Orzo Pesto Pasta Salad
A delicious pesto orzo pasta salad that you can tweak with seasonal ingredients you have on hand. Perfect for lunches, light dinners, meal prep and feeling like you're winning at life.
Orzo Pesto Pasta Salad
Orzo Pesto Pasta Salad
Orzo Pesto Pasta Salad
I’m a salad for lunch girlie. I love a meal prep salad that I can take to work, that also solves the problem of what to do with the rogue sweet potato hanging around in the pantry. With this pesto orzo salad, it gets to about 10am and I’m already looking forward to it. The flavours are so great.
But what’s really great about this salad is that it's easy and tweakable. If you live in a region where ingredients are super seasonal, and you love a pasta salad, you need this orzo pesto salad in your toolkit to get you through the year.
How to make a seasonal pesto pasta salad
The base for this orzo salad recipe has orzo and pesto. You can make the pesto from scratch (I have a great homemade pesto recipe here) using herbs that are in season, or just buy a really nice quality pesto from the store.
You want a vegetable like sweet potato or pumpkin, butternut squash to roast. But when they’re not in season, carrots or zucchini are good options. You can also sub out the roasted vege for cherry tomatoes when they’re in peak season.
Rocket / arugula is usually around most of the year, but if it’s in the peak of summer, swap this out for more herbs like fresh basil.
Cooking tips for the perfect orzo pasta salad
The most important thing is to not overcook your pasta. Look at the packet instructions, and just keep tasting around the end of the cook time. You want a little bit but not too hard. You defs don’t want mush.
Adding the pesto to the drained hot pasta helps the pasta absorb the flavours of the pesto. But it’s important to then let the orzo pesto pasta come to room temperature before adding any greens or herbs, or they’ll wilt. I do this by spreading the pesto pasta out onto a tray to speed things up.
How to meal prep a pesto orzo pasta salad
- Once everything is cooked and cooled, combine the pesto orzo, sweet potato and nuts, but add your herbs and rocket on the day of eating to keep them from wilting.
- Add the marinated feta on the day of eating, the shelf life is preserved longer in the oil.
- Also avoid adding things like tomato and avocado until the day of eating.
- Keep your portions stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Refresh with a little olive oil and a squeeze of lemon if it's looking a little dry.
More salads you can meal prep
- Mediterranean sweet potato salad.
- Orange salad with feta and almonds - I suggest adding cooked chicken to this for more of a meal.
- Warm Farro Salad with Roast Pumpkin & Mushrooms.
Up to 5 days. Keeping it cold and well sealed in an airtight container in the fridge.
Ingredients and substitutions
How to make it - step by step!
Preheat your oven to 200 C. 390 F. Cut your sweet potato into chunks. Place on a lined baking tray. Drizzle with oil, add salt and pepper, toss to combine. Bake for 20-25 minutes until caramelised and tender. Remove from the oven.
About 10 minutes before the sweet potatoes are cooked. Add your pasta to salted boiling water. Cook to packet instructions - some orzo sizes vary.
Once your pasta is cooked, drain and then add your pesto and lemon juice. Stir to combine.
Allow to cool to room temp. To speed things up, you can pour the pasta out onto a tray.
Slice your mint leaves and roughly chop your almonds.
To a bowl or serving platter, add the pasta, sweet potato, rocket, mint and almonds. Give it a stir through then crumble over feta.
Serve as is or place in the fridge until ready to eat.
Preheat your oven to 200 C. 390 F. Cut your sweet potato into chunks. Place on a lined baking tray. Drizzle with oil, add salt and pepper, toss to combine. Bake for 20-25 minutes until caramelised and tender. Remove from the oven.
About 10 minutes before the sweet potatoes are cooked. Add your pasta to salted boiling water. Cook to packet instructions - some orzo sizes vary.
Once your pasta is cooked, drain and then add your pesto and lemon juice. Stir to combine.
Allow to cool to room temp. To speed things up, you can pour the pasta out onto a tray.
Slice your mint leaves and roughly chop your almonds.
To a bowl or serving platter, add the pasta, sweet potato, rocket, mint and almonds. Give it a stir through then crumble over feta.
Serve as is or place in the fridge until ready to eat.
Watch the how to video
Watch the how to video
Orzo Pesto Pasta Salad
- 1 large sweet potato
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1.5 cups orzo / risoni pasta
- 200g basil pesto (about ¾ - 1 cup)
- ½ lemon
- 1 cup roasted almonds
- 1 cup fresh mint
- 200g marinated feta cheese
- 4 cups rocket
- Preheat your oven to 200 C. 390 F. Cut your sweet potato into chunks. Place on a lined baking tray. Drizzle with oil, add salt and pepper, toss to combine. Bake for 20-25 minutes until caramelised and tender. Remove from the oven.
- About 10 minutes before the sweet potatoes are cooked. Add your pasta to salted boiling water. Cook to packet instructions - some orzo sizes vary.
- Once your pasta is cooked, drain and then add your pesto and lemon juice. Stir to combine.
- Allow to cool to room temp. To speed things up, you can pour the pasta out onto a tray.
- Slice your mint leaves and roughly chop your almonds.
- To a bowl or serving platter, add the pasta, sweet potato, rocket, mint and almonds. Give it a stir through then crumble over feta.
- Serve as is or place in the fridge until ready to eat.