This Caprese Orzo Pasta Salad recipe combines two of my favorite summer dishes: Caprese Salad and Pasta Salad. It’s bright and herby with the most delicious balsamic vinaigrette. Prep ahead of the week for easy lunches, or bring it to your next backyard summer BBQ.
I love pasta salads in the summer for two reasons they can be prepped ahead, and they’re an easy dish to serve at a BBQ or cook-out. I like to stick to a vinaigrette based pasta salad recipe rather than a mayo based one as I find it holds up better when sitting out.
This Orzo Pasta Salad also make a great lunch or dinner. Just like my Greek Pasta Salad recipe it’s an easy recipe to prep on Sunday and keep stocked in your fridge for the week so you have lunch or dinner handled without any real effort!
There are only a few ingredients to this recipe. Fresh cherry tomatoes and roasted jammy tomatoes are added to the orzo pasta along with mozzarella pearls, basil, and the most incredible balsamic dressing. It’s beautiful and flavorful and comes together in a pinch.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Orzo Pasta – feel free to use your favorite pasta shape in this recipe. Fusilli, cavatappi, farfalle, casarecce, orecchiette or ditalini would all work well.
- Cherry Tomatoes – grape tomatoes or sun gold tomatoes can be used as a substitute.
- Fresh Mozzarella Pearls – ciliegine or diced bocconcini mozzarella balls work well too.
- Herbs – I like to use a combination of fresh basil, parsley, and chives
- Olive Oil – for the vinaigrette.
- Balsamic Vinegar – I prefer to use balsamic vinegar but champagne vinegar, white wine vinegar, or red wine vinegar would also work.
- Garlic Cloves – freshly minced garlic adds another depth of flavor to this Orzo Pasta Salad.
- Salt and Pepper – goes without saying.
How to Make Orzo Pasta Salad
Start by cooking the orzo until al dente. Meanwhile make the balsamic dressing at the bottom of a large bowl. And the cooked orzo pasta to the bowl and mix to evenly dress the pasta.
Then roast the halved tomatoes. Remove once they turn jammy, and sprinkle them with flaky salt, pepper, and the herbs.
Add the roasted and fresh cherry tomatoes, mozzarella pearls, and basil leaves to the bowl with pasta and toss until combined.
Tips & Tricks
You can serve this Orzo Pasta Salad at room temp, warm, cold, you name it!
It’s great as the main course and also wonderful as a side dish! Serve Orzo Pasta Salad with some chicken, steak or fish for the main.
FAQ’s
How long does homemade pasta salad keep?
Pasta salad will last for up to 3-5 days when refrigerated in an airtight container.
Should I dress my pasta salad the night before?
You can absolutely dress your pasta salad the night before. This will allow for the flavors to develop and come together even more while it sits in the fridge.
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Gaby Dalkin
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