Orzo Pesto Salad Recipe
This orzo pesto salad is the perfect summer salad. It’s easy to make and totally customizable. Something tells me you’ll be taking it to potlucks and picnics all summer long.
The base recipe will remind you of a mashup between a pesto pasta salad with orzo and a Caprese. Make my pesto alla Genovese or use a store-bought pesto if you don’t have the time.
The orzo salad itself is packed with ripe, bursting tomatoes and tiny perlini mozzarella and topped with toasted pine nuts. Or make it your own way with any of the possible variations below.
What is orzo?
Orzo literally means “barley” in Italian. It’s a small wheat pasta shaped like barley or rice.
Orzo is often used in soup recipes but can be cooked the same way as Arborio in risotto. If you can’t find orzo, any small pasta shape will work in this pasta salad recipe.
About fresh mozzarella
Perlini mozzarella are the smallest size of mozzarella balls, about a centimeter in diameter. They are supposedly the size of pearls, though I can’t imagine a necklace made out of pearls that size!
If you’re unable to find perlini, use the smallest mozzarella you can find. Chop it if you have to. But please use fresh mozzarella in this orzo pesto salad recipe.
Tips and tricks
Making the orzo pesto salad recipe
There are not many components to this recipe, so the key is to use the best and freshest ingredients you can find. Your basil pesto and your tomatoes should sing of summer.
Tip from the wisequacker: as a general rule of thumb, always combine your sauce and pasta in the pasta pot and cook them for a minute or two. This way your pasta will take up flavor from the sauce. With pesto, the pasta just needs still to be warm. Run away from pasta recipes that stir pesto into cold pasta or show a photo of sauce sitting pristinely on a pile of spaghetti.
To make this recipe, bring a large pot of water to a boil and then add your salt. Adding salt at this stage helps prevent the salt from pitting your pots.
When the water returns to a boil, cook the orzo to al dente, save a cup or so of pasta water, and drain the orzo. Return the orzo immediately to the warm pot and mix in the pesto with some pasta water until it gets to your desired consistency. Let the pesto-coated orzo cool to room temperature before adding the other ingredients.
Variations and substitutions
- Add spinach or other greens or finely chopped basil leaves to the pasta salad.
- Chop some artichoke hearts or steamed green vegetables like broccoli or asparagus into the salad.
- Add white beans for protein or add cooked chicken to make this a chicken pesto salad.
FAQs
The simplest way to make this ahead is to make the pesto in advance. Pesto can be frozen for months. Fully made, the orzo pesto salad is best served within the first day, but it can be stored in the refrigerator for several days.
Related recipes
Check out other summer salad recipes like this peach burrata caprese or this watermelon panzanella.
Are you looking for fall and winter pasta salad recipes? Try this pumpkin couscous salad.
Do you love pasta as much as I do? Check out some of my favorite pasta recipes like this sausage ragù, cavatappi mac and cheese, or tuna pesto pasta.
Orzo Pesto Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (about 1⅓ cups) orzo
- ¼ cup pesto plus more as desired
- ½ cup perlini mozzarella
- 10 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered if large
- 10 pitted Kalamata olives, sliced
- ¼ teaspoon salt plus more for salting the pasta water
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water, add salt, and cook the orzo according to the package directions until it is just al dente. Before draining, reserve about a cup of pasta water.8 ounces (about 1⅓ cups) orzo
- Drain the orzo and return it immediately to the warm pasta pot. Add about ¼ cup of pesto the orzo and stir it until the pasta is evenly coated. If your pesto is thick, add some of the pasta water about a tablespoon at at time to thin it slightly.¼ cup pesto
- Transfer the orzo to a glass bowl and let cool to room temperature.
- When cool, add the perlini mozzarella, chopped tomatoes, chopped olives, salt, and pepper, and toss gently to mix.½ cup perlini mozzarella, 10 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered if large, 10 pitted Kalamata olives, sliced, ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- Garnish with toasted pine nuts and serve at room temperature.2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
Notes
- Add spinach or other greens or finely chopped basil leaves to the pasta salad.
- Chop some artichoke hearts or steamed green vegetables like broccoli or asparagus into the salad.
- Add cooked chicken to make this a chicken pesto salad.
Nutrition
What’s next
If you make this orzo pesto salad recipe, please leave a comment and rating.
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