We’ve seen enough: We’re officially declaring it pasta salad season. And if you ask us, there’s no better way to kick it off than with What’s Gaby Cooking’s Caprese Orzo Pasta Salad. The recipe brings together what we love about caprese salad (read: everything) with a perfectly al dente orzo base, a smattering of fresh herbs, and a balsamic vinaigrette that’s good enough to drink.
The real magic of this recipe comes from the cherry tomatoes — half of them get roasted into a sweet jammy oblivion, while the other half get tossed in raw, giving the dish variety without extra effort on your end. At last, a salad that says tomato and tom-AH-to.
The Time Commitment: About 40 minutes.
Key Tips: To make sure your orzo is flavorful, you’ll want to salt the pasta water quite heavily. Then, once it’s cooked, drain it and dress it right away — the pasta will absorb the dressing way more when it's warm than it will after it cools down.
Other Takes: If you’re someone who takes orzo salad very seriously, might we recommend…
Zucchini, Corn, and Basil Orzo Pasta Salad. Seasonal veggies and a four-ingredient lemon-pesto vinaigrette come together to make a pasta salad that just tastes like summer.
Herby Olive Italian Orzo Salad. With two kinds of olives, crumbled feta, and sliced peperoncini, this one’s for the briny girls.
Grilled Chicken Orzo Salad with Honey Mustard Bacon Dressing. What do you get when you combine lemon-herb chicken with avocado, bacon, honey mustard, and blue cheese? A salad one commenter called “a party of flavors.”
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