Pesto Orzo Salad

This simple Pesto Orzo Salad recipe is a quick one-pan meal, perfect for a busy weeknight family dinner. With a combination of tender rice-shaped orzo, flavorful pesto, fresh tomatoes and white beans, it's a bright and fresh meal ready in about 15 minutes.

Whether it's the peak of summer or the middle winter, I'm always craving basil! It's easily one of my top 3 favorite herbs. We grow a ton of basil in our small garden, and one of the best ways to use up all that fresh herb is to blend it with pine nuts, cheese and garlic to make pesto! I have this recipe for a quick Homemade Basil Pesto in a Food Processor that I come back to again and again.

But even deep into winter, like today, I still like to make homemade pesto using store-bought basil. Or, when I have a busy weeknight meal to prepare, I often reach for a good quality jarred pesto.

This recipe borrows the flavors of summer for a quick and easy one-pan meal, perfect for any night of the year. It's vegetarian, kid-approved and ready in about 15 minutes.

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• Ingredients that Matter
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Serving Suggestions
• Storage
• Top tip
• FAQ
• More Pasta
• Dinner Ideas
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Ingredients that Matter

This recipe has just a handful of simple ingredients. Here are the ingredients you'll need to make this recipe:

• Orzo. This rice-shaped pasta is one of my favorites! It's tender and takes well to sauces like pesto, or a cheesy sauce like in our Creamy Broccoli Orzo. It also works well in soups like our Orzo Vegetable Soup. Orzo is a quick-cooking pasta, making it ideal for whenever time is limited.
• Pesto. Use a good quality basil pesto. You'll find store-bought pesto with Italian products, often near tomato sauces. Pesto can also be found in the refrigerator section. You may even find a locally made pesto in your hometown market. Any of these will do just fine. Or, make your own! Try out our homemade pesto recipe for some inspiration.
• Cherry Tomatoes. Adding fresh cherry tomatoes gives this dish a burst of fresh, juicy sweetness. Like basil, you can often find a good quality cherry tomato all year round.
• White Beans. I like to add a can of white beans (drained and rinsed) to this pasta dish for added protein and fiber. It turns an otherwise simple side dish into more of a filling complete meal.
• Basil. Add a big handful of fresh basil leaves a garnish.
• Pine Nuts. Like the basil, adding some lightly toasted pine nuts as a garnish reinforces the flavors from the pesto.
• Cheese. You can use just about any variety of cheese, but I like a salty hard cheese like pecorino or parmesan, shaved or grated.
• Lemon. Serve the pesto pasta with lemon wedges to cut through the richness of the cause and add some vibrancy to the dish.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

This easy pasta with pesto sauce comes together quickly! This dish can be served hot or cold as an orzo pesto salad. Hot or cold, here is how you make this recipe:

Hint: Adding the white beans at the very end and gently tossing helps ensure they don't fall apart and make the dish overly starchy or dense.

Substitutions

This recipe has plenty of room for tweaks based on your dietary restrictions and flavor preferences. Consider the following substitutions:

• Gluten-Free - Despite the fact orzo looks like rice, it is pasta and therefore NOT gluten-free. You can make this recipe gluten-free by swapping in a gluten-free orzo instead.
• Cheese - While I like to use shaved pecorino or parmesan for this orzo pesto salad, you could also use torn fresh mozzarella or mozzarella pearls. You can also use chopped cheddar cheese, crumbled feta or even a milder cheese like Monterey jack. I don't recommend a pungent cheese like blue or even goat cheese.
• Sun-Dried Tomatoes - In addition to (or in place of) fresh tomatoes, try using jarred oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes. I use these sweet tomatoes a lot, like in our Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad or our Sun-Dried Tomato Spread appetizer.
• Dairy-Free & Vegan - This recipe is vegetarian (so long as you are okay with the animal rennet in the cheese, though you can find vegetarian hard cheese options, too), but you can further make it dairy-free or even vegan by making pesto without cheese and leaving out the cheese garnish. Specialty or health food markets often carry vegan pesto.

Serving Suggestions

I like to serve this orzo with pesto hot as a light main and include a vegetarian protein like these easy Chickpea Patties or Red Lentil Patties. Or I serve it as a side with our Smothered Skillet Chicken with Artichokes and Red Peppers or our Perfect Seared Shrimp with Garlic and Herbs.

If you want to make this an orzo pesto pasta salad, try serving it cold and add some grilled zucchini, chopped baby spinach, seared asparagus or another fresh vegetable. Try serving it cold as a side pasta salad to our Cast Iron BBQ Chicken Breast or our Chicken Bacon Ranch Sliders.

Storage

Store leftover pesto orzo in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can serve it cold right out of the refrigerator or set it on counter for 20 minutes for a room temperature salad. If you'd like to have it hot, simply microwave or add to a skillet along with more pesto and heat over medium until hot.

You can also freeze this recipe for up to 1 month in an airtight container or freezer-safe zip top bag.

FAQ

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