Pesto Orzo Pasta Salad with Broccoli

A spoon stirring a pesto orzo pasta salad in a large glass bowl.

Pesto Orzo Pasta Salad with Broccoli

Looking for the perfect fresh summer salad? This pesto orzo pasta salad with broccoli is packed with amazing flavor, bright and crunchy ingredients and it is so incredibly easy to make. Makes for the ideal summer salad for potlucks, picnics, healthy lunches or as a side dish for BBQs. Use this 5-min homemade cashew pesto or store-bought pesto for an ultra-speedy meal; either way, everyone will love this recipe!

Prep Time20

Total Time20

Course: dinner, Lunch, Salad

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: broccoli salad, pesto recipes, summer dinner, vegan pesto, vegan salad

Servings: servings

Calories: 212kcal

Author: Jessica Laroche

Equipment

Large pot
Large mixing bowl (and mixing/serving spoons)
Food processor (if making the homemade pesto recipe)

Ingredients

1 cup dry orzo or about 2 cups of cooked orzo
4 cups broccoli or about 2 small heads of broccoli
2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
½ cup red onion sliced or diced
2-3 cup baby spinach
½ cup pesto sauce or enough to coat the orzo and veggies. I used this vegan cashew pesto sauce.
1 lemon juiced
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

If using homemade pesto sauce, then start by making it. I used this cashew pesto recipe.
Clean and chop the broccoli into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then add the dry orzo. Cook until al dente, stirring often. When the orzo is almost cooked (or when there are about 1-2 more minutes to go), stir in the chopped broccoli to briefly blanch it (do not overcook). Drain, run some cold water over and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
To the mixing bowl, add the halved tomatoes, chopped onion, spinach, pesto sauce and juice from ½-1 lemon. Stir until combined and taste to add salt and black pepper to taste.

Video

Notes

Cooking the broccoli: Make sure not to overcook the broccoli, you want to only briefly blanch it so it keeps a good crunch. You could also add the broccoli raw if you love raw broccoli crunchy salads!
Onion flavor: if raw onion tastes too pungent for your taste, then you can cook it in a pan or even better, soak it in cold water for 5-10 minutes while prepping the other ingredients.
Nutrition: please note that the nutritional information is an estimate per serving provided for informational purposes only (calculated by software) and accuracy is not guaranteed. Consult with your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if you need precise nutrition calculations for health reasons.

Nutrition