Greek Salad with Sardines
and orzo / chickpeas / tomatoes / olives / artichoke hearts
No need to heat up the kitchen for this fresh entree salad that is packed with Greek-inspired flavors like sardines, chickpeas, olives, and artichoke hearts. For an added layer of flavor, marinate the chickpeas in some of the vinaigrette before serving.
Smarts #1: Sardines are small canned fish that give the salad a briny, salty flavor. Canned tuna works really well here, too.
Smarts #2: If you're making the soup later this week, make a double batch of orzo tonight and reserve half for the soup.
Ingredients
- Vinegar, red wine - 1 Tbsp
- Lemon juice - 2 tsp
- Mustard, Dijon - 1 tsp
- Honey - 1/2 tsp
- Oregano, dried - 1/4 tsp
- Oil, olive - 3 1/2 Tbsp
- Beans, garbanzo (14 oz / 397 g) - 1 can, drained and rinsed
- Greek Vinaigrette (ingredients listed separately) - 1 Tbsp + 5 Tbsp
- Sardines (4 oz / 115 g) - 1 can, drained and rinsed (sub canned tuna)
- Artichoke hearts (14 oz / 397 g) - 1 can, drained and rinsed; chopped if needed
- Tomatoes, medium - 2, chopped
- Olives, pitted Kalamata - 1/2 cup, drained and rinsed (sub any type olive)
- Mixed greens - 8 oz (sub any type lettuce)
- Sunflower seeds - 1/4 cup
- Pasta, uncooked orzo - 1/2 cup
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Cook orzo - (Double if making Wednesday’s meal.) Cook orzo according to package directions. If making ahead, toss with some oil after cooking to help prevent sticking. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Make vinaigrette - Whisk together vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, honey, and oregano. Add oil while whisking. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Marinate beans - Drain and rinse beans. Combine beans with first portion of Greek Vinaigrette. Let beans marinate for at least 20 minutes and up to 5 days. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Sardines / Artichoke hearts / Tomatoes / Olives - Prep as directed.
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Make
- If orzo was made ahead, you can serve it chilled or warm it slightly in the microwave. (Reserve half if doubled.)
- Set out all salad ingredients if you want to assemble salads at the table. Alternatively, toss greens, orzo, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, and olives with second portion of vinaigrette until dressed to your liking. Top salads with sardines, marinated beans, and sunflower seeds. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
Most Helpful
Great summer salad. Skipped the sardines. I marinated everything but the greens in the dressing and just tossed the lettuce in at the end.
1 Helpful20 reviews
Quite good with modifications: marinated artichokes with beans and all of doubled dressing recipe. Added lots of extra lemon juice, salt, oregano, and Aleppo pepper to dressing. Was good with soft boiled egg or cheese added.
0 HelpfulMade the original recipe the first night with tuna and was very meh on it. Second night I switched to vegetarian and much preferred it with the feta.
0 HelpfulNot a fan of these flavors general, I liked this more then I thought I would but probably won't make again.
0 HelpfulI used hard boiled eggs instead of sardines and this was huge hit. Even my kids ate almost everything on their plates.
0 HelpfulWe enjoyed the sardines, glad to have someone give us the push to add them to our rotation!
0 Helpful