Home » Cooking/Recipes » Orzo Pasta Salad

Orzo Pasta Salad

This orzo pasta salad is easy to make, delicious, and perfect for parties and family gatherings. I love making pasta salad for meal prep too! Try out all of these pasta salad recipes!

This post contains links to products I like and think will be useful to you. If you click through and make a purchase I make a commission.

Pin featuring the finished orzo pasta salad recipe in bowls ready to eat.

It’s great for a quick lunch or dinner on the go and it pairs well with your favorite protein to make a whole meal!

Top down view of a finished bowl full of the entire batch of orzo pasta salad

Orzo is a great choice for pasta salad because it’s unique. I like mixing things up every now and then and orzo is definitely a little different than penne or rotini that would normally be found in pasta salad recipes.

What do I need to make this orzo pasta salad?

There’s just a few simple ingredients in this wholesome pasta salad recipe. You might even have most of them on hand right now! I like to keep the base ingredients on hand so that if I need to make a quick side dish, lunch recipe, or party dish I can whip this orzo pasta salad up in a hurry.

Top down view of two bowls of the finished pasta salad recipe.
  • 1 16-ounce box of orzo pasta
  • 1 bottle of garlic parmesan cheese dressing 
  • 1 cup tomatoes
  • 1 cup red, yellow, and orange bell peppers
  • 2 cups fresh spinach
  • ¼ – ½ cup fresh parmesan cheese
  • ½ cup garlic croutons
Horizontal view of the finished pasta salad recipe.

Shopping links for salad recipes: 

Here are my affiliate links (if you click through and make a purchase I make a commission at no cost to you) I think you’ll need for making delicious pasta salad recipes: 

Can I use a different kind of pasta?

This recipe will work with any kind of pasta…naturally it won’t be “orzo” pasta salad really if you use a different style noodle but it won’t really impact the flavors if you need to substitute something else!

If you do make changes be sure to update the nutritional information as that will definitely change if you add, substitute, or delete ingredients altogether.

Another pin showing the finished orzo pasta salad with title at the top.

How to make my homemade pasta salad recipe:

Making this easy pasta salad could not be more foolproof. It comes together perfectly and if you need to make it in advance, go right ahead. After a day or two in the refrigerator all the flavors have a chance to mingle and soak into the pasta. It only gets better!

Large bowl full of orzo pasta salad recipe ready to eat.
  1. Add pasta to 6 quarts of lightly salted water. Cook according to the instructions on the bag. Remove pan from stove and drain the water. 
  2. Rinse and cut tomatoes in half and set aside.
  3. Rinse and cut peppers into rings and set aside. 
  4. Rinse and cut your spinach set aside
  5. Add pasta into a large bowl and chill in the fridge. Once pasta is completely chilled, remove from fridge.
  6. Add veggies on top of the cooked and chilled orzo pasta.
  7. Pour your garlic parmesan cheese onto the salad and using a large spoon, toss all the ingredients until well incorporated.
A look at the finished orzo pasta salad recipe

Do you have any other pasta salad recipes I can try?

Great question…I have a bunch of awesome pasta salad recipes. Be sure to check out these other flavors, styles, and varieties. Each one is a unique flavor all it’s own so if you like making pasta salad for sides, lunches, and no-heat dinners on the go these will surely come in handy for you.

A final pin showing the finished orzo pasta salad recipe.
Top down view of two bowls full of orzo pasta salad.

Printable Orzo Pasta Salad Recipe:

Here’s an easy to print version of this delicious pasta salad recipe. It’s so simple but if you can’t make it today feel free to print a copy so you have it for the next time you’re meal prepping. Be sure to stop back and let me know what you think of these awesome pasta salad recipes.

Yield: 12 Servings

Orzo Pasta Salad

Featured Image showing the finished orzo pasta salad recipe in a bowl ready to eat.

This orzo pasta salad is easy to make, delicious, and perfect for parties and family gatherings. I love making pasta salad for meal prep too! It's great for a quick lunch or dinner on the go and it pairs well with your favorite protein to make a whole meal!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Chilling Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 16-ounce box of orzo pasta
  • 1 bottle of garlic parmesan cheese dressing
  • 1 cup tomatoes
  • 1 cup red, yellow, and orange bell peppers
  • 2 cups fresh spinach
  • ¼ - ½ cup fresh parmesan cheese
  • ½ cup garlic croutons

Instructions

  1. Add pasta to 6 quarts of lightly salted water. Cook according to the instructions on the bag. Remove pan from stove and drain the water.
  2. Rinse and cut tomatoes in half and set aside.
  3. Rinse and cut peppers into rings and set aside.
  4. Rinse and cut your spinach set aside
  5. Add pasta into a large bowl and chill in the fridge. Once pasta is completely chilled, remove from fridge.
  6. Add veggies on top of the cooked and chilled orzo pasta.
  7. Pour your garlic parmesan cheese onto the salad and using a large spoon, toss all the ingredients until well incorporated.

    Nutrition Information:

    Yield:

    12

    Serving Size:

    1

    Amount Per Serving: Calories: 123Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 74mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 4g

    I am not a medical expert. These calculations are provided as a courtesy.

    Another pin showing the title of the post in the middle and the finished orzo pasta salad at top and bottom.

    Similar Posts

    2 Comments

    1. This is REALLY delicious! I thought of using another pasta but I’m glad I used orzo. It adds a great depth to the salad. I couldn’t find the dressing you used so I bought Marie’s Parmesan Garlic Italian. It was really great as written! Then I sprinkled in a tiny bit of fresh chopped basil since I had a small plant in the garden and that brought it over the top!
      Thank you for the awesome recipe!

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *