This vegan orzo salad is perfect for summer. Refreshing, light and very flavourful. So tasty that I can really have it any time, for lunch, dinner or a light snack.
The salad can be refrigerated and had over 2-3 days. It is perfect for taking along for picnics, bbqs or to work for a nice meal.
You could use other pastas too if you don’t have orzo.
You will also love cucumber and beet salad, Vietnamese cucumber salad, cucumber, tomato salad, beet salad with feta, avocado cucumber salad, cucumber radish salad, Sumac cucumber salad, cabbage and carrot salad, sprouted lentil salad and chickpea cucumber salad.
Ingredients
2 cups cooked pasta: I have used cooked orzo here.
Cucumbers: 2 Persian cucumbers are used here.
Cherry Tomatoes: I love how sweet and tasty these cherry tomatoes are. I have used about 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes in this salad.
Parsley: I am growing a lot of parsley so I have used 1 cup chopped parsley here.
Onion: I small red onion finely sliced is also used.
Dressing: I have used ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 tsp. Dijon mustard, 1.5 tbsp. apple cider vinegar, 2 cloves garlic finely minced, 1 tsp. Brown sugar or maple syrup, 1 tsp. Italian seasoning, ½ tsp. Chilli flakes, pepper and salt.
Instructions
It is super easy to make this salad. If you have cooked pasta in the fridge then it takes only 10 minutes to put it together. Otherwise, first cook orzo as per cooking instructions on the package.
Once cooked, drain and lightly toss with olive oil so that it does not stick together on cooling. Then just let the pasta cool down before tossing in the salad.
Chop all the vegetables you are using. I peel the cucumbers and then cut them in half moons. Cherry tomatoes can be halved and parsley is chopped as well.
In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the dressing well. That’s it. Now all you need to do is assemble.
Take chopped cucumber, halved cherry tomatoes, cooked and cooled orzo, chopped parsley in a large bowl. You can drizzle the dressing all over the salad and toss well.
Your delicious orzo vegan pasta is ready to serve. Refrigerate for the flavours to meld though I do serve it right away.
This salad will keep in the fridge when stored in an air tight container for 2-3 days.
You can add any protein of choice to the salad to make it more substantial. Crispy tofu is a good idea. If you eat cheese, crumbled cheese on the salad can be used. You can also use chopped avocado, corn or peas in the salad too.
Expert Tips
1. Use fresh vegetables. You can prep by chopping them and storing. Any fresh vegetables that don’t need cooking can be used here.
2. Cooling the pasta before assembling the salad is important so that you don’t start cooking the vegetables in the salad.
3. You can customise the vinaigrette as per taste. Skip the sweetener if you so desire though I like to add a little for balanced flavours.
Here's the recipe card:
📖 Recipe Card
Vegan Orzo Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups orzo cooked
- 2 Cucumbers
- 2 cups Cherry Tomatoes
- 1 cup parsley
- 1 onion small
Dressing
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1.5 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1 tsp. Brown sugar or maple syrup
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp. Pepper
- ½ tsp. Salt
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Instructions
- It is super easy to make this salad. If you have cooked pasta in the fridge then it takes only 10 minutes to put it together. Otherwise, first cook orzo as per cooking instructions on the package.
- Once cooked, drain and lightly toss with olive oil so that it does not stick together on cooling. Then just let the pasta cool down before tossing in the salad.
- Chop all the vegetables you are using. I peel the cucumbers and then cut them in half moons. Cherry tomatoes can be halved and parsley is chopped as well.
- In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the dressing well. That’s it. Now all you need to do is assemble.
- Take chopped cucumber, halved cherry tomatoes, cooked and cooled orzo, chopped parsley in a large bowl. You can drizzle the dressing all over the salad and toss well.
- Your delicious orzo vegan pasta is ready to serve. Refrigerate for the flavours to meld though I do serve it right away.
- This salad will keep in the fridge when stored in an air tight container for 2-3 days.
- You can add any protein of choice to the salad to make it more substantial. Crispy tofu is a good idea. If you eat cheese, crumbled cheese on the salad can be used. You can also use chopped avocado, corn or peas in the salad too.
Notes
Cooling the pasta before assembling the salad is important so that you don’t start cooking the vegetables in the salad.
You can customise the vinaigrette as per taste. Skip the sweetener if you so desire though I like to add a little for balanced flavours.
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