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This Mediterranean Salmon Orzo Salad is packed full of fresh flavors! Crunchy vegetables, briny olives, feta and hearty salmon are all tossed in a lemon vinaigrette. A delicious and healthy main dish or side dish!
Do you have a favorite shape of pasta? For me it’s a toss up between rotini and orzo. If you check out my pasta recipes you’ll notice that’s pretty accurate. I particularly love using orzo in cold pasta salads.
Orzo is a small rice shaped pasta. I’ve actually found that some people are actually confused about whether it’s pasta or a grain like rice. I assure you, it’s pasta. The small size is great when you’re making a dish with lots of other ingredients in it.
That’s certainly the case with this Mediterranean Salmon Orzo Salad. This pasta salad is loaded with all of my favorites! Salmon, chickpeas, roasted red peppers, sun dried tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, feta, fresh herbs and a delicious lemon vinaigrette. While it may seem like more of a summer salad, I had no problem eating it on a cold day in February.
Ingredients Needed to Make Mediterranean Salmon Orzo Salad
- sockeye salmon
- dried dill, oregano, garlic powder
- orzo
- English or Persian cucumbers
- roasted red peppers
- red onion
- feta
- kalamata olives
- sun dried tomatoes
- flat leaf parsley and fresh dill
- lemon
- dijon mustard
- maple syrup (optional)
How to Make Salmon Orzo Salad
Season the salmon with dried dill, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper. How you cook the salmon is up to you. I either grill or bake mine. Use a fork to flake the salmon in to bite size pieces.
Cook the orzo and then drain it and let it cool to at least room temperature. If you’re in a hurry you can rinse it under cold water. I realize this is generally a no-no with pasta, but when it’s a cold pasta salad it isn’t that big of a deal. While the pasta cooks, prep all of the vegetables and fresh herbs.
Add the cooled orzo, salmon and remaining salad ingredients to a large serving bowl. In a jar or glass measuring cup combine the lemon juice, mustard, dried herbs, maple syrup and olive oil. Shake or whisk everything together and pour the vinaigrette onto the salad. Toss everything together and it’s ready to serve.
Is Fresh Salmon Better Than Frozen?
As a rule of thumb, I almost always opt for fresh vs frozen. However, when it comes to fish I almost always buy frozen. The first reason being, I live in Colorado and fresh isn’t exactly an option.
For the most part, the “fresh” fish you see at the grocery store was previously frozen. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with frozen fish because it’s flash frozen. This means that once it was caught it was immediately frozen to preserve it’s freshness. Just be sure you keep it frozen properly in your own freezer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a different shape of pasta?
Yes. A good substitution for orzo would be shells, macaroni or Israeli couscous. I would stay away from long pasta such as spaghetti.
Can I make it vegan?
Yes. To make this salad vegan, simply omit the salmon and feta. I would add a full can of chickpeas versus a cup if you plan to do this in order to give it more protein and make it heartier.
Can I make it ahead of time?
This is a great pasta salad to make ahead of time or prep ahead and assemble the day you want to serve it. If you plan to make and assemble ahead of time I recommend making extra lemon vinaigrette, especially if you like your pasta salads a little heavier on the dressings.
How long will the leftovers keep?
I enjoyed the leftovers for several days after I made it. Like I mentioned above, if you like your pasta salads with lots of vinaigrette, double the vinaigrette recipe and add it to the leftovers as needed.
More Orzo Recipes
Spinach Orzo Chicken Salad with Goat Cheese
Mediterranean Salmon Orzo Salad
Ingredients
Salmon
- 6 ounces wild caught sockeye salmon
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Salad
- 1 cup uncooked orzo cooked, drained and cooled
- 1 cup chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 1 cup diced English or Persian cucumber
- 1/2 cup diced roasted red peppers
- 1/3 cup diced red onion
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta
- 1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives
- 2 tablespoons chopped sun dried tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
Vinaigrette
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F. line a baking sheet with foil and spray the foil with cooking spray. Place the salmon on the baking sheet and sprinkle with the dill, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Bake for 8-10 minutes depending on the thickness or until the internal temperature is 120° - 125° F. Let the salmon cool for several minutes, remove it from the skin and flake it into pieces with a fork.
- In a large bowl combine the cooked and cooled orzo, salmon, chickpeas, cucumber, red onion, roasted red peppers, olives, feta, sun dried tomatoes, parsley and dill.
- In a small bowl or jar combine the ingredients for the vinaigrette. Whisk or shake until combined and then pour onto the salad. Toss everything together until it’s coated in the vinaigrette. Taste for season. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
