Orzo pasta is combined with savory roasted peppers, zucchini, asparagus and more in this flavorful dish that can be served as a side dish or salad.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
My friend Leann has been raving about her Orzo with Roasted Vegetables for awhile. She shared the recipe in a church cookbook years ago, and I finally got around to trying it. I can see why she loves it so much! And yes, it’s as delicious as it is pretty.
Orzo is one of my favorite pastas. I love that it’s so versatile, and can be used in everything from salads to soups.
In fact, I thought about calling this recipe a salad (which is what Leann calls it), but you can serve it a room temperature, or chilled. It’s fabulous either way, so you might want to add the word “salad” to the title.
I’ll let you decide! Leann’s recipe called for eggplant instead of zucchini, but since zucchini is abundant right now, that’s what I had on hand.
I also added fresh asparagus. I’m sure there are other delicious substitutions and additions you could make. You can even add a protein, like grilled chicken, for a more complete meal.
This recipe so versatile–it can be a main dish or a side. And just in case you’re wondering, yes, it absolutely is worth the time it takes to roast the veggies. It adds so much flavor to the dish!
Just try and chop your veggies into similar sized pieces, so they cook evenly. If you really like your veggies blackened, just add 5-10 minutes to your roasting time.
This salad is now one of my favorite ways to eat my veggies. I love having it as a light dinner, then enjoying the leftovers for lunch the next day.
And it’s a great way to use all those garden fresh veggies that are in season right now.
Be sure to save this recipe to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Ingredients
- Orzo
- Produce: zucchini, bell peppers, asparagus, red onion, garlic, green onions, fresh basil
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Feta cheese
- Lemon juice
Orzo with Roasted Vegetables
Ingredients
For the orzo:
- 8 ounces orzo pasta
- 1 medium or 2 small zucchini, diced
- 1 red pepper diced
- 1 yellow pepper diced
- 1 bunch asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 medium red onion diced
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3-4 green onions
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves chopped
For the dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl.
- Meanwhile, toss the zucchini, peppers, asparagus, onion and garlic with 1/4 cup olive oil. Season with the salt and pepper.
- Spread onto a large sheet pan and cook for 30-40 minutes, or well browned, turning once halfway through cooking time.
- Add roasted vegetables to the orzo, scraping all the drippings and seasoning from the pan into the bowl.
- Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the orzo. Toss to coat well. Let cool to room temperature.
- Add the green onions, feta and basil to the bowl and toss again. Serve immediately. May also serve chilled.
Video
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
