The perfect summer side dish? Roasted Vegetable Orzo Salad! It’s quick, easy, tasty, and goes with any and all summer deliciousness.
Isn’t summer just delicious? I must admit, I’m really more of a fall/winter girl when it comes to weather but the freshness and bright and colorful flavors of summertime are tough to beat. My Roasted Vegetable Orzo Salad is an old favorite that everyone loves!
This orzo pasta salad has all of my favorites from the farmer’s market at summertime!
- Bell peppers
- Peas
- Shallot
- Garlic
- Pine nuts
- Fresh mint
What is orzo?
Because of their similar look, orzo can get mistaken for rice! It’s actually a very short pasta. I love it in pasta salad because you get plenty of pasta with every bite!
Homemade Roasted Vegetable Orzo Salad Dressing
This dressing is simple as can be and adds a just-right, zesty finishing touch to this salad. You’ll just need…
- Lemon juice
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Red wine vinegar
What Goes with Orzo Salad?
I like serving pasta salad as a side dish! A few main dishes that would be perfect with this Roasted Vegetable Orzo Salad:
- Weeknight Balsamic Grilled Chicken
- Zucchini Apple Turkey Burgers
- Grand Marnier Chicken
- Grilled BBQ Chicken Burgers
- Sticky Chicken
More Pasta Salads
- Spring Pasta Salad with Asparagus, Peas, and Greens
- Artichoke, Asparagus, & Tomato Pasta Salad
- Greek Chicken Pasta Salad
- Grilled Broccolini, Corn, & Tomato Pasta Salad
Food photography by Ashley Cuoco
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Roasted Vegetable Orzo Salad
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
The perfect summer side dish? Roasted Vegetable Orzo Salad! It’s quick, easy, tasty, and goes with any and all summer deliciousness.
Ingredients
Serves 8
- 1 pound orzo
- 3 bell peppers, small dice (red, yellow, orange)
- 2 shallots, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup frozen peas, defrosted
- 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
FOR THE DRESSING
-
- 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook orzo according to package, about 7-8 minutes. On a large sheet pan toss the bell peppers, shallots, and garlic with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Spread into a single layer and roast for about 20 minutes until veggies are softened.
- Meanwhile, make the dressing. Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and red wine vinegar. Set aside.
- Once orzo is cooked, drain and add to a large bowl. When veggies are cooked, add them to the orzo and stir to combine.
- Pour dressing over the warm orzo and toss until orzo is lightly coated. Gently stir in peas, pine nuts, and mint. Serve warm, room temp, or chilled!
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Comments
Cecilia Ferguson
Made this for our 4th of July bbq potluck and it was beyond delish! I added in a zucchini diced up pretty small. Will definitely make this again!!
★★★★★
Laney Schwartz
So glad it was a big hit!! Thanks for leaving a review!
Katie C
This is delicious (very bright and fresh and satisfying). And it’s a very forgiving recipe if you want to make adjustments or changes (I think the first time I made it I swapped onion for shallot and pistachios for pine nuts and mini macaroni for orzo because that was what I had on hand…and it was SUPER TASTY). My partner requested that this be in our regular rotation. Win!
★★★★★
Life is but a Dish
I’m so glad you enjoy it Katie!
Katie
This was so satisfying and delicious!! I made a few substitutions (onion for shallot, pistachios for pine nuts, and I completely forgot the peas) because the grocery store was out of a few things, but it totally worked. I’ll be making this again and again!!
★★★★★
Blythe
I have made this multiple times for a summer side and it has become a family fave! Easy, light, and delicious!
★★★★★
Life is but a Dish
SO happy you love it!
NAC
Loved the concept….very pretty and makes a large quantity. I followed the directions exactly how they were written .
However, I found it to be flavorless. Any ideas on what to do to give a a tasty punch?
★★
Life is but a Dish
Thanks for this feedback. I’ve updated the recipe to add more citrus and red wine vinegar which helps give it that bright punch!