Asparagus Pasta Salad

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Light asparagus pasta salad made with fresh asparagus, orzo pasta, fresh basil and a lemony vinaigrette. This versatile asparagus salad is a perfect side dish for dinner or as a main dish for lunch. 

I love salads that I can make ahead of time and serve for dinner or pack up into small containers and take in my lunch. This asparagus pasta salad holds up well and is perfect for bringing to a potluck. You can easily double this recipe to serve a crowd. 

Orzo Pasta

Orzo pasta is a small rice shaped pasta. It’s perfect in salads because of its size, but it also perfect because it can be used in a lot of recipes instead of rice. When my kids were little I often served orzo pasta with butter and herbs. They also called it rice. I always corrected them, but in their mind it was rice. As teenagers they still love orzo and now they’ve got the name down. They love this salad and if it’s in the fridge they will eat it as a snack after school and sometimes as a midnight snack. Teenagers seem to be hungry all the time and can eat, eat, eat!

This pasta salad is best when asparagus is in season. 

To Make Salad

1. Blanch asparagus by drooping chopped asparagus into a pot of boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove asparagus and plunge into ice cold water.
2. Cook and strain orzo pasta
3. Mix vinaigrette by coming lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar, red pepper flakes and honey.
4. Pour vinaigrette over warm pasta. Allow pasta to cool to room temperature
5. Add cooked asparagus, tomatoes, onions and basil. 
6. Add salt and pepper to taste

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Once this salad is made, I like to cover and chill in the refrigerator. You can eat at room temperature, but I prefer to let the flavors meld together a bit first. 

Variations

• To make this a complete meal, add chopped cooked chicken breasts to the salad.
• I’ve added a small amount of honey to balance the acidity from the lemon and vinegar. You can omit if desired.
• Red pepper flakes are added to provide a bit of spice. If you prefer a milder taste, add half the red pepper flakes called for or omit altogether.
• Small salad pasta or small shell pasta can be substituted for the orzo 

Other delicious salads

• Three Bean Salad
• Black Bean and Corn Salad
• Barley Chicken Salad
• Thai Pasta Salad
• Chopped Asparagus Salad – from The View from Great Island

Do you have extra asparagus? You will want to make this Roasted Asparagus too!

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Be sure to check out all my delicious salad recipes!

Asparagus Pasta Salad

Kathy

Orzo pasta with fresh asparagus and tomatoes with a light lemony vinaigrette.

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Total Time 25 mins

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Servings 4 people

Calories 306 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Salad

• 1 pound asparagus (cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces)
• 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes (quartered)
• 2 green onions (sliced thinly)
• 2 Tablespoons fresh basil (sliced into thin strips)
• salt and pepper

Vinaigrette

• 4 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice (fresh squeezed)
• 1 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons honey (optional)
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Instructions

 

Salad

• Cook asparagus in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and put hot asparagus into a bowl full of ice water to cool.
• Cook orzo pasta. Drain pasta and place in a bowl. Allow to cool until warm.
• Pour prepared vinaigrette over orzo and stir to combine. Allow orzo to cool until at room temperature.
• Add blanched asparagus, chopped tomatoes, green onions and sliced basil. Stir gently.
• Add salt and pepper to taste
• Cover and refrigerate or serve right away

Vinaigrette

• Place olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, honey, dijon mustard and red pepper flakes into a bowl. Combine with a whisk until smooth.

Notes

Recipe can be double to serve a larger crowd.

Variations

• To make this a complete meal, add chopped cooked chicken breasts to the salad.
• I've added a small amount of honey to balance the acidity from the lemon and vinegar. You can omit if desired.
• Red pepper flakes are added to provide a bit of spice. If you prefer a milder taste, add half the red pepper flakes called for or omit altogether.
• Small salad pasta or small shell pasta can be substituted for the orzo 

Nutrition

Serving: 0.75cupCalories: 306kcalCarbohydrates: 37gProtein: 8gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 25mgPotassium: 373mgFiber: 4gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 1199IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 39mgIron: 3mg

Keyword asparagus orzo salad, asparagus pasta salad

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and let me know what you think.