We love pasta salad at our house…
and this one if definitely a favorite! It has a nice light dressing and it’s filled with lots of fresh veggies. It’s the perfect side to your BBQ or picnic favorites. It’s also delicious with some grilled chicken tossed in – dinner done!
Spinach, Parmesan and Orzo Salad:
Cut Spinach into Thin Strips or Chiffonade: Tear off stems and stack leaves, (Maybe 8 large leaves at a time.)
Roll into “cigar” shape.
Thinly Slice.
Gather all Ingredients and Make Dressing while Orzo cooks.
PERFECT FOR PINNING: ⬇
Thank you for spending some time in the cloud with me!
I hope you enjoy the recipe! Tina ( :
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 10 minutes |
| Servings |
8 servings
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- 1 pound orzo pasta
- 1 (5-ounce) package baby spinach cut into thin strips
- 1 (8-ounce) tub pearlini fresh mozzarella see note
- 1 pint grape tomatoes halved
- 1/2 cup parmesan grated
- 1/3 cup oil (I use olive or safflower)
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 1 tablespoon shallot (or red onion) finely minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Ingredients
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Rate this recipe!
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- Heat 6 quarts of salted (approx. 3 tablespoons kosher salt) water to boiling.
- Cook orzo according to package directions.
- Drain and rinse* with cold water, drain again.
- In large bowl, add orzo, spinach, mozzarella, tomatoes and Parmesan.
- Whisk together oil, lemon juice, shallot, salt and pepper in small bowl and toss with orzo mixture.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve. Can be made a day ahead.
*Pearlini –
If I can’t find the tiny pearlini mozzarella balls, I use the cherry sized ones and quarter them.
Rinsing Pasta –
I don’t generally rinse pasta, except for when I make certain pasta salads, it cools it a little more quickly so the hot pasta doesn’t melt the mozzarella and I find the residual water from rinsing helps make the dressing go a little further.
I will definitely be trying this one. I love orzo.
Hi Pat! Thanks for stopping by! We love orzo too – always a winner with my family ( :
Take care!
Soo good! Everyone loved it.
can this salad be made the day before
Yes! This is great to make ahead of time!
Thanks, Tina, looks delicious. I’m going to try it over the weekend.
Enjoy Diane!! Have a nice weekend!! ❤️
This sounds like a recipe that my girls would love. They don’t like pasta salad when I use the larger size pastas, so the orzo will be a nice change. Thanks, Tina!
Have a great weekend Annemarie! Hope your girls enjoy the pasta salad as much as mine! ❤️
Delicious, easy to make and refreshing,
Thank you Tina
So glad you enjoyed Kitty! Thank you!