Pesto Orzo Salad

5 from 2 votes

This Pesto Orzo Salad is a fresh and simple salad made with a handful of simple ingredients. Filled with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, a homemade basil pesto. Whip it up in under 30 minutes, add a protein to make it a meal, the possibilities are endless!

Prep Time20

Total Time30

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Author: Lorie Yarro

Ingredients

Salad Ingredients:

2 c orzo uncooked
1 ½ c baby spinach chopped
10 oz grape or cherry tomatoes halved
2 c fresh mozzarella cut into bite sized pieces

Pesto Ingredients:

2 c fresh basil stems removed
1-2 garlic cloves
3 T pine nuts
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 - 2/3 c olive oil
1/3 c parmesan grated
½ tsp Salt
½ tsp Pepper
Salt/pepper to taste

Instructions

Boil a pot of water to cook the orzo and cook according to al dente instructions. Toast the pine nuts stove top in a skillet over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, or until lightly browned and fragrant. They will burn fast so keep an eye on them. Remove them from the stove and allow to cool before making the pesto.
While the orzo cooks, prepare the pesto. Combine the basil, garlic and cooled pine nuts in a food processor or high powered blender. Process until broken down and an almost paste like texture. Scrape down the sides as needed. Add the salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Add half the olive oil and process. Continue to pour the olive oil in as you blend the ingredients until a nice smooth texture. Add the parmesan and process until fully combined.
Once the orzo is cooked drain and run a bit of cool water over it so it doesn't continue to cook. Add the chopped spinach to the orzo and allow it to wilt.
Add the orzo, spinach, diced tomatoes, mozzarella and about 3/4 of the pesto to a medium bowl. Toss well to combine. Reserve the remaining pesto until ready to serve if desired. If the mixture seems too dry you can also add an extra 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil.
Chill until ready to serve. Toss with remaining pesto and an extra drizzle of olive oil just before serving. Top with extra toasted pine nuts and chopped basil if desired.

Notes

You want the pesto in this orzo salad to be on the thin side. While some pestos can be slightly thick, in order to coat all of the ingredients, you want the pesto to be more on the runny side. This will allow it to easily toss with the ingredients. Add a bit extra olive oil if needed when making.
Toast your pine nuts! This only takes a minute or two, but adds so much more to your pesto. Allow them to cool before adding to the pesto by lining them on parchment for about 10-15 minutes.
For an extra pop of flavor, add some lemon zest. I went back and forth on whether or not to make this an actual ingredient in the recipe, but not everyone has been on board with the extra zing from adding the lemon zest. If it sounds good to you, toss in about 1 teaspoon lemon zest when stirring the salad.
You can prep this salad a day in advance. This salad is actually better the next day to be honest. If preparing it in advance, you can toss all of the ingredients together, reserving about 1/4 of the pesto to toss in just before serving. An extra drizzle of olive oil when serving is great as well.

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