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Home » Salad

Published: Jul 27, 2020 · Modified: Jun 6, 2025 by Kathy

Orzo Pasta Salad

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A white bowl filled with orzo, corn, beans and tomatoes.

Orzo pasta salad is filled with black beans, corn, sweet bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, red onions and fresh cilantro. This southwestern pasta salad is perfect for lunch or served as a side dish.

Orzo pasta salad on a white plate with a sandwich and grapes.

Why make this salad

My family is a huge fan of pasta salads. I often make up one and store in the fridge for one to two days. The kids eat it for lunch or snacks. If it's in the fridge, they will eat it up.

This is also a perfect salad to pack in a lunch box. I switch between this orzo pasta salad, bacon ranch pasta salad, couscous salad, and quinoa salad.

Key Ingredients

An arrangement of ingredients, including orzo, tomatoes, corn, black beans, bell peppers, cilantro and a red onion.

This section reviews the best ingredients and substitutions for this recipe. For an exact list of ingredients and quantities, check the recipe card below.

  • Orzo - a small rice-shaped pasta. If you don't have orzo, you can substitute small macaroni pasta.
  • Black Beans - One can of beans, rinsed and drained, or you can make your own from dried beans.
  • Frozen Corn - Can use fresh too, just cook, cool and remove from the cob.
  • Cherry tomatoes - Any small cherry or grape tomato works
  • Bell peppers - Red, yellow or orange
  • Red onion - You could also use a white or yellow onion.
  • Fresh cilantro -. If you aren't a fan of cilantro, you may use fresh parsley.
  • Fresh lime juice - Fresh squeezed is best!
A glass bowl filled with freshly cut veggies, black beans and orzo pasta.

Additional Add-Ins

If desired, you can easily add almost anything you think would work into this salad. Some ideas include:

  • Chopped cooked chicken
  • Leftover chunked salmon
  • Chopped avocado
  • Black olives
  • Finely chopped jalapenos
Orzo pasta salad in a large white bowl.

Tips for making

  • After cooking orzo, drain and rinse with cold water.
  • Drain and rinse canned black beans.
  • Cut all veggies into a small dice with a consistent size.
  • Quarter tomatoes

Frequently Asked Questions

How long will this salad last?

This salad will last for up to 4 days if kept covered and refrigerated. Just give a quick stir before using.

Can I make it ahead of time?

Yes, this salad can be made ahead of time. Just cover and refrigerate until serving time. You can also serve right away at room temperature.

Why do I need to rinse the orzo in cold water?

Rinsing the orzo does three things - it stops the cooking process, it removes the excess starch and it cools the temperature of the pasta.

Orzo pasta on a table with a plate filled with food and a glass of milk.

Other great salad recipes

If you love summer salads as much as we do, you'll want to check out these other recipes!

  • Chopped Oriental Salad
  • Quinoa Salad
  • Orzo and Asparagus Salad
  • Black Bean and Corn Salad
  • Heirloom Tomato Salad
  • Orzo Chicken Salad
A plate with a ham sandwich, fresh grapes and a pasta salad.

If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop

Be sure to check out all my delicious salads!

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    Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
  • A small green bowl filled with Buttermilk Ranch Dressing surrounded by fresh veggies.
    Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
  • Easy broccoli salad with bacon bits in a white bowl.
    Easy Broccoli Salad
Orzo pasta salad on a white plate with a sandwich and grapes.

Orzo Pasta Salad

Kathy Berget
Delicious summer salad made with orzo pasta, black beans, corn, tomatoes, bell peppers and fresh cilantro.
5 from 26 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Saved!
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 25 minutes mins
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Servings 8 people
Calories 194 kcal

Equipment

  • Large Mixing Bowl
  • Measuring Cups
  • Measuring Spoons
  • Chef Knife
Prevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients
 
 

Dressing

  • ¼ cup mayonnaise
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon sugar
  • ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ⅛ teaspoon smoked paprika (or regular paprika)
  • ⅛ teaspoon chili powder

Salad

  • 1 cup orzo pasta (uncooked)
  • 1 can black beans (15.5 ounce can, drained and rinsed)
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes (quartered)
  • ½ cup red onion (diced)
  • 1 cup bell peppers (diced)
  • ½ cup cilantro (chopped)
  • 1 juice from one lime

Instructions
 

Dressing

  • Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix well.
    ¼ cup mayonnaise, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon sugar, ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder, ⅛ teaspoon smoked paprika, ⅛ teaspoon chili powder

Salad

  • Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain into a sieve and rinse until cool.
    1 cup orzo pasta
  • Add cooked pasta, rinsed black beans, corn, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and cilantro into a large mixing bowl. Toss to mix.
    1 can black beans, 1 cup frozen corn, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, ½ cup red onion, 1 cup bell peppers, ½ cup cilantro
  • Squeeze lime juice over pasta mixture.
    1 juice from one lime
  • Add prepared dressing and mix gently until well coated.
  • Serve or cover and refrigerate.

Notes

Additional Add Ins:
If desired you can easily add almost anything you think would work into this salad. Some ideas include:
  • Chopped cooked chicken
  • Leftover chunked salmon
  • Chopped avocado
  • Black olives
  • Finely chopped jalapenos
Substitutions:
  • Use a small salad macaroni in place of the orzo pasta
  • Use fresh chopped parsley instead of cilantro
  • Use a white onion instead of a read onion
  • Use regular paprika instead of smoke paprika

Nutritional Disclaimer:

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupCalories: 194kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 6gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 124mgPotassium: 313mgFiber: 5gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 766IUVitamin C: 32mgCalcium: 18mgIron: 1mg
Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @BeyondTheChickenCoop or tag #beyondthechickencoop!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dan says

    June 02, 2023 at 7:04 am

    5 stars
    We all really enjoyed this orzo pasta Thankyou best pasta salad I’ve had x

    Reply
    • Kathy says

      June 02, 2023 at 8:55 am

      Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy it! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Karen says

    June 23, 2022 at 2:42 pm

    Can you eliminate the salad dressing and use ranch dressing or another kind of dressing?

    Reply
    • Kathy says

      June 25, 2022 at 11:05 am

      Sure! That should work just fine!
      Enjoy 🙂

      Reply
  3. David @ Spiced says

    July 28, 2020 at 5:04 am

    5 stars
    We love orzo salad here, too! Come to think of it, it's been quite a while since we've made one. It's hot here, and I'm all about the summer salads right now. This one sounds like it's packed with summer flavor! Pass me a spoon please. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says

    July 27, 2020 at 8:28 am

    I love pasta salads with orzo Kathy! And the ingredient list here is pushing all my buttons. Perfect for lunch, dinner and meal prep for the week. I can't wait to give it a try!

    Reply
    • Kathy says

      July 27, 2020 at 8:35 am

      Enjoy!!! 🙂

      Reply
  5. Dawn - Girl Heart Food says

    July 27, 2020 at 8:18 am

    5 stars
    I love pasta salad, especially this time of year! This one looks packed with flavour and I could easily enjoy as is, without anything else, and be quite happy 🙂

    Reply
    • Kathy says

      July 27, 2020 at 8:34 am

      I often eat just this salad for lunch and it's totally satisfying!

      Reply
5 from 26 votes (23 ratings without comment)

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I'm Kathy, and I love to create delicious recipes from scratch utilizing many ingredients that we grow and raise. I'm a recipe creator, food photographer, and cookbook author!

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