Whole Wheat Orzo with Pesto and Peas
An easy & healthy side dish or vegetarian main dish, this orzo with pesto and peas comes together quickly. Add grilled chicken or shrimp for extra protein. Your whole family will love this!
I’m not sure how it happened, but it’s August. Yikes. My kids have informed me they have mixed feelings about going back to school in just a couple of weeks. There’s the excited anticipation of finding out who your teacher is and what friends are in your class, and of course there’s also the dreaded grind of homework that is lurking around the corner. So mixed feelings it is. For me too.
This Orzo with Pesto and Peas dish reminds me a lot of something my mom would make us when we were kids. We always had pasta with peas or even rice with peas for dinner. I think I understand why – it’s quick, inexpensive and is just enough to fill up small children’s bellies. I’ve made this pesto version (because, you know me + pesto = <3 ) quite a few times and it works as a great side dish to grilled chicken or salmon or on it’s own for a light (lazy) dinner. The sun dried tomatoes add a color and flavor that I just love.
With back to school lurking around the corner, this is one of those recipes I’ll be keeping around in my back pocket. All you need is a few staple items like whole wheat orzo and frozen peas and of course my favorite store bought pesto (or your own if you’re lucky!) and you’ve got a simple – and quick – dish I’m pretty sure your entire family will love. My kids love the tiny specs of orzo pasta (it’s cute!) so it’s definitely something I try to keep on hand and serve often.
Have a great week!
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PinIngredients
- 1 cup uncooked whole wheat orzo
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1/3 cup pesto
- 1/4 cup julienned sun dried tomatoes (rehydrated in a warm bowl of water for 3–5 minutes)
- freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Cook orzo according to directions. In the last 2 minutes of cooking time, add frozen peas to pot. Once pasta is cooked, drain well and return to pot.
- Add pesto and hydrated sun dried tomatoes to pot and gently stir until sauce is evenly distributed. Season with coarse salt and fresh ground pepper. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Try these orzo recipes:
Orzo with Spinach, Chickpeas and Lemon
Lemon Orzo Salad with Veggies and Chicken | Our Best Bites
Lemon Parmesan Garlic Orzo | Joyful Healthy Eats
Mediterranean Orzo Salad | Iowa Girl Eats
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I literally book mark 3/4 of your recipes 🙂 I knew I was going to book mark this one before I even read the post 🙂 So, Josh isn’t a sun dried tomato fan- what do you think would make a good replacement? I cannot believe it’s August! Kaylin has a week off between summer camp and regular school. I wish I could take the whole week off to really enjoy time with her, but work is a little crazy. This is definitely a fabulous week night meal, and who doesn’t love orzo??
Summer has been crazy busy and gone by too fast! Hope Kaylin has a good week and start to the new school year. Thank you for always bookmarking 🙂 We cook so much alike! The commenter above mentioned fresh cherry tomato halves as a substitute which sounds amazing, I was thinking roasted red peppers might be good too?
I’m not ready for it to be August! Heck, it was just the start of June not long ago! I absolutely love having peas with pasta! Normally it’s mac and cheese and peas but I think I may have found a few favorite with the orzo and peas! Â Â
I love throwing peas into mac and cheese too 🙂 Or broccoli!
Erica – I’m making this tonight, but substituting fresh cherry tomato halves, saving some pasta water just in case it’s needed. Â Looking forward to having this with BBQ chicken.
Oh I love that you subbed fresh cherry tomato halves, that sounds delicious! Hope you enjoyed it!
I have a go-to lemon orzo salad that I make almost weekly in the summer. Now I think my salad has met its match with your delicious version! Can we trade places to try one another’s please?!?!
I can’t believe school is starting again! It goes so fast.
This looks incredible with the sun dried tomatoes!
so nice to see your comment Anne! Hope you are doing well!!
I have mixed feelings about the end of summer, too. I miss summer vacations as a kid – but I hope the kids enjoy what remains of it all! I would totally love to picnic with this beautiful pasta!
Pesto, sun-dried tomatoes and Parmesan cheese…..three of my favorites. Â Definitely making this!!! Â It looks amazing! Â And I’m not ready for summer to end!
I love orzo! I add so many different ingredients to it and it is always delicious! I have to try it with pesto and peas!