Looking for a simple, easy & delicious salad to make for the warm weather and bbqing coming up? Look no further! This Orzo salad is the perfect side dish to anything you put on your grill. The best part… its fool proof! I swear… no seasoning or anything like that to mess up… its all in that delicious bottle of balsamic dressing. Cook your orzo pasta, slice up the veggies and mix it all together and BOOM you are done!
Heres what you’ll need…
1 box of Orzo Pasta
1 bottle of your favorite Balsamic dressing
1 container of cherry tomatoes
2-3 cups of raw spinach (I use about half the bag)
1/2 a large cucumber
1/2 of a medium size red onion
1/2 cup of Feta
First, boil a pot of water and sprinkle some salt in it. Once it boils, cook your orzo just like the directions on the back of the box.
While that cooks, lets slice up the veggies. Slice your tomatoes into halves or quarters. Then peel your cucumbers and slice up into 1/2 inch pieces. Dice up your onions and throw all of it in a big bowl. Next comes the spinach and make sure to cut of the stems. Remember, it looks like a ton of spinach, but once its dressed and added to the pasta, they wilt and it looks a lot less.
Now add the good stuff, the balsamic dressing. I usually add about 1/3 of the bottle right now and let it marinate.
Your pasta should be cooked by now and you will want to drain it with a strainer. I also run cold water over it to shock it a little and then you will pour the orzo into the bowl of veggies and dressing.
Now mix it all together and add in another 1/3 of the bottle.
Last but not least, sprinkle the feta cheese on top and give it one last mix all together. Place in fridge for an hour or more before serving. It will set and all the delicious dressing will have soaked into the veggies and Orzo. If it feels too dry, add in more dressing. Pasta sometimes soaks it up!
Serve as a side or add some chicken on top for a meal and enjoy!
-M xoxoxo
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