Vegan Lemon Basil Orzo Pasta Salad Recipes

LEMON BASIL ORZO SALAD

Steps:

• Cook orzo in generously salted water. Drain and rinse with cold water, until cooled.
• Place basil, garlic, and lemon zest in a food processor. Pulse repeated until uniformly chopped. Add lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper. Pulse a couple more times, until combine, but not smooth.
• Place cooled orzo into a bowl and toss with the flavorful basil lemon sauce. Add any additions you like- cherry tomatoes, cucumber, chickpeas, snap peas, goat cheese, avocado, nuts, seeds, arugula, etc.
• Orzo will soak up much of the salt after it sits, so make sure to taste for salt right before serving. I'll usually add another ¼ teaspoon. Adjust lemon adding more to taste.
• Enjoy!

VEGAN LEMON BASIL ORZO PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain in a colander, then return to cooking pot and add 2 tsp olive oil and stir to keep the noodles from sticking together. If you want to serve this salad cold, let pasta cool for 2-3 hours in the refrigerator.
• To make vegan parmesan, combine the walnuts, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and sea salt in a food processor. Pulse for about 15 seconds to create a coarse meal. Try not to over-process.
• Slice cherry tomatoes in half and julienne the basil leaves. Zest one medium lemon.
• Combine the cooked pasta with the vegan Parmesan, tomatoes, basil, and lemon zest. Stir together. Add about 3 Tbsp olive oil and juice of 1/2 lemon. Taste and add more lemon juice if desired (I used a whole lemon). Add salt to taste, and serve.