The question isn’t “What’s special about this Lemon Orzo Pasta Salad?” it’s, “Where do I even begin?!”
💁🏽♀️Fancy-feeling, but secretly simple! This dish is built on fun, flavorful elements—spiced chickpeas, a quick lemon-garlic-olive oil pan sauce, fresh basil gremolata—that come together simply to create a vibrant and uniquely nuanced pasta salad.
🍋Lemon, three ways! You’ll use the juice and zest of fresh lemons alongside wow-factor ingredient preserved lemons to build the incomparable citrusy brightness that sets this pasta salad apart from the rest.
☀️A celebration of summer! Fresh, light, and a downright delight—bring it to a picnic or summer potluck and get ready to answer the question, “Can I get the recipe?” once every 5 minutes.
After you devour this recipe, I’ve got two more that belong on your
Summer Pasta Bucket List: this unreal vegan pasta salad made with a romesco-inspired sauce, and this bright, weeknight-friendly 30-minute tahini pasta!
If I could make only one dish this summer…
With over 200K views, this video was a hit over on my YouTube channel 🎉 Check it out for a walkthrough of this recipe (…or if you want to see me win a battle with a stubborn preserved lemon that does NOT want to come out of its jar 😂).
Ingredient notes
- Orzo: AKA pasta masquerading as rice. Its petiteness gives it delightful spoonability, which I love for a pasta salad!
Substitute: Not an orzo fan? Use any short pasta, like orecchiette.
- Canned chickpeas: It’s hard to beat the convenience of canned chickpeas—a few cranks of a can opener, and you’ve got the protein-packed, fiber-rich ingredient that turns this dish into a satisfying meal. You’ll zhuzh up their straight-from-the-can (read: blah) flavor with simple spices and a little time in a hot pan till golden and crispy!
- Pine nuts: You’ll toast these bougie nuts alongside sliced garlic in olive oil to form the base of the sauce that’ll coat the orzo. The toasting process brings out the volatile oils in the nuts, both enhancing their flavor and infusing the olive oil with deeply buttery nuttiness.
Substitute: I get it—pine nuts are $$$. For a more wallet-friendly option, use chopped walnuts, almonds, or pistachios.
- (Oil-packed) sun-dried tomatoes: To get the most sweet-savory bang for your buck, opt for oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes over dry-packed—the latter are not nearly as flavorful and are much tougher, texture-wise.
- Preserved lemons: Longtime RPL readers know my passion for this uniquely funky citrus ingredient—but if you’re new here, let me put it this way: cooking with preserved lemons is a game-changing, flavor-enhancing flex. They’re just lemons that have been cured in salt and their own juices for several weeks, but the fermentation process transforms their flavor profile, giving them a singular salty punch and zingy-bright flair.
Tips for buying: Look for these at well-stocked grocery stores (you can try Whole Foods, Ralph’s, and even Walmart), Middle Eastern grocery stores, specialty stores like Sur La Table, or online.
Substitute: Sub with 1 tablespoon of lemon zest (about a medium lemon’s worth of zest).
Make Your Own Preserved Lemons
Check out my blog post on how to make and use preserved lemons! They’re SO easy to make—but they take 3 weeks to ferment, so plan accordingly.
- Baby spinach: Roughly chop a few handfuls, let them wilt in the warm pasta salad, and enjoy the easiest, most delicious way to get your greens.
Substitute: Thinly shredded kale or chopped baby kale will both work, though they’ll take longer to wilt than baby spinach and won’t get as silky. Steer clear of bitter greens like arugula—in our tests, it steamrolled the other flavors in the dish.
- Gremolata (basil + garlic + lemon zest + flaky sea salt): Combine these four ingredients, and you’ve got a (non-traditional) gremolata—a greater-than-the-sum-of-its-pars condiment that elevates this dish to soaring brightness and freshness. Rather than the flat-leaf parsley of classic gremolata, I opt for ultra-summery basil here—it’s floral, aromatic, and divine.
Step-by-step instructions
Rinse, drain and thoroughly dry the chickpeas. Heat a tiny bit of oil in a large frying pan and pan-fry the chickpeas. Cook undisturbed for a few minutes before tossing, and continue cooking until blistered in some spots.
Add the oregano, thyme, onion powder, paprika, and salt.
Toss the chickpeas in the spices and cook for 2-4 minutes until nicely golden brown and aromatic.
Chop the basil and mix together with lemon zest, 1 clove of grated garlic, and flaky salt.
In a large sauté or frying pan, add the olive oil, sliced garlic, and pine nuts (sorry, the pine nuts are missing in this shot!). Turn the heat to medium-low. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently once they start sizzling to prevent burning.
Add the chopped preserved lemon (if using) and Aleppo pepper (or crushed red pepper). Cook for 1 minute, stirring almost constantly.
Add about 1/4 cup of the hot pasta water from the cooked orzo to the pan and whisk to combine. Add in the hot cooked orzo, lemon juice, and sundried tomatoes, tossing to combine. Add more pasta water as needed to bring the sauce together.
Add in the chopped baby spinach and toss until wilted.
Add the spiced chickpeas and toss again.
Finally, add in the basil-lemon zest topping and gently toss. Season to taste with salt or pepper as needed.
Tips for making this recipe
Start with a cold pan
When frying the garlic and pine nuts in olive oil, start with a cold pan. This helps cook everything evenly and prevents the garlic from browning too quickly. Once things start to sizzle, stir frequently to prevent burning.
Be an orzo pro
- Don’t cook your orzo in advance and let it hang out in the colander—this is a pasta with a tendency to clump into a massive, unwieldy wad.
- Add the cooked orzo to the sauce while the pasta is still hot—the warm pasta more readily absorbs the lemon-olive oil sauce, infusing each rice-like grain with flavor!
Customize!
Feel free to riff to your heart’s content on this one! If you’re looking for inspiration…
- For more protein: Double the amount of spiced chickpeas or toss in ¼ – ½ cup of hemp seeds
- For a li’l cheesy fun: Add some vegan feta at the end (I like Violife’s “Just Like Feta”)
- For veggie-heads: One word of caution—don’t go too heavy on the raw veggies, because there won’t be enough of the lemon-olive oil dressing to coat everything. Try:
- Blanched broccoli florets, asparagus, or green beans (keep the florets and/or pieces small since orzo is small)
- Grilled or roasted zucchini, summer squash, or eggplant
- Roasted red bell peppers (homemade or jarred)
- Shredded carrots
- Finely diced red/yellow/orange bell peppers or cucumbers
- Thinly-shaved red onions
Frequently Asked Questions
Omit the preserved lemon in step 6 (when frying the garlic). For extra lemon flavor, I recommend adding an additional 1/2 tablespoon of lemon zest when you add the orzo in step 7 or when you add the basil topping in step 8.
If you have access to gluten-free orzo, you can use that! Or, you can try a short-grain gluten-free pasta, such as elbow, orechiette or ditalini, if you can find that.
While I am a huge fan of the pine nuts in this recipe, if you’re allergic to nuts, omit them and try toasted sunflower seeds or pepitas instead.
It should stay good for 3 to 5 days. I prefer to eat it at room temperature (I think the flavors carry better), but it’s also great cold.
Looking for more recipes that’ll be the talk of the summer BBQ? Try my Vegan BBQ “Pulled Pork” Sandwiches, Really Good Vegan Broccoli Salad, Vegan Potato Salad, or Grilled Corn Salad!
If you try this summery Lemon Orzo Pasta Salad and love it, please be sure to rate and review it below!
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Lemon Orzo Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Spiced Chickpeas
- 1 (15-ounce/425g ) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon sweet or hot paprika
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
Basil Gremolata
- 1 ¼ cups (20g) loosely packed fresh basil leaves, chopped
- 1 medium or large lemon, zested
- 1 clove garlic, minced or grated
- Flaky sea salt
Orzo Ingredients
- 12 ounces (340g) orzo
- ¼ cup (56 mL) extra virgin olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (as evenly as possible)
- ¼ cup (32g) pine nuts
- 2 tablespoons chopped preserved lemon peel (see Note 1 for sub)
- 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (or 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes; see Note 2)
- Kosher salt or sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 8 oil-packed sundried tomatoes (~45g), chopped
- 3 big handfuls (70g) baby spinach, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Make the Spiced Chickpeas. Transfer the chickpeas to a clean dish towel. Gently rub to dry them of as much as you can without smushing them.
- Heat a large sauté pan or frying pan over medium-high heat with the 1 tablespoon oil. Once hot, add the chickpeas and spread out in a single layer. Cook undisturbed for 2 minutes to allow some browning. Toss and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until chickpeas are golden brown and blistered in spots.Note: If using a nonstick pan, the chickpeas may take longer to get browned.
- Add the 1 teaspoon kosher salt, oregano, paprika, thyme, and onion powder to the chickpeas, and toss well to coat the chickpeas. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly to coat the chickpeas and to prevent spices from burning. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Make the basil gremolata. In a small bowl, combine the chopped basil, the lemon zest, minced garlic, and a few pinches of flaky salt. Set aside for the last step. Juice the lemon to get 2 tablespoons; set aside for the last step.
- Cook the orzo. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt generously. Add the orzo and cook according to the box instructions until just al dente (don’t cook until soft; it will continue cooking in the sauce). Drain the orzo in a colander fitted over a bowl, reserving 1 cup (240 mL) or 2 big ladles if the cooking water.
- Return the pan used for the chickpeas to the stove but don't turn on the heat yet. Add the 1/4 cup (56g) olive oil, sliced garlic, and pine nuts. Turn the heat to medium-low. Stir occasionally and use a spatula to separate the garlic slices as needed. Once they start to sizzle, stir frequently to encourage even cooking and prevent the garlic from browning. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, or until most of the garlic and pine nuts turn golden. Add the chopped preserved lemon peel and chili flakes. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Add 1/4 cup (60 mL) pasta water to the pan and whisk to combine. Add in the hot orzo and chopped sun-dried tomatoes, tossing to combine (with tongs or a sturdy silicone spatula). Add more pasta water as needed to bring the sauce together and/or if the orzo sticks a lot.
- Add in the spinach and 2 tablespoons lemon juice and toss gently until wilted. Add in the spiced chickpeas and toss to warm. Take off the heat. Add the basil gremolata and toss gently. Taste for seasonings, adding lemon juice or salt as needed.
Notes
- If you don’t have preserved lemons, use 1 tablespoon lemon zest instead (the zest in 1 med or large lemon).
- Aleppo pepper is considerably less spicy than crushed red pepper flakes. If using red pepper flakes, start with just 1/4 tsp, then add more to taste.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love this? Leave a rating below!
I’m looking to make this recipe for a large group of people, any tips or things to note about multiplying the recipe?
Hi Ilse, this one is great for a crowd, and it scales up nicely. You can multiply the ingredients straight across.
A couple of things to watch. Cook the orzo in a large pot and just until al dente, since it keeps softening in the sauce and as it sits, and big batches overcook easily.
Reserve extra pasta water, since that’s what helps bring the sauce together. When you fry the garlic and pine nuts, use a wide frying pan (or work in batches).
The only major change would be you might need to cook the spiced chickpeas (steps 2,3,6-8) in batches, depending on the size of your stovetop and pan.
Season and add the lemon at the very end, tasting as you go. The best part for entertaining is that it holds beautifully for 3 to 5 days and is lovely at room temperature or cold. If you make it ahead, the orzo soaks up the dressing as it sits, so keep a little extra olive oil, lemon, or pasta water on hand to loosen it before serving.
Hope it’s a hit!
Ello I must confesse I love your site for the good recipe thank you
We’re so happy to hear it, Henriette 🙂 Thank you for all of your support!
When my meat loving young adult child tells me “I’d eat that again,” its a real winner! All the flavors came together so well and used ingredients I already had. I used whole wheat orzo for extra fiber and instead of the sundried tomatoes, I used raisins because these flavors just seemed to go with raisins. The gremolata was a great touch!
Yes, that definitely means it’s a winner, Maria! Thank you for trying the recipe and sharing your experience 🙂
Wooow!!! My husband (not vegan, hates lemons and sun dried tomatoes usually) keeps talking about this recipe after making it twice last year and keeps requesting it! We loved it! As always, Rainbow Plant Life delivers!!!
Beautiful, Herta! Comments like these are why we do what we do 🙂 Thank you!
Great recipe, how about adding some tahini dressing?
Hi Richard, we’re so glad you love it! And sure- you could add some if you like it! I’m sure it’d be a tasty addition.
This dish is the BOMB! I make it everytime I need to impress somebody with vegan food (also paired with the herby lentil salad and some tofu ricotta dip w tomatoes) and I always get asked for the recipe.
It has become a staple in our house and I will make this until I’m old and gray. It’s versatile in the sense that a lot of the ingredients you would have in your pantry or fridge already and we just use whatever greens we have. Chef’s kiss!
Awesome to hear that, Vera. Thanks for your comment and for taking the time to review!
Made it with arugula instead of spinach, bc that’s what I had on hand. Delicious! I love preserved lemons 🍋 so much, thanks! I’m going to try making my own now, wish me luck 🧂
Arugula is a great swap, Jane! And I agree, preserved lemons are such a lovely addition to this pasta salad. Good luck making your own, we hope you find our blog post useful 🙂
Fantastic! Made as is and it was delicious! Will be keeping this one on repeat
Last week I bought orzo salads from trader joes (twice). And I thought to myself… I’m sure Nisha has a great orzo salad recipe… And I was right. So much yummier than trader joes and no plastic waste.
Absolutely delicious! I made this yesterday and then divided it into portions so that’s my lunch for the week. Soooo falvorful! RPL is my go to for recipes. Thank you for this delicious rotation to my cooking repertoire 🙂
We’re honored you thought of us when going on your hunt for an orzo salad recipe, Deborah! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review 🙂
This recipe was only ok for me and my kids solely because it took forever to make. The end result was not worth the weight. This recipe took me over an hour to make with all of the multiple pots and steps. I would suggest updating tge cooking time, because its really not accurate.
Hi Nicole, thanks for the feedback. We’re sorry you found this recipe a bit too time-consuming, and we hope you’ll still enjoy other recipes on the blog.