 4 days, sealed. Refresh with a little olive oil and lemon before serving.

Make ahead: Make it a day ahead for a party; the flavors deepen overnight.

Freezer: Not suitable. The fresh veg and feta don't freeze well.

Recipe card

Mediterranean orzo salad with tomato and feta

A Mediterranean orzo salad with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, olives, and feta in a lemon-oregano dressing. Travels beautifully, feeds a crowd, and packs perfectly for lunch.

Prep
20 min
Cook
10 min
Serves
6
Total
30 min
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups dried orzo
  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 English cucumber, quartered lengthwise and sliced
  • ½ cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
  • ⅓ cup thinly sliced red onion
  • 5 oz feta, crumbled or cubed
  • ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
  • ¼ cup fresh dill or basil, chopped
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 small garlic clove, grated
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • ¾ tsp kosher salt
  • black pepper
  • extra crumbled feta
  • lemon wedges
  • flaky sea salt
Method (short version)
  1. 01Cook the orzo.
  2. 02Whisk the dressing.
  3. 03Toss it together.
  4. 04Let it rest.

Nutrition information is an estimate. See full nutrition disclaimer.

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