Pesto Orzo Salad with Chickpeas
on Apr 17, 2024, Updated May 21, 2026
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This pesto orzo salad is fresh, flavourful and easy to make with chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber, arugula and homemade vegan pesto. It’s perfect for meal prep, lunches, potlucks or an easy summer side dish and comes together in about 20 minutes.
5-Star Review
Made this for dinner last night. Had most of the ingredients already, subbed tiny bowtie pasta for the orzo, added some pinto beans with the chickpeas, and only used Basil for the pesto. Was sooooo good! 10/10 would recommend. Super easy and the leftovers formed the base for 3 days worth of lunch salads for my husband and myself. Will definitely make again!
Ingredient Notes
Below is a quick overview of what you’ll need to make the recipe and any substitutions you can make. Use the recipe card with the full list of ingredients and measurements at the bottom of the post when you’re ready to make the recipe.
- Orzo: Any orzo works but check labels if needed to ensure it’s vegan, as some brands contain egg. If you have extra orzo on hand from making this recipe, try this Roasted Vegetable Orzo or Mediterranean Orzo Salad.
- Tomatoes: You can use grape or cherry tomatoes.
- Pumpkin Seeds: These replace traditional pine nuts for an affordable nut-free pesto.
- Nutritional Yeast: This is used to replace parmesan cheese in the pesto.
- Basil: I like a mix of basil and parsley for balanced flavour but you can use all basil.
- Spinach: This is optional for the pesto to help make it a brighter green.
Variations and Additions
- Add sun dried tomatoes. Sun-dried tomatoes add extra savoury flavour and work especially well here. Add up to 1/2 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes.
- Add olives or artichokes. Other delicious additions include roasted red peppers, kalamata olives, black olives or artichoke hearts.
- Add Bell Peppers. For extra crunch and colour, add 1 diced red or yellow bell pepper.
- Add feta or mozzarella. If not vegan, feta or fresh mozzarella make a tasty topping.
- Use store-bought pesto. Short on time? You can use store-bought pesto instead of homemade. You’ll need about 1 cup.
How to Make Pesto Orzo Salad
Step 1: Cook the orzo. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add orzo and cook according to its package instructions. Drain and set aside to cool.
Step 2: Add all pesto ingredients except the olive oil to a food processor or blender and pulse to combine. With the machine running, slowly stream in the oil until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Step 3: Add the chickpeas, vegetables and cooked orzo to a large mixing bowl with 2 tbsp lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Mix well to combine.
Step 4: Add the pesto to the bowl and toss until everything is coated.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. This salad works well for meal prep and can be made several hours ahead or up to 1 day in advance. For the freshest texture, stir in the arugula just before serving.
Store leftover salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. If needed, refresh leftovers with a squeeze of lemon juice or drizzle of olive oil before serving.
Yes. Store-bought pesto works well if you’re short on time. You’ll need about 1 cup. Be sure to check the ingredients if you need the recipe to be vegan or nut-free.
Yes. Simply use your favourite gluten-free orzo or small gluten-free pasta shape.
This salad can be served slightly warm, chilled or at room temperature, making it great for meal prep, picnics and potlucks.
This salad already includes chickpeas for plant-based protein, but it also pairs well with baked tofu, white beans or grilled tofu. If not vegan, it pairs well with chicken or prawns or as a side with fish.
Try additions like roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, olives, bell peppers or sun-dried tomatoes for extra flavour and texture.
Yes. Small pasta shapes like ditalini, small shells, bowties or rotini all work well in place of orzo.
How to Store
- Store leftover pesto orzo salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- The salad can be enjoyed cold or brought to room temperature before serving.
- If it thickens in the fridge, add a squeeze of lemon juice or drizzle of olive oil before serving.
If you make this recipe, please consider leaving a comment and a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the comment section below. It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe, and I love to hear from you. Thanks for trying my recipes! – Deryn
Pesto Orzo Salad with Chickpeas
Ingredients
For the Pesto Orzo Salad
- 1 1/2 cups dried orzo, 275g
- 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (305g)
- 1 cup diced cucumber, 160g
- 3 cups arugula-spinach mix, 60g
- ¼ small red onion, thinly sliced (40g)
- 1 19 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
For the Pesto
- ⅓ cup raw pumpkin seeds
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast, 14g
- 1 tbsp light miso, 15g
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 cups basil, 40g or mix of 20 g basil and 15g parsley
- 1 cup spinach, 25g
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
Instructions
- Cook Orzo: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add orzo. Cook al dente according to package directions, stirring occasionally. Drain orzo and set aside to cool.1 1/2 cups dried orzo
- Make Pesto: In a food processor or high speed blender, add pumpkin seeds, garlic, nutritional yeast, miso, lemon juice, basil, parsley and spinach. Pulse to combine. With the machine running, gradually stream in oil, stopping and scraping sides down as necessary, until combined. Season with salt and pepper.⅓ cup raw pumpkin seeds, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1 tbsp light miso, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 2 cups basil, 1 cup spinach, 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, Salt
- Toss Salad: Add the tomato, cucumber, arugula and spinach, red onion, chickpeas, lemon and cooked orzo to a large bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper and mix to combine.2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, 1 cup diced cucumber, 3 cups arugula-spinach mix, ¼ small red onion, 1 19 oz can chickpeas, 2 tbsp lemon juice, Salt and pepper
- Add Pesto: Add the pesto to the bowl and mix well until everything is coated in pesto.
- Serve: Serve right away with more fresh basil leaves, a squeeze of lemon juice, drizzle of olive oil and freshly cracked black pepper.
Made this for dinner last night. Had most of the ingredients already, subbed tiny bowtie pasta for the orzo, added some pinto beans with the chickpeas, and only used Basil for the pesto (didn’t realize I had spinach in the fridge!). Was sooooo good! 10/10 would recommend. Super easy and the leftovers formed the base for 3 days worth of lunch salads for my husband and myself. Will definitely make again!
Yum! Thanks, Karen!
This recipe was really good. I had a pre-made pesto on hand so I used that, and since I had white beans on hand I used them instead of chickpeas. I also added roasted red peppers which was an optional add in that was suggested in the post. While I think the homemade pesto would’ve been even better, this was such a nice dinner. I’ll definitely be making it again, next time hopefully ill have the stuff on hand to make the pesto myself, or maybe I’ll try a tomato pesto or something else to change up the flavour. This would also work with other types of pasta, especially smaller shapes like the pinwheel or even the smaller bowtie pasta really well I think if someone doesn’t care for the texture of orzo. You can definitely customize this.
This was fantastic! The pesto is really good, I’ve never made it with pumpkin seeds but love that they’re less expensive than pine nuts. I’ll definitely make this again. I didn’t measure any of the salad ingredients just kind of threw in whatever and it worked out great.