Caprese Orzo Pasta Salad
If you’re looking for an easy and fresh tasting side dish, look no further than this pasta salad recipe! It only takes 15 minutes to make from start to finish, so it’s a perfect side dish to make for a weeknight meal! The combination of tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh basil with olive oil and balsamic is so simple, but the simplicity of it is what makes this dish so good. Using fresh basil is so important here- the standout flavor in this recipe comes from the basil, and if you wanted to go a step further, you could also use tomatoes fresh from a garden or farmer’s market!
You could use a different type of pasta other than orzo, but for this recipe I like a smaller size pasta like the orzo I used! The shape and size of the orzo really puts the emphasis on the other ingredients- the tomatoes, mozzarella and basil- which should be the stars of the show for this recipe! If you do choose a different type of pasta, I would recommend choosing one that is smaller in size.
What to pair this recipe with
When I plan my meals at the beginning of the week, I try to ensure that every meal has a good source of protein, a non-starchy vegetable, a starch, healthy fats, and a source of delicious flavor. This is my recipe for a perfectly balanced meal! When I made this pasta salad recipe this week, I decided to pair it with pesto salmon (protein, healthy fat, and flavor) and roasted green beans (vegetable). This pasta salad recipe meets the criteria for starch, healthy fats, and flavor, which means that the combination of the pasta salad, the pesto salmon, and green beans creates a wonderfully balanced meal!
RECIPE: Caprese Orzo Pasta Salad
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 7 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients
1 1/3 cup dry orzo
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh basil
4 oz mozzarella pearls
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic glaze
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Boil a pot of water and cook orzo according to package instructions. In the meantime, chop the tomatoes and basil into smaller, more bite-sized pieces. Add the cooked orzo to a bowl along with the chopped tomatoes, basil, mozzarella pearls, oil, balsamic glaze, salt and pepper and give it a good mix! Serve immediately, and store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
