This is a great salad dressing that goes nicely with a straightforward and classy salad. Butter lettuce, arugula, goat cheese, and caramelized pecans make a fantastic salad that I adore using it on.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 8 mins |
| Total Time: | 23 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked orzo pasta
- ½ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
- ⅓ cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add orzo and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Place basil leaves and sun-dried tomatoes in a food processor. Pulse 4 or 5 times until blended.
- In a large bowl, toss together the orzo, basil-tomato mixture, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Serve warm or chilled.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 255 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 39 g |
| Cholesterol | 7 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 10 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Sodium | 275 mg |
| Sugars | 2 g |
| Fat | 7 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
An easily made and satisfying side dish. I will save this one to make again. Used some home made tomato pesto that I had on hand and some diced sun dried tomatoes. I’m always looking for recipes using my garden produce.
I made this according to the directions even though every time I read it I felt like something was missing. It was very bland except for pops of acidity from the tomatoes. I usually like the all recipes, but this one was disappointing.
We really liked this. Served it at room temperature then ate cold leftovers. Very nice dish!
Yummy. Also good using dried basil.
This was delish. I added a little oil from the tomatoes
Used couscous and a mix of sun dried & cherry tomatoes.
Made this as is and is a wonderful light side dish. I make it all the time now.
Easy and tasty!! Will definitely make again!!’
I made no changes, loved it as recipe was written. Will definitely make it again. This is my kind of food!
I made this exactly as suggested. It was ok but i felt a bit bland. I would increase the basil snd tomatoes. Also i would follow a previous reviewer and cook the orzo in chicken or vegetable broth.
Peppers instead of tomatoes
Added feta and black olives rather than parm
Awesome side dish. I did cheat though, using sun-dried tomato-basil pesto, garlic and added sliced baby ports. Served with Grandma’s Chicken Chardon(from this site) . Top-notch meal Have made over and over. It is also excellent with spinach added.
This recipe is very good for those hot summer days. Will make it again.
So simple and so delicious. I used feta instead of parmesan and added some sliced black olives. Huge hit – was even asked for the recipe!
A simple dish when you just want to make life easy. Will definitely make again. Great for a hot night.
This was good but I made a few changes. I used a lot more sundried tomatoes and I added the oil from the tomatoes. I used goat cheese instead of Parmesan. Finally I added a few splashes of red wine vinegar for some punch. I brought it to an event and it was a big hit. I’ll definitely make it again.
2 cups of uncooked orzo makes a boatload of pasta. I’d say it’s more like 12 servings rather than 8. I followed others suggestions and added more Parmesan, a cup, maybe more. I added juice from one lemon, a few sliced Kalamata olives and some goat cheese. We had several days of leftovers, and it held up well.
Really wonderful! I do not have a food processor so just chopped up the basil and tomatoes well. Also added just a dash of olive oil as the oil from the tomatoes seemed pretty much proficient. Very tasty!
I followed the instructions and found it was a little bland for my taste, so I added an extra teaspoon of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of garlic powder. Voila, perfect!
I’ve made this numerous times. Occasionally I will add shrimp for a one-dish meal. Also a big hit at parties or BBQs served cold instead of pasta salad. It’s delicious!!