Orzo Antipasto Salad

posted by Katie on June 29, 2013

When I think of picnics and barbecues I think of pasta and potato salads. Something about the quintessential side dish that gets me every time. I’ve made my tried and true pasta salad year after year but wanted to spice it up recently at a barbecue. That’s when I created this recipe for Orzo Antipasto Salad. Who doesn’t love tomatoes and fresh mozzarella? Why not put it into a pasta salad? I chose orzo pasta because its light and to be honest I neglect it more often than use it. So I wanted to do something with it.

This Orzo Antipasto Salad is loaded full of fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, olives, and pepperoni! I also love pasta salads because you can make them ahead of time and nine times out of ten they only get better over time! For this pasta salad I used Gourmet Garden Italian Herbs paste which made a pesto like taste throughout the pasta salad! This salad pairs beautifully with everything from burgers to pulled pork (pictured in the background).

Print Recipe

Orzo Antipasto Salad

Yield: 8

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:

1 tbsp salt (for water)
16 oz Box of Orzo Pasta
1/4 cup Gourmet Garden Italian Herbs Paste
1 tbsp Gourmet Garden Garlic Paste
2 tbsp olive oil
10 oz Mini Marzano Tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup mini mozzarella, chopped
1/2 cup Garlic Stuffed Green Olives, chopped
25 slices of Pepperoni

Directions:

Cook pasta according to box instruction. Make sure to 1 tablespoon of salt to your pot. Drain the orzo in a colander and run under cool water until the pasta is at room temperature. Place pasta in a large container.
Add to the container the 1/4 cup Gourmet Garden Italian Herbs paste, garlic paste, olive oil, mini marzano tomatoes, chopped mozzarella and olives, and pepperoni slices. Mix well until everything is incorporated.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving and store in a sealed container for up to 3 days.

posted under Italian, Katie Original, pasta, side dish

9 comments

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9 Responses to “Orzo Antipasto Salad”

Cathy Pollak ~ Noble Pig posted on June 29, 2013 at 9:37 am (#)

I have been dying to try those Gourmet Garden herbs! What a beautiful salad.
Suzanne posted on July 1, 2013 at 11:20 pm (#)
This looks so good! I bet it would taste great with some black olives and a salty type of cheese too, like feta.
- Katie replied on July 9th, 2013 at 11:36 am
  
  Suzanne, I think a variety of chopped olives would be great!
Kim Beaulieu posted on July 4, 2013 at 1:58 am (#)
I love this recipe. It’s so wonderful. Orzo is fabulous and I love the flavours in this. The cheese just takes if over the top.
- Katie replied on July 9th, 2013 at 11:04 am
  
  Thanks Kim–I agree I love the little bites of mozzarella!
Nutmeg Nanny posted on July 13, 2013 at 9:26 pm (#)

Delicious! I love antipasto salad, this recipe sounds perfect 🙂