Take your summer salads to the next level with a vibrant and flavorful orzo salad with pesto! Bursting with fresh flavors, tasty pesto, and tender orzo pasta, this refreshing dish is a true crowd-pleaser.
Bring it to your next potluck, bbq or make as a simple side dish for supper.
Summer is the season for cold pasta salads. They make the perfect dish to pass and they pair amazingly with basically anything you put on the grill.
This was inspired by my Greek lemon orzo salad on this site, and pairs well with this everything from honey Dijon pork chops to air fryer bacon wrapped hot dogs and Mediterranean chicken wraps.
It's that versatile.
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What is basil pesto?
Pesto is made up of basil, garlic, olive oil, a hard cheese like Parmesan or Romano and pine nuts. I always use pre-made, jarred pesto.
You may see the jar also say "pesto alla genovese" which is the region in Italy where this sauce originated from.
What is orzo
Orzo is a wheat semolina based pasta. It's not rice, but is in the shape of rice. I love it because it cooks quickly and fits easily on a fork or spoon.
Can you say family friendly pasta?
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to grab at the grocery store.
- basil pesto - Store leftover pesto in the refrigerator. You can use the leftovers to make a tasty turkey pesto panini or chicken pesto pasta salad.
- cherry tomatoes
- lemon juice - fresh if you can swing it. It really adds some brightness and acidity to the pasta salad.
- baby spinach
- fresh mozzarella - I used mozzarella pearls which refer to the size of the mozzarella.
- fresh basil - this is optional but makes a nice fresh garnish.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make orzo salad with pesto
A few simple steps are all you need to make this orzo pesto salad.
Cook the orzo according to package directions. While it cooks, roughly chop the fresh spinach. It will wilt as it combines with the warm pasta.
Add the drained orzo pasta to the spinach in a medium sized bowl. Stir to combine.
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Add the pesto sauce while the pasta is still warm. It will be fragrant and lovely smelling!
Add the mozzarella cheese when the pasta salad has cooled to room temperature.
Farm Girl Tip: Wait until serving time or just before to add the mozzarella cheese. We don't want it to melt into the salad.
Serve immediately or you can add it to your packed cold lunch.
Substitutions
Here are some ways you can substitute ingredients to suit your individual needs when making this orzo salad.
- Orzo - instead of using orzo, you can use any small pasta like orecchiette, pearl couscous, or ditalini like in my Instant Pot Pasta Fagioli Soup.
- Tomatoes - use halved grape tomatoes, chopped plum tomatoes or any variety you like.
- Gluten free - use gluten free pasta to make this recipe part of your meal plan.
- Mozzarella - fresh mozzarella is more mellow than the cheese we'd use on pizza. You can use the pearls as mentioned above, or ciliegine, which are slightly larger balls of mozzarella. Both come in a brine like solution. You can also cut a ball of fresh mozzarella into cubes.
Variations
Here are tips on how you can make this recipe your own...
- Add-ins - the possibilities to add to this salad are tasty and limitless! Kalamata olives, black olives, Parmesan cheese, or goat cheese would all be tasty additions.
- Pesto - switch out the basil pesto for a sun dried tomato pesto.
- Add nuts - pine nuts, walnuts or pecans work in this recipe, though pine nuts are pretty price. I'll save those for when we have $10 corn!
Storage
Store leftover orzo pasta salad in the refrigerator, covered in airtight container. This will keep for 2-3 days.
This orzo salad will not freeze well.
Tip
If you want a "looser" salad you can drizzle a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in after you add the pesto. Stir to combine.
FAQ
Orzo salad pairs well with any grilled meats like pork chops, burgers, and even hot dogs! It's a great summertime salad so anything you throw on the grill is a great compliment for it.
In simplest terms, risotto is a rice product and orzo is a pasta product. They both have the same rice shape, but are not the same food.
I use jarred pesto all the time! It's a great way to add fresh, herbaceous taste to pasta, panini and grilled vegetables.
Ditalini, pastina, rosamarina or acini de pepe are all good substitutes for orzo. I've also seen a macaroni product in the Hispanic foods aisle called melon seed that could be a good stand in.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with orzo salad with pesto:
Recipe
Caprese Orzo Salad with Pesto
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Ingredients
- 4 ounces basil pesto
- 8 ounces orzo pasta uncooked
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half
- ½ cup mozzarella pearls
- 1 ounce of baby spinach about 2 handfuls
- juice of one lemon
- optional: fresh basil for garnish
Instructions
- Fill a 4 quart pot with water. Bring to a boil, then season with salt. Cook orzo to al dente, according to package directions (about 9 minutes). Drain well.
- In the meantime, roughly chop the baby spinach and place in a medium sized bowl.
- Add drained orzo to the spinach and stir well to combine. The heat from the pasta will make the spinach slightly wilt and soften.
- Add the juice of a lemon and the basil pesto. Stir to combine. Allow to cool for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. The orzo will soak in some of the pesto.
- When the orzo is cooled to room temperature, add the cherry tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. Stir to combine.
- Garnish with fresh basil, if desired. Serve at room temperature.
Notes
Substitutions
- Orzo - instead of using orzo, you can use any small pasta like orecchiette, pearl couscous, or ditalini like in my Instant Pot Pasta Fagioli Soup.
- Tomatoes - use halved grape tomatoes, chopped plum tomatoes or any variety you like.
- Gluten free - use gluten free pasta to make this recipe part of your meal plan.
- Mozzarella - fresh mozzarella is more mellow than the cheese we'd use on pizza. You can use the pearls as mentioned above, or ciliegine, which are slightly larger balls of mozzarella. Both come in a brine like solution. You can also cut a ball of fresh mozzarella into cubes.
Nutrition
This Farm Girl Cooks is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. Calories and other nutritional values vary depending on which brands were used.
Sam says
made this for a quick dinner. Added some grilled chicken and it was perfect!