Every now and then I come across a recipe at a restaurant that I absolutely love, then I spend the next few moments trying to guess what’s in it so I can recreate it at home…for a lot less! Well today, I’m sharing one of those recipes! This Orzo Pasta Salad is inspired by a dish at one of my favorite restaurants, J. Alexander’s, and it’s now going into my pasta salads rotation!🙌 It includes fresh veggies like bell peppers, tomatoes and onion, along with tart & slightly sweet dried cranberries, and the best homemade vinaigrette dressing to bring it all together. This pasta salad recipe will definitely become a new favorite!
Ingredients For Orzo Pasta Salad
The restaurant version of this recipe includes wild rice, but I decided to leave the rice out because for one…wild rice can be expensive, and two…wild rice takes quite a bit of time to cook. But I absolutely love this version instead! So here’s everything you need to make this simple orzo pasta salad recipe:
- Orzo: Orzo is a small shaped pasta that looks similar to rice. It cooks quickly and is popular in soups and salads just like this one. If you don’t have access to orzo pasta, you can certainly substitute it for a different small-shaped pasta instead.
- Vegetables: A combination of veggies like bell peppers, roma tomatoes, red onion and sweet corn, adds lots of color, flavor, and texture. I made sure to dice the vegetables small so they match the proportion size of the rest of the ingredients.
- Dried Cranberries: One of the things I love most about this pasta salad is the addition of the dried cranberries. It adds a tart & slightly sweet flavor and compliments the sweet corn and dressing perfectly!
- Vinaigrette Dressing: To keep things light and fresh, I opted for a homemade vinaigrette dressing made with simple pantry ingredients and sweetened with a bit of honey. It’s so good!!
Variations & Recipe Tips!
- Switch it up! If you’re looking to change up the flavor profile, then try adding some Kalamata olives, crumbled feta cheese, and greek salad dressing, for a Mediterranean-inspired orzo pasta salad!
- Wanna make it more filling? Add some grilled chicken, grilled shrimp, or a can of chickpeas (drained & rinsed).
- Cool down the pasta. Don’t forget to give the cooked pasta and corn a quick rinse under cool water to stop the cooking process and cool off the pasta before adding the veggies, herbs and cheese.
Serving Suggestions
This light and summery orzo pasta salad is perfect for BBQs and cookouts! Add it to your summer menu and enjoy it with some turkey burgers or grilled salmon. It’s also great with leaner proteins like Baked Cod, Pan-Seared Chicken Breasts, or even some Garlic Butter Shrimp on the side.
Orzo Pasta Salad
Servings 8 (1 cup each)Ingredients
Vinaigrette Dressing
- 1/3 cup olive oil ($0.96)
- 3 Tbsp white wine vinegar ($0.39)
- 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard ($0.04)
- 1 clove garlic, minced ($0.08)
- 1/2 tsp dried basil ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1 Tbsp honey ($0.18)
Pasta Salad
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked orzo pasta ($1.49)
- 1 cup frozen corn ($0.41)
- 1 red bell pepper ($1.59)
- 1 yellow bell pepper ($1.59)
- 2 roma tomatoes ($0.78)
- 1/2 red onion ($0.40)
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries ($1.70)
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley ($0.29)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
Instructions
- Start by making the vinaigrette dressing. In a medium bowl whisk together the olive oil, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, basil, salt and honey until smooth. Set the vinaigrette aside.
- Cook the orzo pasta according to the package directions. Add the frozen corn to the boiling water during the last 3 minutes of the pasta cook time. Drain the pasta and corn in a colander and rinse briefly with cool water to cool off the pasta.
- While the pasta is cooking, prepare the veggies. Dice the bell peppers and tomatoes, finely dice the red onion, measure out the dried cranberries, and chop the parsley.
- Transfer the pasta and corn to a large bowl. Add the chopped vegetables, chopped parsley and dried cranberries.
- Give the vinaigrette dressing another stir. Pour the dressing over the pasta salad and season with 1/4 tsp salt. Toss the salad ingredients together until everything is evenly coated in the dressing. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to enjoy.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
How to Make Orzo Pasta Salad – Step by Step Photos
Start by making the vinaigrette dressing. In a medium bowl whisk together 1/3 cup olive oil, 3 Tbsp white wine vinegar, 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard, 1 minced garlic clove, 1/2 tsp basil, 1/4 tsp salt and 1 Tbsp honey until smooth. Set the vinaigrette aside.
Cook 1 1/2 cups of orzo pasta according to the package directions. Add 1 cup frozen corn to the boiling water during the last 3 minutes of the pasta cook time. Drain the pasta and corn in a colander and rinse briefly with cool water to cool off the pasta.
While the pasta is cooking, prepare the veggies. Dice 1 red bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper, 2 roma tomatoes, finely dice 1/2 red onion, measure out 3/4 cups dried cranberries, and chop 1/4 cup fresh parsley. (Frozen corn is pictured on the cutting board, but is added in the previous step with the boiling pasta).
Transfer the cooked pasta and corn to a large bowl. Add the chopped vegetables, chopped parsley and dried cranberries. Give the vinaigrette dressing another stir. Pour the dressing over the pasta salad.
Toss the salad ingredients together until everything is evenly coated in the dressing. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to enjoy!
Enjoy this light, fresh and summery orzo pasta salad at your next BBQ, cookout or family gathering! Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
I made this yesterday and it was delicious and pretty! I doubled the dressing ahead of time just in case, but didn’t need to add it all. Maybe the little orzo don’t soak up all the dressing like other pasta salads do, just get nicely coated. Thank you!
Delicious & looks beautiful too. Thanks
This was really good! I used fresh basil and corn because they were on sale and they made it taste so fresh. Flavors were even better the second day.
Do you know about how much 1.5 cups of orzo weighs? Trying to figure out if I’d need one or two one-pound boxes.
You need one package. You will probably have a quarter or so of the package left over.
Interestingly enough, I buy some brands in a 16 oz package and some sold in a 15 oz package. The individual pasta pieces are slightly different sizes and take slightly different cooking times for the different brands in my experience. However, both have about 2 cups per package. So it might depend on brand.
You’ll only need one 16 ounce box!
I love your recipes and appreciate when restaurant recipes are made accessible and affordable. My husband is gluten free. Would white rice work in place of the orzo??
This comes together easily and it’s delicious. You can cover off a few meals and snacks with this recipe. I didn’t add the cranberries but did sub in roasted asparagus and chickpeas.
This comes together easily and it’s delicious. You can cover off a few meals and snacks with this recipe. I didn’t add the cranberries but did sub in roasted asparagus and chickpeas.
So good! I love the tart sweetness the dried cranberries add to the pasta salad, an unexpected surprise! Very fresh pasta salad. The different crunch of each ingredient pairs well with the tangy dressing. Very refreshing for the summer. I’ll definitely make it again. Thank you for the fun recipe!
Another odd one. Dried cranberries don’t work in a pasta salad, especially one with an already confusing list of incidents. A Dijon-basil-garlic dressing with peppers, corn, etc? What? Needs some definite cohesion somewhere in there. If you want some tart, why not use sun dried tomatoes and make it make sense??
Hi there! Thanks for checking out this pasta salad! While the ingredients may sound unexpected in combination with each other, those are sometimes the best recipes! This one was based off a well-loved restaurant menu item. I think you’d be surprised at how well the flavors work!
Is the well-loved restaurant item J. Alexander’s cold wild rice salad? That’s what your recipe reminds me of. Will definitely try this!
That’s the one!
Did you make it?
Not yet but will as soon as I go to the grocery store!
I made it tonight. It’s delicious!! Flavorful, bright and summery. Reminds me of the J Alexander’s wild rice salad. Paired it with grilled honey lemon chicken. A keeper!