Tomato Cucumber Orzo Salad
Tomato Cucumber Orzo Salad is a beautifully colorful yet super simple, quick summer side dish for all your garden tomatoes, cucumbers and fresh basil!
Servings: 6
Calories: 208kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup orzo pasta (uncooked)
- 1½ cups cherry tomato sliced in half
- 1 cucumber chopped (about 1½ cups)
- ½ cup feta cheese crumbled
- ⅛ cup red onion thinly sliced
- ¼ cup fresh basil
For the Dressing
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 grinds fresh black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
- 3 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Cook the orzo pasta in boiling salted water, about 8 minutes. Drain and cool (either run under cold water before draining or set drained pasta in the fridge).
- Add all the ingredients for the dressing to a jar with a lid and shake well to emulsify.
- Chop all ingredients. Add about half of each to a mixing bowl with the orzo, including some dressing, and toss well. Some basil can be chopped and tossed with the salad.
- Transfer to a serving bowl, arranging the remaining ingredients and more dressing over the top. Garnish with plenty of fresh basil.
Notes
- Tomatoes - You can use any kind of tomatoes, including larger or cherry tomatoes, about 1.5 cups when chopped. A combination of yellow and red is nice!
- Basil - Be generous with the fresh basil, chop some and toss it in the salad, and add more leaves on top to garnish.
- Pasta Shape - Any small pasta shape could be used such as bowtie, small shells, orecchiette, or ditalini.
- Cool the Orzo - Cool the pasta any way you like. You can run it under cold water before draining, or set it in the fridge if you aren't assembling the salad immediately.
- Dressing - Red or white wine vinegar can be used. You won't need all the dressing for this salad. Extra can be stored in the fridge for months, just let it come to room temp before shaking and using on any salad.
- Nutrition Info includes all the dressing, even though you probably won't use it all for this recipe.
Nutrition
Calories: 208kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 349mg | Potassium: 244mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 331IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 1mg