Easy Pesto Orzo Salad

Pesto orzo salad in a bowl with chickpeas, grape tomatoes and fresh basil.

Easy Pesto Orzo Salad

Pesto orzo salad is a light and refreshing take on the awesome TikTok orzo salad trend – with just 6 ingredients! It’s an orzo vegan salad that features chickpeas, a herby and fresh pesto as well as lots of vibrant salad veggies too.

Course Lunch

Cuisine Italian

Diet Vegan

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Total Time 20

Servings

Calories 297kcal

Author Jess & Dan

Ingredients

1 cup orzo
1 red onion ½ cup – diced
1.5 cup grape tomatoes 225g / 8oz – halved (or cherry tomatoes)
1 cucumber 250g / 9oz – chopped
250 g chickpeas – 400g/14oz can, drained
5 tablespoon pesto

To serve:

Fresh basil

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Cook the orzo according to package instructions. This should be around 10 minutes boiling in a pan of salted hot water.
1 cup orzo
While the orzo cooks, dice the red onion, cut the cherry tomatoes in half, slice the cucumber and then drain and rinse the chickpeas.
1 red onion, 1.5 cup grape tomatoes, 250 g chickpeas, 1 cucumber
Drain the orzo and then rinse with cold water. This will remove any excess starch, cool the orzo down and stop it from sticking to itself and clumping up.
In a mixing bowl, stir together the orzo, all the salad veggies, the chickpeas and pesto until everything is well coated. Season to your liking with salt and pepper.
5 tablespoon pesto
Garnish with fresh basil leaves and enjoy. You could also add vegan parmesan or feta for extra creaminess.
Fresh basil

Notes

We recommend rinsing the orzo once cooked to remove excess starch and prevent it from clumping up.
It keeps in the fridge for upto 4 days in an airtight container, so it can also be made ahead.
Not suitable for freezing.
Make it gluten free by using gluten free orzo or pasta.

Nutrition