Greek Orzo Pasta Salad with Grilled Shrimp

This Greek Orzo Pasta Salad with grilled Za'atar Shrimp is bursting with Mediterranean flavors of Greek feta, olives, cucumber, dill and a zesty fragrant Greek Salad dressing. Every ingredient in this salad brings something delicious to fork. Serving of protein makes it perfect for salad-for-dinner weeknights.

Also a good salad to serve a crowd. Serve 8-10, and needs on 15 minutes of prep. 

If you like Mediterranean flavor Salads? I have a few very delicious recipes on blog. Mediterranean Chickpea Salad, Greek Chicken Cucumber Avocado Salad, Greek Dakos Bread Salad.

GREEK ORZO PASTA SALAD INGREDIENTS:

This salad brings together the classic Greek flavors, shrimp, and orzo pasta together making irresistible combination of flavors. The main ingreient of Greek Orzo Salad are:

• Orzo Pasta (I used Lemon Orzo pasta for this recipe. You can use regular Orzo Pasta available in most US stores or buy online.)
• Cucumber
• Red onion (To reduce sharp peppery flavor of red onions, I add red onion to dressing before other ingredients and leave aside. By the time I chop cucumber, tomato etc. Onions are marinated, tangy and are not spicy anymore.)
• Olives
• Tomatoes
• Feta cheese (Read recommendation below for what type of feta to use for Greek salads.)
• Lemon
• Dill
• Parsley
• Green Onion or Scallions.

GRILLED ZA'ATAR SHRIMP:

Shrimp and Orzo pasta works great together. I love the fact that both need quick cooking time. Shrimp is ready in 6-7 minutes and so is the orzo pasta. You can cook these side by side. Once shrimp and pasta are cooked, just assemble salad and ready to serve.

My recipe of Za'atar Shrimp is inspired by Za'atar seasoning I shared a couple of months ago.  Za'atar seasoning is blend of thyme, oregano, sesame seeds, citrus-y sumac and spices. It is great spice to roast/grill shrimp or chicken. Check Homemade  Za'atar Seasoning and Zaatar Chicken recipes.

For this recipe, I marinate shrimp (cleaned but with shells) in mix of zaatar seasoning, paprika, olive oil, salt and pepper. Then grill it outdoor or roast/pan cook as described in Recipe Notes. 

Tip: Marinate and cook shrimp with shell tails on. You can remove these later or let guest remove themselves. Tail-on shrimp is; 1) easy to grill outdoor and does not slip off the grill wrack. 2) pan sear/saute has more flavor when shells are cooked. However, that said, tail-on shrimp is not a deal breaker. Just careful when you grill it.

FETA:

Feta is mild and leaner salty cheese that adds just right amount of creaminess and salt to this Greek salads. I recommend using good quality feta. Always prefer a feta log instead of crumbled. Log is premium quality feta and tastes way better than crumbled. Once you try it, you will not go back to box of crumbled feta again.

This orzo salad tastes better with bite size pieces of feta distributed throughout the salad. For best results don't skimp on feta and keep pasta lite seasoned because feta is salty cheese. 

To make the Orzo Salad, I first start by boiling the water to cook the orzo pasta. In meantime, marinate the shrimp in seasoning blend of Za'atar, paprika, slat, black pepper, lemon and olive oil.  You don't need to let shrimp marinate for long. A quick toss in marinate and then leave aside while pan/grill heats.

Tip: Don't leave shrimp in marinate for long time or lemon juice will start cooking the shrimp. If planning to leave shrimp in marinate, don't add lemon juice. Add just before cooking/grilling.

Then  I drop orzo pasta in now boiling water. While pasta cooks, I cook the shrimp.

In meantime, assemble the rest of salad ingredients: dice cucumber, tomatoes, red onion and feta. Chop herbs - dill and parsley. Whisk the salad dressing in a wide salad bowl, add red onion and let'em marinate. Add all ingredients into salad bowl. Toss gently to coat everything in dressing siting at the bottom of the bowl. Taste and adjust salt.

That's it!

Greek Orzo Salad is ready to devour!

Zesty Zaatar Shrimp, feta, cucumber, olive, tomatoes with delicious dressing, herbs and orzo pasta. Really, what not to like?

Life is delicious with this bowl of easy Greek Salad. I'm sure most ingredients are in your pantry and refrigerator. Grab some and serve for Orzo Salad for dinner tonight. You can also cook Shrimp on Stove Top or under Oven Broiler. Check Recipe Card's Notes for more details.

This pasta salad is best when serve chilled. So I recommend refrigerating the salad until ready to serve. 

Happy Cooking!

MORE SHRIMP SALAD RECIPES:

1. Grilled Chimichurri Shrimp Pasta Salad
2. Roasted Shrimp Quinoa Salad
3. Bang Bang Shrimp Skewers

ORZO RECIPES:

1. Orzo Tian Pasta Bake
2. Roasted Tomatoes Orzo Pasta
3. Orzo Arugula Salad
4. Lemon Orzo Salad