Marinated Tomato Feta Orzo Salad Jars.

These Marinated Tomato Feta Orzo Salad Jars are a fun, easy, and wholesome make-ahead lunch or dinner. These simple, delicious salad jars are no-cook, come together quickly, and with very little effort. Greek olives, bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, salty feta cheese, orzo pasta, and a tangy, herby Greek dressing. Each jar is so colorful and, once everything is tossed together, very yummy too. Enjoy these for lunch or dinner.

I think everyone can relate to this, but the second Memorial Day passes, it’s full-on summer. I know the season doesn’t officially begin until summer solstice, June-21st, but once school’s out, in my mind, it’s summer.

For me, summer signifies a time for delicious cooking…but not a lot of it. I don’t want to be tied to the kitchen on busy summer days. Or stuck at the stove on a warm, peaceful night. I just want simple, vibrant, delicious, and satisfying recipes.

Honestly, it’s a lot to ask out of most recipes. Some recipes just take time and effort. But I’m hoping to create plenty of summer recipes that are more on the easier side. So I thought the perfect recipe to start with would be these make-ahead salad jars.

The idea

The idea is that you can assemble these over the weekend or on days when you have some extra time. Then enjoy them either for lunch or dinner in the days to follow.

What’s awesome about this idea is that the jars take almost no effort to prepare. And as they sit they actually develop even more flavor.

You can enjoy them for lunch. Or use them for dinner by adding a side of grilled chicken, steak, or sautéed chickpeas for added protein.

The steps

Even though the recipe says to start with the dressing, I like to prepare all my salad ingredients first. This just means, cooking the orzo and chopping up the vegetables and herbs.

Then I make the dressing, which is a slight twist on a Greek vinaigrette. Instead of red wine vinegar, I like to use balsamic for a more intense flavor. The balsamic soaks into each of the ingredients really well.

For the dressing, simply mix everything together. No fancy steps.

Then, you layer. I use glass weck jars, but feel free to use any set of random jars. They can even all be different, you just need to use a larger jar (around 16 ounces).

Layer it all in. The key is to start with the bell peppers. Then pour over the dressing and add the feta and tomatoes. What happens is that the dressing ends up marinating the peppers and some of the feta too. It really adds a lot of flavor to each jar.

After the tomatoes, everything else goes in. Cucumbers, olives, orzo, fresh dill, and basil. Then a big scoop of hummus and fresh arugula too.

Keep each jar in the fridge until you’re ready to eat. Then just dump out the jars and toss everything together.

As mentioned, grilled chicken or steak would really be delicious if you want to serve these up for dinner. Or if you’re a vegetarian, try using warm sautéed chickpeas. You could even add an egg too!

Lots of options. Each is delicious and perfectly easy for summer days!

Looking for other great salads? Try these.

Pesto Chicken and Avocado Bacon Salad Wraps

Mango Kale Chopped Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing

Sweet Potato Kale Salad with Creamy Honey Mustard Dressing

Caprese Chicken Pasta Salad

Grilled Lemon Herb Chicken Avocado Orzo Salad

Lastly, if you make this Marinated Tomato Feta Orzo Salad Jars, 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!

@halfbakedharvest

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♬ Feels Like Summer – Samuel Jack