Italian Orzo Pasta Salad

This twist on a basic Italian pasta salad is a sport changer. The orzo pasta provides this salad the proper chew and texture. Plus, it’s loaded with crisp veggies and a simple selfmade French dressing dressing.

Love orzo as a lot as we do? Then you definitely’ll love our Lemon Chicken and Orzo.

Why My Recipe

• Loaded with completely crisp and crunchy veggies and all of the scrumptious orzo.
• Do-it-yourself Italian dressing that’s fast and simple to make.
• Simple to prep the evening earlier than and able to throw collectively if you want it!

What’s nice about this salad is the scale of every ingredient. The orzo pasta, mini pepperoni, and small items of mozzarella all match collectively on one spoon, supplying you with the proper chew. And the feel of this salad is just about good. When you’re apprehensive a couple of soggy pasta salad, this isn’t that! Cooking the orzo pasta to al dente and mixing it with olives, peppers, and tomatoes makes this pasta salad gentle with that good crunch. This pasta salad and my Mediterranean Chickpea Salad have turn out to be my go-to for meal-prepping a fast and attractive lunch!

Ingredient Notes

• Orzo Pasta: This short-cut pasta resembles rice and is discovered within the pasta aisle at most grocery shops. Prepare dinner to al dente for a agency, chewy chew.
• Olives: the sliced black olives in a can are an ideal possibility, or you might go inexperienced.
• Mini Pepperonis: Simply swap for normal, sliced pepperoni or salami.
• Inexperienced Bell Pepper: Substitute with yellow or purple bell peppers for a sweeter taste.
• Pepperoncini: Provides an ideal crunch and tangy zip. You would additionally substitute with banana peppers.
• Cherry Tomatoes: Grape tomatoes additionally work, and you need to use purple or yellow.
• Recent Mozzarella: Cubed recent mozzarella provides a pleasant smooth texture to the salad. Nonetheless, you might all the time use these little mini mozzarella balls or shredded mozzarella as an alternative.
• Salad Dressing: You can also make your dressing with recent herbs over dried. You’ll need to use one tablespoon of finely minced recent herbs for each teaspoon of dried herbs the recipe requires.

Optionally available Add-Ins

Meat: We love these mini pepperonis for the way effectively they mix with the scale of the opposite substances, however should you’re not a fan, you may simply swap with a distinct protein. We advocate grilled hen, floor Italian sausage, or sliced salami as an alternative.

Veggies: We love an excellent crunch to our pasta salads. When you’re seeking to load up with extra veggies, you might add one other bell pepper (yellow and purple are sweeter), some chopped purple onion and zucchini, or perhaps a diced jalapeño for somewhat kick of warmth

Beans: Add some extra substance to your salad! Beans are a good way to make this pasta salad somewhat extra hearty and filling. Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) pair effectively with this salad for his or her measurement and texture.

Cheese: Be happy to make use of your favourite cheese. You should use mini mozzarella balls or shredded mozzarella as an alternative of chopped recent mozzarella to avoid wasting time. Parmesan can also be an ideal different that will pair completely with the Italian flavors.

Make-Forward Directions

This pasta salad is tremendous simple to make forward. You possibly can whip up the dressing 1 to 2 days early and stash it within the fridge. Then prepare dinner the pasta the evening earlier than and retailer within the fridge to sit back. Whenever you’re able to eat, all you’ve acquired to do is chop the veggies and toss all of it collectively in an enormous bowl. Achieved and finished!