Weight Watchers Recipe of the Day: Vegetable Orzo Salad
This easy Weight Watchers Orzo Salad with Vegetables was my contribution when the family got together last weekend to celebrate our March/April birthdays.
Easy WW Friendly Orzo Salad with Vegetables
My sister, Brenda, choose the theme since hers was the biggest birthday being celebrated. She suggested seafood and salads and brought a yummy shrimp appetizer.
Mom brought crab cakes with remoulade sauce, a variety of flavored flatbreads, a Cuban fish dish and chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting.
And Peter made a variation on his world-famous kale salad.
Everything was spectacular.
This salad is definitely one I will make again. It's easy, pretty and flavorful. Goes well with any kind of grilled meat, chicken or seafood.
And seems perfect for the long hot summer here in Phoenix.
Recipe Notes
To lighten up this recipe and make it more Weight Watchers friendly, I decreased the olive oil from ⅓ cup to 2 tablespoons, I increased the lemon juice from 4 teaspoons to 2 tablespoons and skipped the suggested rice wine vinegar.
I also increased the amount of chopped spinach to about two cups.
WW Friendly Orzo Pasta Salad with Veggies
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Orzo Salad?
According to my calculations each serving has 193 calories and:
4 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
4 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
4 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
5 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
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Weight Watchers Orzo Salad with Vegetables
Ingredients
- ½ cup uncooked orzo pasta
- 3 plum tomatoes, chopped
- 1 cup marinated quartered artichoke hearts, chopped
- 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh spinach
- 2 green onions, chopped
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 tablespoon capers, drained
DRESSING:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Cook orzo according to the package directions in plenty of salted water.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, artichokes, spinach, onions, cheese and capers.
- In a small bowl (affiliate link), whisk together the dressing ingredients.
- When the orzo is cooked, drain it in a colander (affiliate link) and then run it under cold water to cool it slightly. Add the drained cooled orzo to the vegetable mixture.
- Pour dressing over the salad and toss it well to coat. Chill until serving.
Equipment
Recipe Notes
Source: adapted from Taste of Home
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
More Easy Delicious Weight Watchers Salad Recipes
- Weight Watchers Chickpea and Feta Salad
- Chicken Couscous Salad
- Chopped Greek Salad
- Classic Macaroni Salad Made Lighter
- Simple Shredded Carrot Salad
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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Doris
This looks delicious !! How would the nutritional info change if the feta cheese was omitted ??? thanks so much !
Martha McKinnon
Hi Doris, 1/2 a cup of feta has 8 SP so divided by 6 servings this would be about 1 SP per serving. So I would count it as 3 without the feta. Hope this helps.
Heather
I'm wondering what this is in smart points? When I enter the info it says 5 however I'm not sure of the sugar or saturated fat?
Martha McKinnon
Hi Heather, when I ran the ingredients through the Weight Watchers On Line Recipe Builder I got 4 SmartPoints. With SmartPoints, 0 points fruits and vegetables don't count in the calculation so it's sometimes lower than what you would get if you just used the WW calculator. I wrote a post about calculating SmartPoints that you will find by clicking here: https://simple-nourished-living.com/why-your-recipes-smartpoints-may-be-higher-than-it-should-be/
Lori Garcia
Hi: Do you think this is something I can make ahead? My husband is going on a guys trip and I'm steering clear of making him mayo based salads....this looks delicious....let me know? he would be eating it for a couple of days as his side dish....
Martha McKinnon
Hi Lori,
I think this would be fine for 2-3 days.
Rosa
can this be a main dish or is it too small of a serving if I was to have it for lunch?
Martha McKinnon
I Rosa, you might want to add a bit of protein in the salad or on the side to make it a more substantial lunch. Or add it to a bed of greens to bulk it up. Hope this helps.
Lara C
I first tried orzo 2 years ago, and it's definitely my favorite type of pasta now. I've had different orzo salads but this one looks so good!
Bernice P
Hi Martha, I just made this salad and it is delicious. However, I didn't have any tarragon and since I wasn't sure of any subsitute for it, I just omitted it. I love it .. it has a nice light lemony taste.
Thank you for all the information and wonderful information you provide to us.
Lucinda Ashman
Why doesn't WW ever add sugar counts to their recipes to help us diabetics.
Beth
This recipe has the best taste. I have made this several times. The recipes calls for ingredients I have never purchased. Stepped out of my comfort zone a little. It was totally worth it. My husband even request me to make this. That is highly unusual for him.
Martha McKinnon
Hi Beth, Thanks for taking the time to let us know. Very much appreciated!
Kathleen
Love this recipe. As a WW member, it is very well appreciated and not only by me but the whole family.
Beth Newby
My Husband and I both LOVED this recipe. I made it exactly as stated and will make again repeatedly (per my husband's request). It says serves 6 but we had it for dinner so it serves 3 in this case. A side note, I always use whole wheat pasta
Kim
Half a cup uncooked orzo is 1 cup cooked. Even though you are adding some veggies the recipe says 6 servings . So you are saying around 1/4 cup per serving.
If he weight watchers portion is 2/3 of a cup how many servings is this recipe?
It sounds tasty and I am making it for lunch.
Martha McKinnon
Hi Kim, the veggies bulk up this salad recipe which makes 6 servings with each serving about 2/3 cup. Hope this helps. ~Martha
Pam
This is delicious! I’ll make it again.
Marge
Your pin this recipe isn’t working.
Tiger
Hi Martha, what could I use in the place of feta as I don't like this cheese??
Martha McKinnon
Hi Tiger, You can use whatever cheese you like in place of feta. I think Parmesan would be delicious. ~Martha
Shelby
I love this salad and make it at least once each season. It has a lightness to the dressing which I attribute to the lemon juice. I never add the Feta because I don’t care for it but I receive many compliments from family and guests who don’t even know it’s part of the recipe.