Orzo Primavera Pasta Salad

  • 10MINS
  • 10MINS
  • Serves 4
  • 213KCAL

Our Orzo Primavera Pasta Salad makes the perfect slimming friendly side, snack or light lunch whether you're counting calories or following a plan like Weight Watchers.

  • Batch Cook pinchofnom.com
  • Dairy Free pinchofnom.com
  • Everyday Light pinchofnom.com

NutritionPer Serving

  • Calories213
  • Carbs41g
  • Protein8g
  • Fat1.2g
  • Saturates0.2g
  • Sugars3.9g

For the full list of ingredients and comprehensive instructions, please see the recipe card below. Before you scroll, there’s important stuff in the blurb!

Our Orzo Primavera Pasta Salad makes the perfect slimming friendly side, snack or light lunch whether you’re counting calories or following a plan like Weight Watchers.

We also love this Orza Primavera Pasta Salad when served alongside a wide range of different dishes including our slimming friendly kebabs!  If you’ve never had orzo before, then it may look like rice but it’s actually a small, flat pasta – it makes a fab change to the usual penne or fusilli pasta!

This Orzo Primavera Pasta Salad is seriously loaded with tasty vegetables! We’ve put tomatoes, onions, green and red peppers in there but you could add even more if you like!

What diets is this Orzo Primavera Pasta Salad suitable for?

This Orzo Primavera Pasta Salad is suitable for vegetarian and dairy free diets.

It can be made gluten free by swapping the following ingredients for gluten free versions;

  • Orzo

Please make sure to double or triple check all of your ingredients if you’re cooking for people with allergies.

Do you need any special ingredients to make this Orzo Primavera Pasta Salad?

You can buy orzo in most supermarkets. If you can’t get it, then you could always use a different, small pasta shape – just remember to adjust the cooking time according to the instructions on the packet.

Hints & Tips

Below we added some of our communities most common hints and tips. We hope you find them useful.

Always have a bowl of this in the fridge!
I would recommend always having a bowl of this in the fridge, it’s amazing and goes well with anything! Iv had it with tuna, chicken, pork, fish and on its own. Delicious.
Such a vibrant looking and very tasty salad
Quick & easy
Added some extra cucumber and radish for colour

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‘Nice easy recipe to make ahead and portion up for lunches during the working week.’

auntyellenskitchen

How many calories are in this Orzo Primavera Pasta Salad?

There are 213 calories per portion in this Orzo Primavera Pasta Salad, which means it falls into our Everyday Light category. 

This Orzo Primavera Pasta Salad is perfect if you’re following a calorie controlled diet and fits well with any one of the major diet plans such as Weight Watchers. 

As a guide, an average man needs around 2,500kcal (10,500kJ) a day to maintain a healthy body weight. For an average woman, that figure is around 2,000kcal (8,400kJ) a day. Obviously, if your goal is to lose weight then you might want to adjust these slightly! You can read more about these recommendations on the NHS website.

What could I serve with this Orzo Primavera Pasta Salad?

This Orzo Primavera Pasta Salad is the perfect accompaniment to any of the following dishes:

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How do you know when this Orzo Primavera Pasta Salad is cooked?

You’ll need to cook the orzo for this Orzo Primavera Pasta Salad according to the pack instructions which should take around 8 to 10 minutes.

Standard advice here in the UK is to cook food until it has reached 70°C and stayed at that temperature for 2 minutes. This is to keep your family safe.

How long can you keep Orzo Primavera Pasta Salad in the fridge?

You can keep leftovers of Orzo Primavera Pasta Salad in the fridge, in a container with a lid for approximately 3 days or so.

Can you freeze this Orzo Primavera Pasta Salad?

No, we wouldn’t recommend freezing this recipe.

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Orzo Primavera Pasta Salad

Our Orzo Primavera Pasta Salad makes the perfect slimming friendly side, snack or light lunch whether you're counting calories or following a plan like Weight Watchers.
  • Prep Time
    10 MINS
  • Cook Time
    10 MINS
  • KCals 213
  • Carbs 41G

Ingredients

  • 200 g orzo
  • 14 cherry tomatoes we used a selection pack with 4 different types
  • 1/2 red onion
  • 1/4 red pepper
  • 1/4 green pepper
  • 1 tbsp fresh parsley
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp pickled vegetable juice the pickling liquid from a jar of pickles
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp water

We use a fan assisted oven for all of our recipes. Check out our oven temperature conversion guide.

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Instructions

  1. Place the orzo in a decent sized pan, then add the turmeric. Cover with plenty of boiling, salted water, stir and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer until cooked.
  2. Cook the orzo, according to the pack instructions usually around 8 to 10 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile make the dressing by mixing the red wine vinegar, oregano, lemon juice, pickled veg juice, water and seasoning together well. Set aside.
  4. Finely chop the onion, peppers, parsley and cut the tomatoes in half.
  5. Remove the orzo from the heat, then plunge it into cold water to cool it down and stop it from overcooking and clumping together. Drain it well.
  6. Tip all of the ingredients into a large bowl, check the seasoning and add some more salt and pepper if necessary. Mix well and serve sprinkled with some more chopped fresh parsley.

Looking for Slimming World Syns or Weight Watchers (WW) Points?

With ever-changing plans and point calculations, we have made the decision to remove WW Points from the website - referring to your individual plan or advice from your consultant is always going to give the most accurate results.



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32 comments

See what others have to say

KimSunday 6th March 2022

Could you just use white or dark vinegar instead of the pickling juice? I don’t eat pickled goods. Thanks

Reply

    HollyMonday 7th March 2022

    Hi Kim, we would suggest using white vinegar instead of the pickling vinegar, hope that helps!

    Reply

KylieSunday 20th June 2021

Can u substitute the tomatoes as not a fan of fresh ones x

Reply

    HollyMonday 28th June 2021

    Hey Kylie, you can omit the tomatoes or swap for some extra diced pepper, onion or you could even try some diced cucumber. Hope that helps!

    Reply

EilidhTuesday 20th April 2021

Hi,

Is the orzo 100g uncooked or once cooked?

Thanks

Reply

    HollyWednesday 21st April 2021

    Hey Eilidh, the weight is for uncooked orzo and it is cooked in step 1, hope that helps!

    Reply

LizzieFriday 25th January 2019

How long would this keep ie for weekday lunches?

Reply

Zoe SmithSunday 9th December 2018

Can this be frozen?

Reply

ElizabethFriday 10th August 2018

Anyone know if I can use Kritharaki – Nudeln?

Reply

    SarahSaturday 30th March 2019

    Made this for the first time today for my mum going to eat it tomorrow with some fresh salmon for mothers day! It looks fabulous and smells divine! Cant wait to have it for lunch xx

    Reply

      Emma TSunday 7th April 2019

      Whoop! So glad you enjoyed it!

Susan ClarkeSunday 25th March 2018

Is there anything I could use to substitute the orzo for a gluten free version?

Reply

KirstieSaturday 6th January 2018

Hiya, can this dish be reheated? So if I took to work, could I pop it in the microwave? Thanks!

Reply

MandySunday 17th December 2017

Hi. Is there anything else I could use rather than red wine vinegar?

Reply

D thomsonMonday 31st July 2017

Can u tell me what pickled vegetable juice is please

Reply

    Emma TMonday 11th September 2017

    Hi there,

    Pickling juice is the liquid that the vegetables are preserved in, the spiced vinegar in the jar of pickles ????

    Reply

CarolThursday 13th July 2017

Hi, does it keep ok in the fridge to do for lunches for a couple of days? Thanks x

Reply

AnonymousMonday 10th July 2017

Hi I love this site I live in Watford Herts please can you tell me where I can get Orzo pasta from?

Reply

Janine BraniganFriday 7th July 2017

Made this for the first time tonight. Loved it. Never tasted Orzo before. Very colorful dish. Will definitely be on the weekly menu in this house. Thank you

Reply

JeanFriday 7th July 2017

Delicious, versitile and very fresh, will become a staple xx

Reply

    KateTuesday 11th July 2017

    Hi Jean
    Glad you like it

    Reply

CarolyneSunday 7th May 2017

I love the sound of this – really zingy, quick, fresh – a meal on its own for me with a side for my husband. Brilliant

Reply

DianeTuesday 2nd May 2017

Love, love, love this. It’s so easy to make and really fresh and tasty. Thanks.

Reply

    KateWednesday 3rd May 2017

    Hi Diane
    It’s become one of our favourites too! I think it’s much nicer than any shop bought orzo salad. We often have a tub in the fridge to snack on during the day

    Reply

Karen GistSunday 16th April 2017

Is it me or can I not see the amounts of all the ingredients you need?

Reply

    KateSunday 16th April 2017

    Hi Karen
    Keep scrolling down for the full ingredient list and method

    Reply

LynneTuesday 11th April 2017

I had been going to ask about the pickling liquid as well! Does it add a lot to the recipe? The only thing I have is pickled onions, would that do? Thanks!

Reply

    KateSunday 16th April 2017

    Hi Lynne
    Yes pickled onion liquid should be ok. We use it to bulk out the dressing rather than using olive oil (which is what is normally used in dressings)

    Reply

DianeMonday 10th April 2017

This looks fab, must try it this week. Anyone know where I’d get pickled vegetable juice?

Reply

    KateTuesday 11th April 2017

    Hi Diane
    We just use the pickling liquid from a jar of pickled veg or gherkins. The one we use is Melis Pickled Veg from Asda

    Reply

HilarySunday 9th April 2017

What is and where do you buy pickled vegetable juice ? Many thanks Hils

Reply

    KateTuesday 11th April 2017

    Hi Hilary
    We just use the pickling liquid from a jar of pickled veg or gherkins. The one we prefer to use is Melis Pickled Veg from Asda

    Reply

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