This orzo pasta salad with feta cheese, juicy pomegranates, dried cranberries, and a sweet-tangy French dressing is the most effective mixture! It makes a straightforward, festive aspect dish any time of the 12 months.
I like tender orzo in heat recipes, from orzo pilaf to hen orzo. And it’s simply as scrumptious in chilly dishes, like my salad with orzo and feta and this recent and zesty orzo pasta salad!
Are you prepared for my newest winter salad obsession? It’s a recent, zesty orzo pasta salad with feta cheese, bejeweled with ruby purple pomegranate seeds and dried cranberries. Principally, it has all of the festive colours and flavors I like in a single bowl, tossed with a zesty French dressing dressing. I say it is a winter salad, however actually, it’s simply as scrumptious year-round and you’ll simply adapt it with seasonal elements.
Causes to Love This Orzo Pasta Salad
- Candy, salty, tangy distinction. This orzo salad recipe has all of it. There’s tender orzo pasta and crumbly, salty feta cheese contrasted with candy cranberry and pomegranate. It’s completely mouthwatering, and the elements are simple to seek out.
- Fast. The longest step is ready for the orzo to cook dinner! I normally get the pasta boiling whereas I seed the pomegranate (don’t fear, I’ll stroll you thru how to try this, too).
- Versatile. The flexibleness of this salad recipe makes it excellent for a potluck, vacation, or flavorful weekday lunch.
What You’ll Want
I gown this salad with a zesty, tangy cranberry and pomegranate French dressing. After all, you’ll be able to simply swap in your favourite dressing, or attempt any of my simple do-it-yourself salad dressings in case you’d like one thing completely different. For now, I’ll cowl the elements within the salad and dressing beneath.
Scroll right down to the printable recipe card for the total quantities and particulars, plus step-by-step directions with images.
- Orzo – You’ll want cooked orzo pasta (sure, orzo is pasta, not rice!). You’ll discover it in most grocery retailer aisles alongside different short-cut pasta shapes.
- Feta Cheese – In my Macedonian household, we measure white cheese, aka feta, with our hearts. You need to use kind of relying on what yours tells you. For those who don’t have feta, goat cheese, shaved parmesan, or gorgonzola, like in my orzo salad, it additionally works effectively on this recipe.
- Pomegranate – You should buy the seeds often called arils already eliminated or purchase an entire pomegranate and seed it your self, see beneath.
- Dried Cranberries – Instead of cranberries, you could possibly use dried cherries and even chopped nuts like walnuts, pecans, or almonds for further texture.
- Parsley – Recent is finest for garnish. Be at liberty to substitute one other herb, like basil, mint, or thyme.
For the Dressing
- Olive Oil – You’ll need to use high-quality further virgin olive oil. Avocado oil is an effective substitute if wanted.
- Cranberry and Pomegranate Juice – Select your favourite manufacturers from the shop.
- Vinegar – I take advantage of purple wine vinegar, however it’s also possible to use white wine vinegar, balsamic, or lemon juice.
The best way to Seed a Pomegranate (Simply)
A fast on-line search will present you dozens of the way to open up and seed a pomegranate. I’ve used the identical methodology for years and it hasn’t failed me but! Right here’s how I get the seeds out of pomegranate in 5 steps, with minimal clean-up:
- Trim off the highest and backside utilizing a pointy paring knife.
- Rating the pomegranate alongside its ridges.
- Gently pry the pomegranate aside alongside the rating marks utilizing each arms.
- Submerge the segments in a bowl of water and use your arms to launch the seeds (the seeds ought to sink to the underside).
- Scoop out any pithy membrane bits from the bowl, then pressure the seeds.
Orzo Salad Variations
- Completely different pasta. As a substitute of orzo, you need to use any short-cut pasta you’d like. Good selections for pasta salad are small shells, elbow macaroni, penne, fusilli, and bowtie pasta.
- Veggies. Add blanched or steamed broccoli, cauliflower, kale, spinach, celery, or spring onions.
- Protein. Add cubed or sliced cooked hen, whether or not it’s leftover baked hen or an air fryer rotisserie hen. You too can high this salad with steak bites, salmon, or any protein you’d like.
- Extra add-ons. Different tasty add-ins that may swimsuit this salad embody chopped apples, diced avocado, cooked crumbled bacon, crushed nuts, pepitas, and sunflower seeds.
Serving Options
This sweet-savory orzo pasta salad is scrumptious as a aspect dish or appetizer salad. I like making this at any time when I’m internet hosting a vacation or big day, like our Macedonian Identify Days (a fair larger deal than a birthday!). In that case, the entire household comes over to feast on sheet pan salmon, spinach pie, and cabbage rolls, a.okay.a. sarma.
On another event, I’ll serve this salad as a aspect to a festive pork roast or an informal yard barbecue of child again ribs and grilled corn on the cob in the summertime. It’s tremendous versatile.
The best way to Retailer
Retailer this pasta salad in an hermetic container within the fridge and revel in leftovers for as much as 2 days. I discover it tastes even higher as soon as the flavors have had an opportunity to mingle!
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Prepare dinner the orzo. Boil the orzo pasta in keeping with the instructions on the field. Take away from warmth; drain and rinse with chilly water. Put aside to chill.
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Assemble the salad. In a big serving bowl or salad bowl, mix the cooled orzo, feta cheese, pomegranates, and cranberries. Put aside.
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Make the dressing. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk collectively the olive oil, cranberry juice, pomegranate juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper; whisk till completely included. Style and modify accordingly.
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Mix. Add as a lot dressing as you need to the ready orzo salad. Refrigerate any remaining salad dressing. Toss the pasta salad, cowl, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
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Serve. Garnish with recent parsley and revel in!
Serving: 1cup | Energy: 325kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 7g | Fats: 13g | Saturated Fats: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 1g | Monounsaturated Fats: 7g | Ldl cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 147mg | Potassium: 132mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 57IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 1mg
Dietary information is an estimate and offered as courtesy. Values could fluctuate in keeping with the elements and instruments used. Please use your most well-liked dietary calculator for extra detailed information.
The best way to Make Orzo Pasta Salad
This pasta salad with orzo comes collectively in about 25 minutes in case you embody the time it takes to boil the orzo. Right here’s the way to make it:
- Prepare dinner the orzo. First, boil the orzo following the instructions on the field, then instantly drain and rinse the pasta beneath chilly water. This stops it from overcooking.
- Assemble the salad. Subsequent, mix the orzo, feta, and the remainder of the salad elements in a bowl.
- Add the dressing. Whisk the dressing collectively individually, and pour it over the salad to style. Afterward, toss all the pieces to coat.
- Chill. Lastly, refrigerate the orzo pasta salad for no less than 20 minutes earlier than garnishing with parsley and serving.
