Next Post
Skillet Blueberry Bourbon Pandowdy.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
Keeping it fresh, simple, and healthy today with this Greek Salmon with Lemon Feta and Orzo Summer Salad. Grilled (or pan-seared) Greek salmon, served with a summery orzo salad made with roasted peppers, tomatoes, olives, and avocado. Finish this simple summer dish with the most deliciously addicting marinated feta cheese with charred lemons plus lots of herbs. It doesn’t get easier or more delicious than this grilled salmon…simple, extra colorful, super flavorful, pretty healthy, and so delicious. The perfect dinner to serve any night of the week all summer long.
Clearly I am very into these summery dinners filled with garden produce and herbs. I just can’t help it. When I have an abundance of fresh produce available to use, I can’t resist using it all…and sometimes all at once.
After yesterday’s oven fried mac and cheese bites, I figured something fresh, and oh so healthy, would be a nice switch up for today.
Enter this simple summery Greek salmon, loaded with produce and lemon feta. It’s the summertime dish that’s fast, fresh, healthy, so pretty, and obviously…so delicious. I couldn’t be more excited to share this recipe today! So with that…
Jumping into details…
I guess I will start with this, today’s ingredient list long, but there are a lot of herbs, spices, vinegar, and oil being used. My hope is that these are items you already have on hand. And that all you’ll need to pick up from the market is fresh salmon and veggies.
Now, the salmon. I seasoned it up in quite possibly one of my favorite seasoning blends. It’s a combination of balsamic vinegar, smoked paprika (not really Greek…but it’s one of my favorite spices), fresh oregano, shallots (KEY!), garlic (also KEY), and lots of olive oil. Mix, and let it sit while you get everything else for the salad together.
For the summery orzo, you’re really just tossing hot orzo with plenty of fresh herbs, roasted red peppers, chickpeas, tomatoes, olives, and avocado. Add a little olive oil and season this up with salt and pepper.
On to the grill…
Grill the salmon until it’s just charring. At the very same time, grill the slices of lemon until caramelized. And then, just like with last week’s lemon butter pasta, chop the lemon slices and toss with lots and lots of fresh herbs. Then toss the whole mix with the crumbled feta cheese and a splash of olive oil. Now you have charred lemon feta…
And it’s delectable…and just a little addicting. Salty, lemony, and heavy on the herbs.
Also, if you don’t have a grill, you can easily just pan-sear or oven-bake the salmon. Either option is going to be great!
Put it all together…
I love to toss some of the lemon feta with the orzo salad. Next, spoon the orzo onto plates, add the salmon, and sprinkle on a generous amount of the lemon feta.
Done. Dinner in less than an hour that’s also colorful and oh so GOOD!
And simple! And in my book, simple AND delicious, well that’s the name of the game when it comes to summer recipes.
This dish has become my personal go-to low-key dinner that’s satisfying, healthy, and in season. It’s also a great hearty recipe to incorporate into your weekly meal prep. Enjoy a delicious healthy dinner, or use it for lunches throughout the week. I like to make this when I know I’m having an “off” week, with very little recipe testing and photographing. Basically, my computer days.
Oh, and here’s an added bonus…this can be made entirely made on the grill, so no oven! Perfect for these hot summer months.
Looking for other summer salmon recipes? Here are some favorites:
Cilantro Lime Salmon with Mango Salsa
Garlic Butter Creamed Spinach Salmon
Sesame Crusted Curried Salmon Burgers with Lemony Herbs
Lemon Parmesan Salmon with Corn Salad
Lastly, if you make this Greek salmon with lemon feta and orzo summer salad, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Greek Salmon with Lemon Feta and Orzo Summer Salad.
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 1527 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 4 (5-6 ounce) salmon fillets
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano (or 1 tablespoon dried oregano)
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- red pepper flakes, kosher salt, and black pepper
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1-2 lemons, sliced and seeds removed - use to your taste
- 8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, dill, and or mint, chopped (I use a mix)
Orzo Summer Salad
- 3 cups cooked orzo
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup fresh basil, dill, and or chives, chopped (I use a mix)
- 1 roasted red pepper, chopped
- 1 (14 ounce) can chickpeas drained
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup green olives
- 1/2 cup cucumber
- 1 avocado, diced
Instructions
- 1. Place the salmon in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil, the balsamic vinegar, paprika, oregano, shallot, garlic, and a pinch each of crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper. Rub the seasonings and oil evenly into flesh. Toss the lemon slices into the oil. 2. To make the salad. Add the orzo, olive oil, juice of 1 lemon, herbs, and a pinch each of crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to a large serving bowl. Add the chickpeas, red peppers, tomatoes, olives, and avocado, toss to combine.3. Heat your grill, grill pan, or skillet to medium high heat. Place the salmon on the grill, skin side down. Add the lemon slices. Cover and cook until skin is lightly charred, 4-5 minutes, flip the salmon and lemons, grill another 3-4 minutes until opaque. Remove everything from the grill. 4. Finely chop the lemon slices and mix them with the herbs, crumbled feta, and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add a couple of spoonfuls of the feta to the orzo salad. 5. Divide the salad between plates. Add the salmon and sprinkle with lemon feta. Top with lots of fresh herbs, and an extra squeeze of lemon, if desired. Enjoy!
This looks delicious! Can you recommend a different type of fish that would work with this recipe? My husband can’t eat salmon.
Thank you!
Hey Lisa,
A mild white fish like cod would work well here. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This was my first time ever eating salmon & I loved it! So full of flavor. Will be making this again for sure!
Amazing! I am glad you chose this recipe to try, Hannah! Thank you!! xTieghan
Hi, I am a recent fan of yours, I made this recipe today in Mexico City, it’s warm so it was perfect. I really am loving all your recipes!
Thank you so much!!!
Monica
Thank you Monica! I am so happy this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I loved this recipe! I am not one to chose salmon as my first choice, but the picture led me to try this recipe out! What a hit! My only problem was that my lemon pieces seems to add more a bitter taste than a good one..any suggestions as to why this happened?! Big fan of all of your recipes! Keep on cooking ?
Hey Meredith,
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try, I am glad you enjoyed the salmon. As for the lemon, the caramelizing of them should take away the bitterness but for next time you could always just add a bit of the juice rather than the whole lemon. I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan
This was the perfect summer recipe! My husband said possibly his favorite HBH recipe, but then I reminded him of all his other favorite recipes (and the ice cream sandwiches we had last night!) 🙂 but seriously the fresh flavors and gorgeous colors are perfect for this time of year!
Thank you Lauren! xTieghan
I was really skeptical of this recipe for a few reasons. I’ve never cooked with chickpeas, never have made orzo, not the biggest fan of red pepper, and never have grilled salmon. But wow, I’m glad I tried something different because it.was.INCREDIBLE. All of the ingredients blended together so nicely at the end and my husband was pleasantly surprised, as was I. The orzo basically tastes like pasta. It’s delicious. The red pepper was a nice touch too and I’m glad I took the time to grill it a bit before adding.
I am so excited to include this in our weekly summer rotation and even more excited for family gatherings to start again so I can show it off! OH and I used garbanzo beans instead of chickpeas (I got the wrong can accidentally) and it worked awesome 🙂
Amazing!! I am so glad this turned out so well for you, Ting Ting! Thank you for trying it! xTieghan
Omg! This is SO DELICIOUS! I had a zucchini to use up, so I sliced it the long way and threw it on the grill as well. It also made a ton of leftovers (just 2 of us) so I am excited to have this for a few lunches this week. You have the total time listed at 30 minutes… are you super human?!? 🙂 It took me almost 2 hours. But so so worth it.
I am so happy you loved this one, Aleta!! Thank you so much! xTieghan
The salmon was delicious – perfectly caramelized. The chopped lemon in the orzo salad added just the right acidity to balance the salty feta.
Thank you Dana!! I am really happy to hear that! xTieghan
We really liked this recipe (even my seven month old liked the salmon). However I saw that you listed cucumber in the ingredients but never put it in the instructions. Just wanted to let you know because some people might leave it out.
Thank you so much for letting me know! I am really glad you enjoyed this one, Elizabeth! xTieghan
I’m sorry, but we did not like this recipe. I thought it might be easier than it looked, but It was a fricking ton of work and had so many ingredients! We did not have pre-cooked orzo or roasted red peppers (which we omitted), but I need easy 30 min meals that are actually 30 mins. Once everything was made, the salmon was really good, and the pasta salad was just ok.
Hi Ali! I am really sorry this id not turn out as expected. Is there anything I can help with? I hope you enjoy some other recipes of mine! xTieghan
It says 3 cups of cooked orzo, is that half dry? So 1.5 cups? Thanks!
Hi Jennifer,
Yes, 1.5 cups uncooked. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This was AMAZING!! I used all the herbs suggested and the flavors were perfect together! My only change was that we grilled corn and used that in place of the garbanzo beans. Thank you for another FABULOUS recipe!
Thank you so much Cynthia!! xTieghan
This is my new favorite way to make salmon in the summer. The bright flavors of the lemon and herbs are so good! I followed the recipe without variation. This is definitely “company worthy”. Thank you Tieghan. BTW, the leftover pasta salad was a terrific lunch the next day.
Thank you so much! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Yummmmm. Took a bit of effort cause I didn’t prep my ingredients beforehand (get all your chopping & the orzo done first!). Also, highly recommend getting GOOD quality feta. It was SO good in the salad! Husband and I loved every bite and are looking forward to the orzo salad leftovers!
Love that! Thank you so much for trying this Liz! xTieghan
Made it tonight. Everyone loved it!!! Charred lemons added great flavor
I am so glad you liked this Deb!! Thank you! xTieghan