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Hearty Pesto Orzo Salad is made with just a handful of ingredients, yet is bursting with fresh flavor. Ready in 25 minutes! Gluten-free, Oil-Free, and Nut-Free options.
This Pesto Orzo Salad is made with tender orzo pasta, juicy cherry tomatoes, hearty chickpeas, and fresh herbs all tossed together in a dreamy, arugula pesto dressing. Get out your favorite serving bowl and prepare to dig into this delicious easy side or light dinner main.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ READER REVIEW:
“This was easy and soooo delicious! Definitely worthy of serving to company!”
-Dianne
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love this Recipe:
Pesto is one of my favorite sauces to enjoy whenever warm weather comes back around! This recipe transforms it into a delicious dressing, making it the perfect light main or side dish for weeknight dinners or gatherings:
- Ready in under 30: You’ll have plenty of time to prepare the dressing and veggies while the orzo cooks, making this a quick and convenient meal
- Use up leftover pesto: The dressing for this salad is made with only pesto and 1 other ingredient. It’s the perfect way to enjoy your leftover pesto if you’ve made too big of a batch!
- Customizable: Swap the chickpeas for another bean, the arugula for a different green, and the pine nuts for pumpkin seeds or walnuts! It’ll still be great, and you’ll feel great about actually using the items in your pantry 😉
What You Need for Pesto Orzo Salad
As with most cold pasta salads, this pesto orzo salad recipe is incredibly customizable. You only need 9 ingredients to make it, and I almost always have them in my pantry and fridge during the spring and summer:
- Orzo: this rice-shaped pasta gets coated in the yummy dressing and is the perfect compliment to the other smaller ingredients in the recipe. Use gluten-free orzo if you are gf, or you can swap it for a different pasta shape.
- Pesto: I usually make this with my Arugula Pesto, but it’s also delicious with my Nut-free Pesto, Avocado Pesto, or any store-bought pesto of your choice.
- Tomatoes: I recommend using halved or cherry or grape tomatoes because they have the best sweet and juicy flavor, but you can also use any chopped tomatoes of your choosing.
- Chickpeas: I can’t resist sneaking a little protein into my pasta salads! It helps bulk them up and make them suitable for a main dish. I opted for canned chickpeas to make this recipe quick and easy, but feel free to use 1 3/4 cups of chickpeas cooked from dry.
- Fresh greens: Fresh basil leaves and arugula are absolutely key. They bring out the flavor in the pesto and round out the dish with a burst of freshness. Don’t skimp here!
- Dairy-Free feta: This is optional but adds a salty, creaminess to the pasta salad that I truly love. Go for a store-bought pesto, or if desired, try my Marinated Tofu “Feta” Recipe.
How to Make this Easy Orzo Salad
- Cook the orzo on the stove according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water until the orzo is room temperature.
- In the meantime, whisk the pesto and vinegar together in a large bowl.
- Add the orzo, tomatoes, and chickpeas and toss to combine. Add the basil, optional vegan feta cheese, pine nuts, and fresh arugula. Fold to combine, then season with salt to taste.
- Serve at room temperature (or chill it first!)
Caitlin’s RECIPE Tips
- Cook the pasta until al dente. The quickest way to ruin a pasta salad dish is to overcook the pasta and orzo pasta salads are no exception! Most pasta box instructions will provide instructions for cooking the pasta al dente, but if not reduce the cook time by 1-2 minutes. The orzo pasta should be tender, but not mushy. A bit of firmness should remain.
- Toast your pine nuts. If you’ve never experienced toasted pine nuts, you’re in for a treat! They’re buttery, nutty, and the ultimate pop of flavor. The fastest way to do this is in a dry skillet on the stovetop. Add them over medium-low heat and cook until lightly golden brown and fragrant, a couple of minutes.
Serving Suggestions
The best part about this Orzo Pesto Pasta Salad is it only gets better with time. It’s the perfect meal prep for a quick weeknight meal, nourishing lunches, or a hearty side dish. And since it’s best served at room temperature or chilled, it’s the ideal plant-based meal to bring to picnics and BBQs all summer long.
If you’re looking for more orzo recipes, you’ll also love thisTriple Tomato Basil Orzo Salad, this Lemon Pepper Orzo and thisSpring Orzo Salad with Peas!
How to Store Orzo Pesto Salad
Once prepped, this pesto salad will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. For optimal preservation, store in a glass, airtight container or jar.
Freezing and reheating is not recommended.
Substitutions and Variations
- Gluten-free option: Swap the wheat-based orzo pasta for a gluten-free orzo such as cassava orzo or corn and rice-based orzo pastas. You can also use any other gluten-free short cut pasta variety of your choice.
- Nut-free option: Use my Nut-Free Vegan Pesto recipe and swap the pine nuts for pumpkin seeds or raw sunflower seeds.
- Oil-free option: Swap the pesto for my Oil-Free Avocado Pesto instead. The pesto and vinegar base will be thicker, but still creamy and delicious.
- Use another protein: Replace the can of chickpeas with another plant-based protein of choice such as white beans, my Crispy Tofu or Baked Tempeh.
Recipe FAQs
Although orzo looks like enlarged rice, it is in fact a type of pasta and typically wheat-based. If you are gluten-free you can use gluten-free orzo, which is typically in the pasta aisle of most grocery stores.
Store-bought orzo pasta varieties are usually made without eggs and contain wheat, water, and salt. Fresh varieties, however, are often made with egg to give them extra moisture and flavor. When purchasing orzo in stores, always read the ingredients just in case!
Enjoy! If you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I would also love it if you could leave a comment below with a recipe rating! Thank you for the support 😊
Easy Pesto Orzo Salad with Tomatoes and Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dry orzo
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt plus more to taste
- 1/2 cup Nut-Free Pesto
or Arugula Pesto, or store-bought - 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar or lemon juice
- 10 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes
- 1 15.5 ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup fresh basil chopped
- 1/2 cup vegan feta (optional)
- 1/4 cup pine nuts toasted
- 2 ounces fresh arugula or baby spinach
Instructions
- Cook the Orzo: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon of salt. Add the orzo and cook until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain the orzo and rinse with cold water, until the orzo itself comes to room temperature.
- Make the Dressing: Whisk the pesto and vinegar together in the base of a large bowl until a smooth texture forms.
- Mix: Add the orzo, tomatoes, and chickpeas to the bowl and mix until evenly combined. Add the basil, feta (optional), pine nuts, and arugula. Gently fold into the salad. Season with additional salt to taste, if necessary.
- Serve: Serve immediately, or chill in the fridge for 15 minutes before serving. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- Gluten-Free: Use gluten-free orzo, or replace with 8 ounces (225 g) of your favorite gluten-free pasta
- Oil-Free: Use my Avocado Pesto from this recipe instead!
This has become one of my go-to sides for summertime events! Even my non-vegan friends and family love and request it. Easy to modify too- sometimes I use pepitas or pistachios in place of the pine nuts and it still works great!
Thanks for the review Sam! Interestingly enough, I just remade the recipe myself this week and used pumpkin seeds instead of pine nuts 🙂 Great minds think alike!
Super yummy and simple! I added avocado and blueberries 🫐 🥑
That’s so delicious. I changed the recipe little bit. I put fresh mozzarella instead of feta, i put little bit extra pesto and less chickpeas. Everyone should try this.
We make this often, my husband and I love it! We crisp the chickpeas and it is soooo delicious!
Delicious!! I didn’t have basil but I did top with red pickled onions for some extra freshness. So easy too.
Thank you so much, Caryn!
Orzo is made from wheat pasta. How you have this labels GF IDK. I have noticed many of your recipes are labeled GF and use wheat pasta or crust with no suggestions for GF
Traditional orzo is made from wheat but you can also buy gluten-free orzo, or use a different gluten-free pasta instead. Gluten-free substitutions are always listed in the recipe notes!
This was easy and soooo delicious! Definitely worthy of serving to company!
It’s an honor. Thank you so much, Dianne!
I subbed quite a few ingredients but this was still fresh, delicious, and filling.
This recipe is SO SO SO good! I modified it slightly. I used a different vegan pesto recipe that’s oil free, and mixed it with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil instead of red wine vinegar (the pesto recipe has a lot of brown rice vinegar, so I wanted to make sure it didn’t come out too vinegar-y). I skipped the chickpeas and vegan feta as well. This was SO good and fresh for this HOT summer! Will definitely make again!
Yay! So happy you liked it, Suzanne. Thank you for leaving a review.
I brought this to a potluck tonight, and it was a hit! I used the Trader Joe’s vegan pesto in place of making it from scratch, and it worked great.
Happy everyone loved it, Claire! Thank you
Wow.. this is so good! Incredibly flavourful. The only thing I left out was pine nuts.. but only because I forgot to buy some. This recipe is a keeper!
Thank you, Sandi!
So good! All of the Let’s Do Lunch series recipes I’ve tried so far have been fantastic! And so helpful because I always struggle with finding quick and varied lunchtime recipes. Thanks so much!
We are happy you find the series helpful and love the recipes. Thank you, Sophia!
So delicious!! Thank you for this!
You’re so welcome, Elise!
I am officially obsessed with this dish! I made a few substitutions – used lemon zest and juice and sprinkled Parmesan instead of feta. So so tasty!
Wow!Thank you so much, Órla.
My husband made this for dinner and it’s DELICIOUS!! Best orzo salad ever. We added Kalamato olives to it. Thanks Caitlin for another delicious recipe!!
Thank you so much, Karen!