Kritharosalata Recipe (Greek Orzo Pasta Salad)

Photo: Orzo pasta salad by oatsy40, CC BY 2.0. Placeholder until original photography is shot.

In short

Kritharosalata is a cold Greek pasta salad built on orzo, tossed with diced tomato, cucumber, feta, olives and herbs, dressed in olive oil and lemon. It is genuinely modern rather than ancient, a picnic and barbecue staple that has become one of the most popular cold Greek dishes of recent decades.

Kritharosalata is one of the more recent additions to the everyday Greek table, a cold orzo pasta salad that has become a genuine staple of summer barbecues and picnics over the last few decades rather than a dish handed down through generations. It borrows freely from the same vegetables and dressing that build a horiatiki, just applied to a bowl of cooked, cooled pasta instead.

The whole dish is entirely make-ahead friendly, in fact benefiting from a few hours in the fridge for the orzo to properly absorb the dressing, which makes it a genuinely practical thing to bring to a gathering rather than something requiring last-minute assembly.

It is flexible, too, taking well to whatever good summer vegetables you have on hand, and it holds up for days in the fridge far better than a leafy salad would.

Key preparation steps

Cook orzo until tender and cool completely.
Dice tomato, cucumber and other vegetables.
Toss everything with feta, olives and herbs.
Dress with olive oil and lemon, and chill before serving.

Cooking and cooling the orzo

Cook the orzo in well-salted water until tender, then drain and rinse under cold water to stop it cooking further and to cool it quickly, tossing with a little olive oil straight away so the grains do not clump together as they sit.

The vegetables and additions

Diced tomato, deseeded and diced cucumber, crumbled feta, sliced Kalamata olives and a good amount of chopped fresh parsley or dill are the classic components, following much the same logic as a horiatiki but cut smaller to suit a pasta salad. A little finely sliced red onion is a common addition for sharpness.

Dressing and chilling

Whisk a generous amount of olive oil with lemon juice and a little dried oregano, and toss thoroughly through the pasta and vegetables. Chill for at least an hour before serving, which lets the orzo properly absorb the dressing and the flavours settle together, and this salad keeps well for two to three days.

Tips from my kitchen

Rinse the orzo after cooking

This stops it cooking further and cools it quickly, which matters for a cold salad.

Chill it properly before serving

At least an hour lets the orzo absorb the dressing and the flavours settle together properly.

Deseed the tomato and cucumber

This keeps the salad from turning watery as it sits, which matters more here than in a salad eaten immediately.

Frequently asked questions about Kritharosalata

Is kritharosalata a traditional ancient Greek dish?

No, it is a genuinely modern addition to Greek cuisine, having become popular as picnic and barbecue food only over the last few decades, rather than a dish with centuries of history behind it.

Can you make kritharosalata ahead?

Yes, it genuinely benefits from being made ahead, since chilling gives the orzo time to absorb the dressing properly, and it keeps well for two to three days.

Can you add other vegetables?

Yes, this is a flexible base salad, and roasted red pepper, sweetcorn or capers are all common additions depending on what is good and available.