What can I serve the orzo salad with?

I find that this salad really can be a meal in itself, but it’s wonderful as a side to a barbecue or picnic. I love that it’s so easy to prepare in advance and transports well so it’s a great one to take along to events or parties to enjoy with friends and family. Or, pair it with grilled meat (it's lovely with miso grilled chicken , gochujang chicken , honey harissa chicken or lamb koftas ) or a selection of other salads .

Can I make this in advance?

You certainly can! In fact, I often think it tastes even better the next day. It will last for 5 days in the fridge in a covered container, but if you’re preparing it to take to a barbecue or picnic, I’d wait to add the cherry tomatoes until the day of if possible. They can get a little soggy when chopped in the fridge.

I don’t like olives, what else can I use?

You can really add anything to this salad - sometimes I’ll throw in diced cucumber or red bell peppers. If you want to keep that lovely salty quality, try using capers or sundried tomatoes.

I can't find orzo - can I use a different pasta shape?

Yes, you can! If you can't find orzo, go for another small dried pasta shape like macaroni or fusilli.

Can you freeze a pasta salad?

Technically yes, you can, but I wouldn't recommend it. When defrosted, you'll find it has a strange, gummy texture and just won't be a good experience to eat.

Orzo Pesto Salad

Name: Orzo Pesto Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Cuisine: mediterranean
Ingredients: 11oz/300g orzo (or another small dried pasta of your choice); 11oz/300g cherry tomatoes, quartered; 1/2 cup of Kalamata olives, halved (optional); 1 red bell pepper, diced; 1 yellow bell pepper, diced; 3 scallions, finely sliced; 1/3 cup feta (optional); 1/2 cup grated parmesan; 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts (or roughly crushed cashews, walnuts, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds); 3/4 cup pesto (use my quick homemade recipe below or your favourite store-bought pesto); Salt to taste; 2 packed cups basil leaves; ½ cup freshly grated parmesan; 4 cloves of garlic; ⅓ cup toasted pine nuts (or cashews, walnuts, almonds, pistachios, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds); 1 tablespoon lemon juice; ½ teaspoon salt; ½ cup olive oil

Description

This super easy orzo pesto salad will become your go-to for parties, meal prep or as a quick, healthy weeknight meal. It’s as simple as mixing orzo with lots of herby pesto, tomatoes, parmesan and olives (or crunchy veggies of your choice!) It’s fab for feeding a crowd, keeps really well and is full of Mediterranean flavours everyone will love.

I’ve included my recipe for basil pesto below if you’d like to give it a go, otherwise, just use whatever pesto you can find in the store.

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the orzo pesto salad –

11oz/300g orzo (or another small dried pasta of your choice)
11oz/300g cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup of Kalamata olives, halved (optional)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
3 scallions, finely sliced
1/3 cup feta (optional)
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts (or roughly crushed cashews, walnuts, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds)
3/4 cup pesto (use my quick homemade recipe below or your favourite store-bought pesto)
Salt to taste

For the homemade pesto –

2 packed cups basil leaves
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
4 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts (or cashews, walnuts, almonds, pistachios, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup olive oil

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Make your pesto (skip this step if you’re using store-bought pesto). Add the 2 cups of basil leaves, ½ cup grated parmesan, ⅓ cup pine nuts (or alternative), 3 garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and ½ teaspoon of salt to the bowl of a food processor and blitz for a minute, until it turns into a rough paste. Scrape down the sides. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil to create a lovely emulsified pesto.
Cook the orzo. Get your orzo in a big pot of salted water and pop it over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook until al dente (this is when the pasta still has a little bit of a bite). This will take approximately 10 minutes.
Prepare the other ingredients. While your pasta is cooking, get all the other ingredients ready. Chop your crunchy vegetables and your olives if you’re using them, crumble your feta (if you’re using it), grate your parmesan and get your pine nuts (or alternative) in a small dry pan over medium heat and toss for a couple of minutes, until they’re fragrant and have little golden spots on either side.
Cool the orzo. Drain your orzo and rinse thoroughly with cold water. This is because 1) you want it to be cool when you add the salad ingredients and 2) you don’t want it all sticking together so you want to wash off the starch.
Make the salad. Add the orzo and all your salad ingredients to a large bowl and go in with a couple of good grinds of black pepper. Give everything a very good mix, making sure the pesto coats all the pasta. Taste, season with more salt if needed (this will depend on how salty your pesto is), dish up and dig in.

Notes

INGREDIENT NOTES: This salad is really flexible, based on what you have to hand and what you like. Swap the olives for sundried tomatoes or jarred artichokes, and add diced cucumber, red onion, and buffalo mozzarella (it’s lovely with little bocconcini balls). You can also add some grilled chicken or tofu to bulk it out with more protein. Use sunflower seeds, pumpkin (pepita seeds) or chopped nuts (like almonds, cashews, hazelnuts or pistachios) in place of the pine nuts.

STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: This pesto orzo salad keeps really well. Store it in the fridge in a covered container for up to 5 days (though it’s likely it’ll be gone far quicker than that!) The cherry tomatoes tend to go a little soggy, so if you are preparing this to take to a party, add them the day you want to serve the salad for maximum freshness.

Prep Time: 10
Cook Time: 10
Category: pasta
Method: stove top
Cuisine: mediterranean

Nutrition

Serving Size: 300g
Calories: 412
Sugar: 7g
Sodium: 469.9mg
Fat: 18.4g
Saturated Fat: 5.1g
Unsaturated Fat: 12.1g
Trans Fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 46.7g
Fiber: 4.2g
Protein: 14.8g
Cholesterol: 12.2mg

Keywords: pasta salad, orzo, pesto pasta