This Orzo Pasta Salad is THE final pasta salad for the nice and cozy climate! Full of Mediterranean flavors, this tender orzo pasta is tossed with contemporary veggies, creamy white cheddar, and contemporary herbs and drizzled in a brilliant, lemony dressing that’s significantly TO DIE FOR.
Good luck discovering a straightforward pasta salad as scrumptious as this one! I not too long ago made this orzo pasta salad for my household dinner (we get collectively weekly with the siblings), and everybody completely beloved it. It’s good for a summer season BBQ, picnic, potluck, or a fantastic facet dish for any meal.
To make this scrumptious pasta salad, you simply must cook dinner the orzo pasta, roast your veggies, make your hummus dressing, and mix. You and the fam are going to be obsessed after the primary chunk!
What You Want for this Orzo Pasta Salad
- Orzo pasta: We love the distinctive form and texture of orzo pasta! It’s like a mixture of rice and pasta, which makes it good for salads.
- Veggies: We roasted broccoli, crimson onion, and garlic for this contemporary orzo salad.
- Olive oil: Further virgin olive oil is a should for roasting the veggies and making the salad dressing.
- Cherry tomatoes: Juicy tomatoes are additionally roasted, bringing out their pure sweetness.
- Aged white cheddar cheese: Cheese is at all times a fantastic addition to any contemporary pasta salad!
- Pine nuts: Add a pleasant crunch and nutty taste to the salad.
- Contemporary parsley: Offers this easy salad a kick of contemporary taste that brightens every little thing up.
- Lemon: We used contemporary lemon juice and lemon zest for the lemon French dressing.
- Hummus: This may increasingly look like an unconventional ingredient, however belief us, it provides a creamy and flavorful aspect to the dressing.
Scrumptious Swaps & Combine-Ins
- Veggies: Be at liberty to combine up what sort of contemporary greens you roasted for this salad. Bell peppers or artichoke hearts could be scrumptious additions.
- Cheese: You might additionally swap out the aged white cheddar for tangy feta or goat cheese.
- Herbs: Contemporary basil, mint, or chopped chives are nice substitutes for the parsley.
- Nuts: And should you’re not a fan of pine nuts, strive chopped almonds or sunflower seeds as an alternative.
#1 Tip for this Orzo Pasta Salad
This pasta salad is finest the following day. If getting ready forward of time, retailer the salad and dressing individually. Simply earlier than serving, combine within the dressing to stop the pasta from changing into soggy.
How you can Cool Orzo Rapidly
To hurry up the pasta’s cooling course of, switch the strained pasta to a big bowl and canopy it with chilly water. Add just a few ice cubes and let the pasta sit. Pressure and take away the ice cubes from the pasta earlier than mixing the salad.
Love Dressing?
In order for you the pasta salad to be a bit extra creamy, add just a few further tablespoons of hummus straight into the salad in step 7. You too can double the dressing recipe if that’s your jam!
Storage Instructions
Retailer any leftover orzo pasta salad in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3 days. Be certain to offer it a superb stir earlier than serving, because the dressing might have settled on the backside.
What to Serve with Orzo Pasta Salad
This vibrant and flavorful salad is an ideal facet dish for any summer season BBQ or potluck. It additionally makes a fantastic lunch by itself or served alongside some grilled rooster or fish. Strive pairing it with our Juicy Grilled Hen or Grilled Salmon in Foil for further protein.
We additionally advocate serving this salad with this Jalapeño Corn Pudding for a scrumptious and flavorful summer season meal. And for dessert, strive our Triple Berry Crumble Bars for a candy and indulgent end.
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Orzo Pasta Salad Recipe
This orzo pasta salad is filled with scrumptious taste and texture! It is the right summer season facet dish filled with contemporary greens, white cheddar cheese, and a zesty hummus dressing.
Yield: 6
Energy:
Supplies
Salad Components
- 8 oz. orzo pasta
- 12 oz. broccoli chopped into bite-size items
- ½ crimson onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 10 oz. cherry tomatoes quartered
- 4-5 oz aged white cheddar cheese roughly chopped or chunked
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon contemporary parsley chopped
Directions
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Deliver a big pot of salted water to a boil. Add the orzo and cook dinner till al dente, about 5-7 minutes. Pressure and set the orzo apart to chill.
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Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Unfold the broccoli, onion, and garlic evenly on a baking sheet. Add olive oil and salt, and toss to coat. Roast the greens for Quarter-hour.
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After Quarter-hour, add the tomatoes to the pan and roast for an extra 10-Quarter-hour or till the broccoli begins to brown. Take away from the oven and put aside to chill for Quarter-hour.
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Whereas the greens are roasting warmth a small skillet over medium warmth and toast the pinenuts till golden brown, about 3-5 minutes.
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Put together the dressing. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, hummus, salt, and pepper to a bowl and whisk to mix.
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Add the orzo to a bowl with half of the dressing. Toss to coat.
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Add the roasted greens, cheddar cheese, pine nuts, salt, and remaining dressing to the orzo. Toss to mix.*
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High with contemporary parsley and serve instantly or switch to the fridge to chill and grow to be extra flavorful.
Notes
- To hurry up the pasta’s cooling course of, switch the strained pasta to a big bowl and canopy it with chilly water. Add just a few ice cubes and let the pasta sit. Pressure and take away the ice cubes from the pasta earlier than mixing the salad.
- In order for you the pasta salad to be a bit extra creamy, add just a few further tablespoons of hummus straight into the salad in step 7.
- Be at liberty to combine up what sort of greens you roasted for this salad.
- Basil, mint, or chopped chives would all be nice herb additions to this salad.
- This pasta salad is finest the following day.
