Italian Orzo Pasta Salad

This twist on a traditional Italian pasta salad is a sport changer. The orzo pasta offers this salad the right chunk and texture. Plus, it’s loaded with crisp veggies and a straightforward do-it-yourself French dressing dressing.

Love orzo as a lot as we do? You then’ll love our Lemon Chicken and Orzo.

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, providing you with the right chunk. And the feel of this salad is just about excellent. When you’re nervous 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 mild with that excellent crunch. This pasta salad and my Mediterranean Chickpea Salad have turn into my go-to for meal-prepping a fast and engaging 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 chunk.
• Olives: the sliced black olives in a can are an incredible possibility, or you might go inexperienced.
• Mini Pepperonis: Simply swap for normal, sliced pepperoni or salami.
• Inexperienced Bell Pepper: Substitute with yellow or pink bell peppers for a sweeter taste.
• Pepperoncini: Provides an incredible crunch and tangy zip. You possibly can additionally substitute with banana peppers.
• Cherry Tomatoes: Grape tomatoes additionally work, and you should use pink or yellow.
• Recent Mozzarella: Cubed recent mozzarella offers a pleasant gentle 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 wish to use one tablespoon of finely minced recent herbs for each teaspoon of dried herbs the recipe requires.

Non-compulsory Add-Ins

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

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

Beans: Add some extra substance to your salad! Beans are an effective way to make this pasta salad slightly extra hearty and filling. Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) pair properly with this salad for his or her dimension 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 be an incredible different that might pair completely with the Italian flavors.

Make-Forward Directions

This pasta salad is tremendous straightforward to make forward. You may whip up the dressing 1 to 2 days early and stash it within the fridge. Then cook dinner the pasta the evening earlier than and retailer within the fridge to relax. Once 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. Executed and achieved!