Low Cook Orzo Pasta Salad

Posted Aug 28, 2022 in Food + Nutrition, The Recipe Box by Social United

This pesto orzo chickpea salad is divine and all about the plants. It’s still hot here in the south so you don’t need to worry about heating up your house during dinner time too much with this quick recipe. Grab a large bowl as we are making dinner for tonight and revamping it for tomorrow lunch. The great part about this one is that it doesn’t require a reheat during lunch, thus optimizing your time to take a break. If you want to add more bulk to this salad it would be excellent on top of a large bed of lettuce and if adding protein is your thing, grill up some chicken to increase the protein content.

What You Need

1, 8oz pkg Dry Orzo

2 Cans No Salt Added Chickpeas

2 Small Cucumbers

1, 5oz pkg Cherry Tomatoes

1 avocado

2 Yellow Bell Peppers

2 Shallots

1 Lemon, zested and juiced

2 Tbsp. Cold Water

6 oz Pesto of choice

3 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and Pepper as desired

How It’s Made:

Cook Orzo according to package directions, drain, and set aside
Drain and rinse chickpeas
Quarter cucumber
Slice cherry tomatoes in half
Deseed and dice yellow bell pepper
In a jar combine the lemon zest and juice, pesto, nutritional yeast, garlic, olive oil
In a large bowl place the dressing in the bottom