Simple and bursting with flavor, this light and refreshing Orzo Spinach Roasted Veggie Salad is summertime deliciousness in a bowl. Wholesome, roasted garden veggies combined with delicate orzo pasta, then lightly dressed in lemony goodness makes for a fabulous Whole Food Plant Based recipe! Move over macaroni salad, there’s a new salad in town, ready for your next picnic/summertime meal! Healthy, vegan, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no processed ingredients.
Ameera here!
Mom and I have been busy in the kitchen testing all types of summertime recipes to use up the abundance our garden has provided this summer. We have been blessed with beautiful sunshine and adequate rain showers to keep our gardening producing, and producing even more!
Our kitchen counters are overflowing with tons of beautiful veggies. Seeing all these gorgeous veggies always puts a smile on my face.
Cherry Tomato “Candy”
There is literally nothing on this planet as tasty and delicious as a fresh garden tomato, picked straight off the vine, still warm from the summer sun. They are like candy!
Our cherry tomatoes are extra, extra, extra sweet and flavorful this year. They are sooooo gosh-darn delicious! We have been gobbling them down like our lives depended on it.
Roasted Goodness
I love to roast grape and cherry tomatoes in the oven. The flavor really intensifies and they are like jewels in salads and dishes. They just really send a dish over the top with bursts of wholesome flavor.
You just can’t beat how utterly delicious they are. They really shine through, all the way to flavor town and back.
Room Temperature Salads
This Orzo Spinach Saladis best served at room temperature. It is something that I have found that most Americans find a little foreign. Many European and Middle Eastern countries serve their salads at room temperature.
Why, you might ask? Because it really allows the flavors to showcase their naturalness once out of refrigeration. You certainly want to refrigerate this salad, but when you are serving it, it is best if you make it and serve it immediately while at room temperature.
Or at the very least, remove it from the fridge for 30 minutes before serving.
Does it really matter?
If you are looking to enjoy this salad at its peak freshness of flavor, then yes it does matter because refrigeration tends to dull the flavor ever so slightly, especially anything with lemon in it.
You simply won’t get that lemony “zing” that is the essence of this gorgeous salad.
Hi! Robin here!
I will be honest, I never made “room temperature” salads before. Everything was COLD straight from the fridge! I got to thinking about this the other day. It’s probably because all my pre-WFPB salads had dairy, cheese, or perishables in them that required refrigeration!
This salad is so perfectly perfect! Monkey is so right about serving it at room temperature because the lemon really zings at room temperature. It is so flavorful and utterly delightful. I just love it.
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Tomatoes straight from the garden!
Goodness gracious! There is absolutely nothing tastier on this earth than a garden-fresh tomato! Both TP109 and I have been growing tomatoes since we were both babies! We both grew up in “garden families” and the love of working the soil is humbling and a thing of beauty. Both of our children love gardening as well.
I remember when the kids were little, one of the most exciting days of the year was potato harvesting. Chris and Monkey used to love to help their dad dig up potatoes! Every single potato was like a hidden treasure to them, and they had to show each potato to their dad as they helped dig them up! Too adorable!
We hope you given this tasty recipe a try, and find it a treasure to save in your recipe files!
Products Used:
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
Orzo Spinach Roasted Veggie Salad
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 Servings 1x
- Category: Salad
Description
Simple and bursting with flavor, this light and refreshing Orzo Spinach Roasted Veggie Salad is summertime deliciousness in a bowl. Wholesome, roasted garden veggies combined with delicate orzo pasta, then lightly dressed in lemony goodness makes for a fabulous Whole Food Plant Based recipe! Move over macaroni salad, there’s a new salad in town, ready for your next picnic/summertime meal! Healthy, vegan, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no processed ingredients.
Ingredients
Orzo Cooking Ingredients:
- 1 – 12 oz. package orzo
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
Salad Ingredients:
- Zest of one lemon
- 4 cups fresh chopped baby spinach
- 15 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
- ½ cup red onion, fine dice
Roasted Veggie Ingredients:
- 1 small zucchini, chopped to 1-inch squares
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped to 1-inch squares
- 1 orange bell pepper, chopped to 1-inch squares
- 25 to 30 cherry (or grape) tomatoes
- Sprinkle of garlic powder
- Sprinkle of onion powder
- Sprinkle of paprika
- Sprinkle sea salt (+/-) *
- Sprinkle black pepper (+/-) *
Lemon Hemp Dressing Ingredients:
- 1 recipe of the Lemon Hemp Dressing
Instructions
- Set oven to high broil.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper set aside.
- In a bowl, toss the chopped zucchini, chopped bell peppers and whole grape tomatoes with the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, sea salt and pepper, then lay out onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Place under the broiler for approx. 7 minutes or until the veggies have reached a tender-crisp stage. When done, remove from the oven and allow to cool. The tomatoes will be wrinkled, but should not burst.
- In the meantime, in a medium sauce pot, add 4 cups of water, 2 cups of vegetable broth, 1 teaspoon of dried basil and 1 teaspoon of sea salt. Heat to boiling, then add the orzo and cook according to package directions. When el dente or tender, depending on personal preference, remove from the heat, drain and rinse with cold water, drain well. Set aside until ready to make the salad.
- While the pasta is cooking, add all the Salad Ingredients into a large bowl.
- Make the Lemon Hemp Dressing. Make the Lemon Hemp Dressing, then make an additional 1/2 portion of the Lemon Hemp Dressing.
- Add the cooked and cooled orzo pasta into the bowl, along with the cooled (or slightly warm) roasted veggies, and all the other salad ingredients, then add half the Lemon Hemp Dressing and toss well (see notes).
- Continue to drizzle with some of the remaining salad dressing based upon preference. You may not need to use it all. Do not drench the salad with dressing. Retain any remaining salad dressing to add later as the pasta tends to drink up the salad dressing.
- Taste and add additional sea salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve as a delicious side salad or lunch.
Notes
*Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
*Orzo Pasta: We used Delallo Gluten Free Corn & Rice Orzo, if not gluten free, use orzo pasta of choice).
*Salad Dressing/Room Temperature: This is a room-temperature salad. If you do not plan to consume all the salad in one sitting (at room temperature), then do not add the dressing. Add the dressing to individual servings. This salad is best served at room temperature. If the salad has been refrigerated, remove from the fridge for 30 minutes or longer allowing the salad to return to room temperature before serving. This allows the dressing flavors to come forward, the roasted veggies to become more flavorful, and this happens best when the salad and dressing are served at room temperature as typically done in many European and Middle Eastern countries.
*Serving: Makes 4 to 6 servings.
*Storage: Refrigerate and use within 5 days, if undressed. Use within 2 days, if dressed.
Storage: Refrigerate and use within 5 days, if undressed. Use within 2 days, if dressed.
This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.