Greek Orzo Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette Recipe
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Jump to RecipeThe BEST vegan Greek Pasta Salad is made with fresh vegetables, herbs, and a super secret homemade dressing! Great for parties, BBQs, or potlucks.
This is one side dish that will be gone before you know it: crunchy veggies, orzo pasta, and a bright and fresh dressing make this one crowd-pleaser recipe!
This best Greek pasta salad is A+ and so good as a side dish, to bring to a potluck, or just for lunch. I made it ahead of time for our 4th of July BBQ… and was actually tempted to hide it in our other fridge and not even share it for guests. But I relented, and it was a huge hit!
I made it 2 days in advance, which gave the pasta salad just enough time for the flavors to marinate before serving. I make a huge batch of pasta salad every other week for our lunches, and I have a feeling this will be my new Go-To recipe for Sunday night meal prep!
This Vegan Greek Pasta Salad is:
- Refreshing
- Tangy
- Bursting with flavor
- Healthy
- Loaded with fresh vegetables
- Vegan , vegetarian, and dairy free
- A HUGE crowd-pleaser
- Great for BBQs, parties, or potlucks
What makes this pasta salad different and so life altering from the rest? The dressing! Its homemade. I’ve always used bottled dressings in the past and never thought much of it (which is silly because I make homemade dressing for my salads, so why not pasta?) but I didn’t have any Greek dressing on hand so I made one from scratch. It makes ALL the difference in the world. The fresh garlic, the vinegar, the herbs, and GOOD olive oil… I can’t believe that I hadn’t thought of making my own dressing sooner!
Ingredients for this Easy Pasta Orzo Salad
What’s In This Greek Orzo Salad Recipe?
- Orzo Pasta – I absolutely love this fun orzo pasta shape, it goes great with this bright and fresh salad. I used regular orzo for this pasta, but if you are looking for a gluten free version, you can find one here online!
- Spinach
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Kalamata Olives: make sure they are pitted! I love the rich briny flavor of these herby kalamata olives, which have a purple hue and a really nice flavor. These Greek olives are fantastic for adding to salads, to dips, or just as a quick snack. I like to use these olive packs, which are great for when you need a handful of olives like in this dish.
- Artichoke Hearts
- Parsley
- Tofu Feta Cheese – I have a great recipe here online to make your own plant-based feta!
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Fresh lemon Juice
- Fresh garlic cloves
- Red Wine Vinegar: I used red wine vinegar for the marinade to give this dish a really nice bright Mediterranean flavor – for that, this red wine vinegar is my go-to!
- Whole Grain or Dijon Mustard – for a really nice flavor and texture, you can use either whole grain mustard, stone ground, or dijon… I’d stay clear from yellow prepared mustard for this recipe.
- Oregano
- Basil
- Sugar
How to Make this Greek Orzo Pasta Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette:
- In a large pot, cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl add the spinach, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, roasted red pepper, and parsley. Add the drained and cooled pasta to the vegetables in the mixing bowl.
- In a pint sized mason jar, add all the dressing ingredients and shake for 30 seconds to mix.
- Toss dressing in with pasta and vegetables, and stir to coat.
- Chill pasta salad in refrigerator (overnight if possible to let the flavors set) and serve!
Other Summer Vegan Pasta Salads You’ll Love!
Creamy Cucumber Pasta Salad (Vegan, Gluten Free)
Pasta Salad with Avocado Dressing Recipe (Vegan, Gluten Free)
Rice Noodle Pasta Salad (Vegan, Gluten Free, Vegetarian)
Tzatziki Pasta Salad (Gluten Free, Vegan, Summer Side Dish)
& read through my Top 125 Vegan Pantry Staple Ingredients & Recipes that I stock my pantry with!
Get the Same Ingredients for my Vegetarian Greek Orzo Pasta Salad Recipe
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If you made this recipe, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!
Greek Orzo Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 16 ounce box orzo
- 4 cups fresh spinach chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved or quartered
- 1 cup kalamata olives chopped
- 1 cup marinated artichoke hearts chopped
- 1/2 cup roasted red peppers diced
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1/2 cup feta cheese see below for vegan version
Homemade Red Wine Vinaigrette Dressing
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 6 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 3 garlic pressed
- 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
Instructions
- In a large pot, cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl add the spinach, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, roasted red pepper, and parsley. Add the drained and cooled pasta to the vegetables in the mixing bowl. Add the crumbled plant-based feta cheese to the bowl.
- In a pint sized mason jar, add all the dressing ingredients and shake for 30 seconds to mix.
- Toss dressing in with pasta and vegetables, and stir to coat.
- Chill pasta salad in refrigerator (overnight if possible to let the flavors set) and serve!
Nutrition
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