This time of year I love hearty pasta dishes like Spinach Orzo Salad that can play many roles in meals. Loaded with sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, and fresh spinach, this salad can be dinner one night, and a delicious packed lunch the next!
When it comes to flexible salads and pastas, it’s up there. Once you get the hang of it, you can add almost anything to this pasta mix, vegetables, meat or cheese!
What is Orzo?
Many people confuse orzo with thinking it’s a grain, I think because of its size and shape. Orzo is actually pasta, which means it classically has gluten in it, so orzo salads like this are definitely not gluten-free.
The size of orzo makes it perfect for salads, like this Spinach Orzo Salad, because it’s easy to mix with other ingredients. I will often cook rice and just mix it with whatever leftover vegetables I happen to have in the fridge. But for this day I mixed it with some classic Mediterranean flavors like artichokes, sundried tomatoes and fresh spinach for a delicious dish that can be on the table in about 30 minutes.
Preparing the vegetables
There are some really good vegetables in this orzo pasta salad. I didn’t bother using fresh artichokes for this because they are kind of a hassle. If I’m making fresh artichokes, I’m just going to have steamed artichokes with butter or homemade mayo or stuffed artichokes. The pickled artichokes work great for a dish like this so feel free to use just those.
Ditto for sun-dried tomatoes. Use oil for this dish. When it comes to spinach, save a few bucks and just get a big bunch of adult spinach instead of baby spinach that comes pre-washed.
You’re shooting for roughly equal amounts of red onion, artichokes, and sundried tomatoes and then a smaller amount (but still a good amount) of garlic for this recipe.
All vegetables should be in bite-sized pieces without any huge chunks.
If you get a whole bunch of spinach, use it all for this spinach orzo. Trim the ends of the roots and wash the spinach really well. Spinach has a tendency to get very dirty so I recommend rinsing it under cold water for 30 seconds or so and then spinning it in a salad spinner to make sure it’s really clean. If you don’t have a salad spinner, just wash it in a colander.
cooking the vegetables
To start the vegetables for this spinach orzo salad, add a drizzle of oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat along with the red onion. Cook the onion with a pinch of salt until it is soft, about 3-4 minutes. Then add the artichoke, tomatoes and garlic and continue to cook for a minute or two just to heat everything up.
Then you can add your spinach. This will seem like a lot but it drops significantly. I like to add about 1/4 cup of water to my pan with the spinach to help it wilt quickly. The water will evaporate almost immediately.
Once the spinach is wilted, you are ready for pasta!
Cooking and adding orzo pasta
You should refer to the packaging for cooking your orzo, but it will likely be necessary to boil it in a few liters of water with a good pinch of salt and maybe a drizzle of olive oil as well. The pasta will need to boil for 8-10 minutes, but it’s a good idea to taste it regularly to make sure it’s not overcooked.
When it’s soft, but still has a very tiny bite to it, drain the pasta and rinse it quickly in cold water. Washing the pasta will stop the cooking. I also recommend drizzling a little olive oil to prevent sticking.
The pieces of pasta are so small that if you don’t wash them, they will really continue to cook and they can get mushy and rubbery which is a bad texture.
Once the pasta is cooked and washed, simply stir it into the pan. You can also throw everything together in a large bowl if that’s easier.
Season the entire spinach orzo salad with a little salt and pepper and serve it with lots of grated pecorino cheese!
This spinach orzo could be a side, but Betsy and I ate it as a meal. You can serve it with garlic bread or a small salad on the side. It’s really filling and works great as a vegetarian dinner option.
If you’ve never tried orzo before, I think this is a great way to try it. It’s a really flexible recipe and the flavors are delicious!
Substitutes and ideas for this pasta salad
There are a wide variety of options for this pasta salad. Here are some ideas for a swap!
- Added protein! You can add grilled chicken or steak to this orzo for some extra protein.
- Cheese it! This pasta salad has no cheese, but if you want to mix in some crumbled feta cheese or small balls of fresh mozzarella, it will work great!
- Bring in even more Mediterranean flavors with Kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes and even fresh dill or basil.
- Add lemon sauce with lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper. Add a fresh lemon zest too! similar to that Lemon rice salad From Cookin’ Canuck.
Save the salad for later
This Spinach Orzo Salad is a gem of a salad for lunch leftovers. It keeps well in the fridge for almost a week thanks to the fact that the vegetables are really stable. Eventually, the spinach will be a bit sad and wilted and it’s probably worth moving on at this point.
Store the salad in an airtight container in the fridge or divide it into smaller portions for easy grab-and-go lunches during the week!
Recipe for my spinach rice salad
Artichoke Spinach Orzo
By Nick
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A great light summer pasta that includes fresh spinach, pickled artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes, orzo pasta and lots of pecorino cheese!
Component
12 ounces rice pasta, cooked and rinsed
1/2 red onion, diced
1 bunch of spinach, washed well
6 ounces pickled artichokes, drained
1/2 cup dried tomatoes (in oil), diced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 cup of grated pecorino cheese
salt and pepper
Instructions
1) Cook rice according to the package. This should include boiling in a few liters of water along with a pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Boil it until it is just cooked, then drain it and rinse it quickly in cold water to stop the cooking (or it will become sticky).
2) In a large pan, add a drizzle of olive oil and the diced red onion over medium-high heat. Cook for a few minutes until the onion softens. Season with a pinch of salt.
3) Add artichoke, dried tomatoes and garlic and continue to cook for another minute or two.
4) Add washed spinach to the pan along with a few tablespoons of water to help the spinach steam. Cook until the spinach is wilted, just a minute or two.
5) Mix in rice and season with salt and pepper. Mix well to combine.
6) Serve hot or cold salad with grated pecorino cheese.
