This Arugula Orzo Salad is a great and refreshing summer recipe and it is one of my favorite salads for entertaining.
This recipe was adapted from an Orzo Salad by Giada De Laurentiis. I changed some of the ingredients to my taste and it's wonderful. I love the combination of textures, colors and flavors.
Ingredients You'll Need
The printable recipe card with exact amounts and cooking directions is below.
Orzo: It's a small shaped pasta and it's perfect to make salads.
Arugula: Fresh good quality arugula is the base for this salad.
Lemons: Fresh lemon juice to make the vinaigrette. It goes perfect with the rest of the ingredients.
Olive Oil: A good quality olive oil to make a good vinaigrette.
Basil: You need fresh basil to make this salad.
Cranberries: They add the perfect combination of sweet and tart flavors to this salad.
Feta Cheese: You can replace it with ricotta salata y you prefer.
Salt and Pepper: To add flavor
Pinenuts: Use good quality nuts for this recipe
How to Make this Arugula and Orzo Salad
- Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the orzo and cook until tender, but still firm to the bite. Drain the pasta and set aside to cool.
- Place the arugula, basil, pine nuts, and cranberries in a large salad bowl, mix well and then add the orzo.
- Mix together the lemon juice and olive oil in a small bowl. Pour the mixture over the salad and mix well.
- Add the feta cheese and toss together, using 2 forks until well mixed. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Cooking Notes
You can make this salad ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until ready to serve. I prefer adding the dressing before serving, because the arugula can get soggy.
More Salad Recipes
Tomates Rellenos de Atún (Tuna Salad Stuffed Tomatoes)
Ají de Huevo (Colombian Egg Spicy Salad)
Ensalada de Aguacate y Tomate( Avocado and Tomato Salad)
Potato, Chicken and Apple Salad
Arugula Orzo Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound orzo pasta
- 5 lemons
- Salt
- 1 ½ cups dried cranberries
- 1 cup fresh basil
- 1 ½ cups pine nuts
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 oz baby arugula
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 cups feta cheese
Instructions
- Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the orzo and cook until tender, but still firm to the bite. Drain the pasta and set aside to cool.
- Place the arugula, basil, pine nuts, and cranberries in a large salad bowl, mix well and then add the orzo.
- Mix together the lemon juice and olive oil in a small bowl. Pour the mixture over the salad and mix well.
- Add the feta cheese and toss together, using 2 forks until well mixed. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Trish
Hi Erica,
Jim is making this tonight. Suzy and the boys are coming over for dinner. I can't wait to eat this delicious salad!!!! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Trish
Anna
Orzo is my favorite pasta for pasta salads, yours looks very summerly and yummy.
nora@ffr
vat a simple and healthy salad. just beyond impressive!! sure gonna give a try
cheers!!
Aysha
Perfect for the season.Yummy and Healthy!!It's so colorful...
justjoycee
Wow, I really like your recipes. I cook a lot of Cuban, Puerto Rican, Italian, and American Southern, so this is new to me and I would really like to try some of the dishes. Thanks for following me.
Natasha - 5 Star Foodie
Lovely orzo salad - love the arugula and feta here!
Lisa
Thank you for following me! I've made the Giada version of this recipe before and it's most excellent to play with. Your photos are gorgeous and I'm glad I found you. 🙂
rebecca subbiah
so simple and tasty love it
Karen
This looks so good! I have a lot of spinach in my garden, I think I'll use it instead of the arugula
Erica
Thank you all so much for your comments!
Claudia
Great recipe and blog! It's my go to för arepas and empanadas. Could this salad go well with pomegranate? Toasting the pine nuts also brings out their flavour.
Will definitely try this ffor my next dinner party!
Soma
Yaa this is going to be my lunch sometimes this week. i do not have pine nuts but will substitute. I like eating orzo a lot.
Marta
I like this salad, the cranberries and feta must be a delicious contrast!
Ann
YUmm! This looks so easy and healthy:) Good for my growing waist line 🙂
My Carolina Kitchen
Erica, what a gorgeous salad. Your recipes are top notch and you're a talented photographer as well.
Thanks for stopping by my kitchen and following along. I really appreciate it. It also gave me the opportunity to you and find your lovely blog.
Sam
Tresa
How many servings does this recipe make?
Erica Dinho
About 6 servings
Juju
This looks amazing.
Monica Wong
Hi Erica,
Thanks for joining me and sharing! Warm Welcome!
You have a great blog as well!
Lina
Amazing recipe. I make this salad every time I have a party. Thank you!