Easy Orzo with Pesto Pasta Salad Recipe
It doesn’t get much easier than this pesto orzo pasta salad. It’s easy to make and comes together in less than 30 minutes! Featuring a delicious creamy pesto, marinated tomatoes, and two cheeses–parmesan and mozzarella–this orzo with pesto is tasty warm, or as a cold pasta salad.
This pesto orzo is perfect for summer lunches or a delicious + easy side dish for dinner and more! Thinking beach days, picnics and any celebration where grilling is involved. It’s light, fresh and packed with flavor. Let’s make it!
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase any of the items linked in this post, I should earn a small commission. This creates no additional cost to you and helps support the work that goes into running The Fig Jar. Thank you! -Becky
Ingredients
What do you need to make orzo pesto?
- Orzo pasta – you can use whole wheat, regular or gluten-free orzo
- Tomatoes – I used some juicy cherry tomatoes for this, but you can use any tomato you like. Heirloom are another great choice!
- Parmesan cheese – for a simple dish like this where the parmesan is more prominent, it’s best to use a wedge and shave large chunks off by hand.
- Fresh mozzarella cheese – you can use small mozzarella balls to make it extra easy if you’d like!
- Red wine vinegar
- Pepita pesto – roasted pepitas, baby spinach, basil, avocado oil, fresh lemon juice, salt, pepper and fresh garlic. You can also try my pesto without garlic or my walnut kale pesto!
How to make pesto orzo pasta
Start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil. Make sure to salt the water right before adding the orzo–this helps impart flavor to the pasta during the cooking process.
Next, marinate the tomatoes. This is a total game changer in almost any dish that features raw tomatoes.
Think sandwiches, wraps, and burgers, maybe not as much as a green salad but it probably wouldn’t hurt.
Tomatoes can of course be amazingly delicious without any help, but let’s be real–most supermarket tomatoes do not taste amazing and even if they do this will only make them more tasty!
It adds extra flavor and tempers any bitter or watery flavors in the tomato. Rant over.
Place chopped tomatoes in the bottom of a large bowl (what ever you plan to assemble the salad in). Add the red wine vinegar, a drizzle of avocado oil, salt and pepper. Set aside.
Now make the pesto. Add the pesto ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if necessary.
By now the orzo is likely finished cooking. Make sure to cook to al dente, pasta salads absorb the dressing and if you cook any further it can get mushy. Drain and rinse the pasta, add the cooked orzo to the bowl with the marinated tomatoes. Add the pesto and stir. Add in the cheese and stir again. Top with extra parm and fresh basil leaves for serving if you wish. Enjoy!
This orzo pesto is great warm or cold too!
Substitutions and additions
Pesto – It’s hard to beat fresh homemade pesto, but you can certainly use a store-bought pesto that you love!
Tomatoes – sundried tomatoes, packed in oil and finely chopped can be substituted for the tomatoes. You will just need to use less because sundried tomatoes have a very strong flavor. Use about 1/4 cup chopped.
Nuts – instead of pepitas, use pine nuts or walnuts to make the pesto
Cheeses – feta cheese is also delicious with this pasta and can really be swapped for both parmesan and mozarella or used in place of both. Goat cheese works too!
Some yummy things to add in if you want to bulk this dish up: finely diced shallot or red onion in with the tomato to marinate and take the edge off. Extra chopped nuts/seeds of whatever type you use can be thrown in for extra texture + flavor. Marinated artichoke hearts are also a great addition for the same reasons.
Storage instructions
Store this orzo pesto salad in an air-tight container in the fridge to keep chilled until ready to serve. Enjoy within 3-4 days.
Pesto pasta salads can become dry as they sit in the fridge. If you will not be enjoying this pesto orzo right away, add a little extra pesto, drizzle of oil and a squeeze of lemon juice to wake it up again.
Why you’ll love this Orzo with Pesto recipe
- This dish is perfect to have for easy lunches or make it a heartier main dish by chicken or fish for extra protein
- It’s made with simple ingredients that are easy to find and you can feel good about eating (hello fresh veggies!).
- It comes together super fast– less than 30 minutes!
- Pesto orzo is also a great side dish to bring to BBQs, beach days and potlucks
Next time you need an easy lunch that tastes like it came from a cute little bistro–give this orzo pasta salad a try!
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More pasta salad recipes you’ll love
Orzo with Pesto (Pasta Salad)
It doesn’t get much easier that this pesto orzo pasta salad. It’s easy to make and comes together in less than 30 minutes! It features a delicious creamy pesto, marinated tomatoes and two cheeses–parmesan and mozzarella! Also–this is tasty warm or as a cold pasta salad.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 8 oz orzo pasta
- 3/4 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- salt and pepper
- heaping 1/3 cup shaved parmesan cheese
- 4 oz fresh mozzarella
- 3/4 cup pesto
Instructions
1. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add a small palmful of salt to the water just before adding the pasta. Cook the pasta according to package instructions, until al dente (meaning with a little bite to it).
2. Marinate the tomatoes. Place chopped tomatoes in your serving bowl and add the red wine vinegar, oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Stir.
3. Make the pesto while you wait for the pasta to finish cooking and the tomatoes to marinate.
4. Drain and rinse the pasta. You don’t need to fully cool the pasta, just do a quick rinse. Add the pasta to the bowl with the tomatoes, then add the pesto and cheese. You can start with 1/2 cup pesto and add up to 1/4 cup more if you would like.
5. Serve topped with a little extra cheese and fresh basil if desired.
6. Enjoy!
Notes
Pesto – It’s hard to beat fresh homemade pesto, but you can certainly use a store-bought pesto that you love!
Tomatoes – sundried tomatoes, packed in oil and finely chopped can be substituted for the tomatoes. You will just need to use less because sundried tomatoes have a very strong flavor. Use about 1/4 cup chopped.
Nuts – instead of pepitas, use pine nuts or walnuts to make the pesto
Cheeses – feta cheese is also delicious with this pasta and can really be swapped for either cheese or used in place of both. Goat cheese works too!
Additions – Some yummy things to add in if you want to bulk this dish up: finely diced shallot or red onion in with the tomato to marinate and take the edge off. Extra chopped nuts/seeds of what ever type you use can be thrown in for extra texture + flavor. Marinated artichoke hearts are also a great addition for the same reasons.
