This Cucumber Orzo Salad is full of vibrant, fresh, delicious flavors. Pair it with a protein for an easy dinner or use it with your meal prep!

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Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe:

It is so vibrant and flavorful!
There are deliciously contrasting textures that make this pasta salad even more satisfying — creamy feta, chewy orzo, crisp and crunchy cucumber…SO good!
Only six ingredients are needed.
It’s perfect for meal prep, as the flavors just keep developing over a couple days!

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions:

For a full ingredient list with quantities, please check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Orzo – while it may looks like rice, orzo is actually pasta!
Cucumber – I love using Persian or English cucumbers in this recipe, as they’re seedless (or have indistinguishable seeds) and have a very thin peel. You can use any type of cucumber you have, though, and you can peel any thicker peels or deseed thicker seeds.
Feta – crumbled feta cheese adds a deliciously salty, slightly briny, creaminess to each bite.
Lemon – you’ll need the juice and zest from half a lemon.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil – not only does it create a dressing with the lemon and herbs, but it adds heart-healthy omega-3 essential fatty acids.
Seasonings – fresh herbs (parsley is my go-to, but I’ve also made it with fresh basil and a mix of parsley and mint), salt, and pepper round out the flavors.

How to Make Cucumber Orzo Salad

For complete instructions, please check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

mixing cucumber orzo salad with feta in a bowl

Cook orzo according to package directions, then drain and cool.
Chop cucumber and parsley. Zest and juice half a lemon.
To a large bowl, add all ingredients and toss to combine.

Tips and Variations

Swap out the Herbs. Fresh parsley is my go-to, but you can use fresh basil, parsley and mint, or parsley and dill, too.
Let orzo cool. Not only does this help keep the cucumbers chilled and crisp, but cooling cooked pasta creates more resistance starch, which helps create a lower glucose spike!
Use thin-skinned cucumbers, like Persian or English cucumbers. If you’re using regular cucumbers, you can peel the skin if it’s too thick, as well as use a spoon to scoop out the seeds.
Use the best quality ingredients you have. With such few ingredients, using those of the highest quality and best flavor helps tremendously!

Storage & Meal Prep Tips

This orzo cucumber salad can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. I don’t recommend heating or freezing it, due to the negative impact it’ll have on the texture of the cucumber.

You can include this with a weekly meal prep, too! Pair it with a protein (like my air fryer salmon!) or recreate a Mediterranean meatball bowl I made with this salad, turkey feta meatballs, and parsley and tomato salad.

spoonful of cucumber orzo salad with lemon and feta

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