Packed with fresh flavors, this pesto orzo salad is a delicious pasta salad perfect for picnics and potlucks. Easy to put together, it can be prepared in just 15 minutes. This orzo salad can be enjoyed as a side dish as well as a light meal.
In my vegan pesto recipe post, I mentioned that I love using pesto in a lot of my recipes. Today I am sharing the recipe for one such dish in which I have used my homemade vegan pesto. The dish is pesto orzo salad.
This simple dish is packed with fresh flavors and can be prepared in just 15 minutes.
Whether you are looking for an easy, last-minute picnic salad recipe or a quick and light lunch or dinner recipe to make on a hot summer day, this easy orzo salad recipe will serve you well.
Ingredients needed to make pesto orzo
To make orzo salad with pesto, you will need some simple ingredients that are shown below:
Ingredient notes and substitute suggestions
- Orzo: Orzo is a short-cut pasta that looks like a large grain of rice. It is also known as risoni. You can make this salad using any other type of pasta too, preferably a short or medium-cut pasta.
- Frozen green peas: Frozen peas get cooked faster so I have used them. You can use fresh peas too but then cook them for a longer time. Instead of peas, you can also use chickpeas and sweetcorn kernels. You can use all of them too.
- Cherry tomatoes: I have used juicy cherry tomatoes in this salad. You can also use plum tomatoes, grape tomatoes, or regular tomatoes cut into smaller pieces.
- Onion: Use red onion.
- Baby spinach: Freel-free to use salad greens of your choice.
- Pesto: I have used homemade vegan pesto, you can use regular pesto too. Both store-bought and homemade fresh pesto are fine to be used. If you also want to make your own pesto sauce that's vegan then don't miss to check out my easy vegan pesto recipe.
Other ingredient details and nutritional information are given in the recipe card.
How to make (step-by-step process)?
Making this pesto orzo salad recipe is very simple and hardly needs 15 minutes, just follow the step-by-step instructions shown below:
Step 1: Boil water with some salt in a large cooking pot. Add orzo and cook following its package instructions.
Step 2: About a minute before straining the orzo, add frozen peas and cook for a minute. If you are using fresh peas they will take a longer period to get cooked so add them with orzo.
Step 3: Strain orzo and peas. Reserve the pasta water to adjust the consistency of the pesto dressing if it's too thick.
Step 4: Put cooked orzo and peas in a large glass bowl.
Step 5: Add halved cherry tomatoes, chopped onion, baby spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, red chili flakes, ground black pepper, and salt.
Step 6: Gently toss.
Your quick and delicious pesto orzo pasta salad is ready to be enjoyed.
How to serve pesto orzo?
Pesto orzo can be served as a side dish or enjoyed as a light weeknight meal.
It can be paired with a crunchy fresh salad, toasted garlic bread, crispy garlic cheese bread, grilled vegetables, or a comforting soup.
Storing tips
To store, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate. It will be fine for 3-4 days.
Don't freeze this orzo pesto salad.
Recipe tips, tricks, and variation suggestions
- Cook orzo al dente. Over cooked orzo will spoil the salad.
- I have used homemade vegan pesto because I am a vegetarian. Store-bought pesto has parmesan cheese in it which is unsuitable for vegans and vegetarians as it has calf rennet in it. If you are also a vegan or vegetarian either buy a vegan pesto from the market or make it at home. I have a very easy and tasty vegan pesto recipe on my blog, if you want you can check that too.
- While seasoning the salad please keep in mind that the pesto also has lemon, salt, and olive oil in it. So, add these ingredients to the salad carefully.
- I have added both fresh cherry tomatoes and sundried tomatoes to this salad. You can add either of them too.
- I have used frozen green peas as they get cooked very fast. If you don't have frozen peas, use fresh green peas but cook them for a longer period as they take more time to get cooked.
- You can also use other greens like arugula, green onions, or parsley in this pesto orzo
- To add a crunch to this pesto pasta salad, add some nuts or seeds of choice like pine nuts, walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc.
- Other ingredients like cooked chickpeas, fresh cucumbers, bell peppers, kalamata olives, and fresh basil leaves, can also be added to this orzo salad.
- If you are not a vegan then you can also add crumbled feta cheese or goat cheese to this dish. Non-vegetarians may add mozzarella pearls to it.
- Instead of using plain extra virgin olive oil, you can also use the oil from the jar of sundried tomatoes. It will make the salad more flavorful.
- Use the reserved pasta water to adjust the consistency of the pesto dressing if you feel it's too thick to coat the salad dressing well.
Frequently asked question
You can serve it at room temperature or chilled as a cold pasta salad. Or, serve it warm as a main course dish.
You can skip adding fresh tomatoes, onion, and herbs if you want to enjoy it as a main course pasta dish instead of salad.
No, traditional pesto has parmesan cheese in it which is not suitable to be consumed by vegetarians and vegans. However, these days some brands also sell vegan pesto so, if you are a vegetarian or vegan you can use that.
I used homemade vegan pesto whose recipe I have already shared on this blog. If you want, you can try that too. It's easy to make, can be made in just 5 minutes, and is delicious.
Other easy orzo recipes
If you enjoyed this dish and want to learn more ways to cook with orzo then don't miss to check out the following recipes:
If you try any of my recipes, please rate ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ it on the recipe card and also leave your feedback in the comments section below. You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and subscribe to my youtube channel.
Recipe
Pesto orzo salad
Equipment
- 1 Large cooking pot
- Knife and chopping board
- 1 Salad mixing spoon
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked orzo around 175 grams
- ¾ cup vegan pesto use regular pesto if you are not vegetarian
- 1 cup frozen green peas
- 1 cup baby spinach roughly chopped
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes cut in half
- ⅓ cup chopped sundried tomatoes
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper adjust to taste
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Boil water in a large pot. Add orzo and cook following the package instructions. It generally takes around 7-8 minutes on medium heat to cook orzo.
- Around 1 minute before straining orzo, add frozen green peas and cook them for a minute with orzo. Strain green peas and orzo. Reserve the pasta water.
- Put strained orzo and peas into a large bowl.
- Add all the remaining ingredients and gently toss. If your pesto is too thick to coat the salad ingredients properly, add a few tablespoons of reserved pasta water.
Video
Notes
- Cook orzo al dente. Over cooked orzo will spoil the salad.
- I have used homemade vegan pesto because I am a vegetarian. Store-bought pesto has parmesan cheese in it which is unsuitable for vegans and vegetarians as it has calf rennet in it. If you are also a vegan or vegetarian either buy a vegan pesto from the market or make it at home. I have a very easy and tasty vegan pesto recipe on my blog, if you want you can check that too.
- While seasoning the salad please keep in mind that the pesto also has lemon, salt, and olive oil in it. So, add these ingredients to the salad carefully.
- I have added both fresh cherry tomatoes and sundried tomatoes to this salad. You can add either of them too.
- I have used frozen green peas as they get cooked very fast. If you don't have frozen peas, use fresh green peas but cook them for a longer period as they take more time to get cooked.
- You can also use other greens like arugula, green onions, or parsley in this pesto orzo
- To add a crunch to this pesto pasta salad, add some nuts or seeds of choice like pine nuts, walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc.
- Other ingredients like cooked chickpeas, fresh cucumbers, bell peppers, kalamata olives, and fresh basil leaves, can also be added to this orzo salad.
- If you are not a vegan then you can also add crumbled feta cheese or goat cheese to this dish. Non-vegetarians may add mozzarella pearls to it.
- Instead of using plain extra virgin olive oil, you can also use the oil from the jar of sundried tomatoes. It will make the salad more flavorful.
- Use the reserved pasta water to adjust the consistency of the pesto dressing if you feel it's too thick to coat the salad dressing well.
- More recipe tips and tricks are shared in the post above, please follow them to make this recipe.
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