Spinach Pesto Orzo with Roasted Asparagus
on May 01, 2025
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This pesto orzo is a quick and easy recipe with two of my favorite spring ingredients—asparagus and spinach. I start by quickly making the spinach pesto in a food processor. While the asparagus roasts, I simmer the orzo and then stir it with the pesto. You can serve it warm, at room temperature or cold as a pasta salad. It’s a fantastic vegetarian main dish or side for a weeknight dinner.
Also, try this pesto gnocchi recipe with sun dried tomatoes for an easy meal.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This is a fast and easy pasta recipe. Asparagus is a vegetable that’s quick to roast. You can simmer the orzo while the veggies are in the oven to overlap the cooking steps.
Spinach pesto is a no-cook sauce that’s an instant flavor booster. You can make pesto in a food processor in minutes. If you’re a pesto lover, you have to try this spinach version, which takes inspiration from classic basil pesto.
You can serve the orzo warm, at room temperature or even cold. The leftovers are great too. There are so many ways to enjoy this recipe from a vegetarian side dish or main to a pasta salad.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- Asparagus: The freshest bunches will have asparagus spears that are firm and straight. Skip any that are wrinkled or soft. The tops should be tight and not open. It helps if the asparagus stalks are a similar in diameter because they will roast in the same amount of time.
- Spinach: For the base of the pesto, I use baby spinach instead of fresh basil leaves, which is what you would find in a traditional pesto recipe. I also fold spinach leaves into the warm orzo.
- Orzo is small rice-shaped pasta. You can use regular or whole wheat pasta. If you need it to be gluten free, you can substitute with chickpea pasta.
- Garlic: I include 2 garlic cloves in the pesto.
- Walnuts: Make sure to toast the nuts to enhance their flavor. Toast them on a sheet pan in a 350-degree F oven for 5-7 minutes. Watch them to make sure they don’t burn. Instead of walnuts, you can use almonds or pine nuts.
- Parmesan is an Italian cow’s milk hard cheese. This is the traditional cheese in pesto, but you can swap with pecorino or use a mix of both.
- Lemon: For the pesto, use an actual lemon for the juice and not bottled lemon juice. The flavor isn’t as good, and it has unnecessary preservatives.
- Chives: These fresh herbs give the orzo springy light onion flavor.
- Olive oil: Use high quality extra virgin olive oil for the best taste.
- Kosher salt and black pepper season the pesto and the entire dish.
How To Make This Pesto Orzo Recipe
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
1. Make the pesto. In a food processor, finely chop the garlic, spinach, walnuts, parmesan, salt and pepper. With the motor running, drizzle the olive oil through the feeder tube processing until smooth and combined.
2. Prep the asparagus. On a sheet pan, toss the asparagus with oil, salt and pepper, spreading it across the pan.
3. Roast the asparagus until it’s tender but crisp and bright green, about 7-8 minutes.
4. Cook the orzo pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and simmer until al dente according to the package instructions. Save 2 tablespoons of the cooking water before draining the orzo.
5. Stir the pesto with the orzo in a large bowl. Add 1-2 tablespoons of the pasta cooking water you saved. This helps the pesto coat the orzo grains.
6. Stir in the roasted asparagus, spinach leaves and chives. Top with more grated parmesan cheese and chopped walnuts as you spoon it into serving bowls or onto plates.
Serving
As mentioned, you can serve this pesto orzo recipe as a vegetarian main dish or a side dish. Even though it already has greens, I still like to serve it with a salad on the side such as a lemon arugula salad, an Italian chopped salad or a better-than-a-restaurant house salad. You can also enjoy it with a slice or crusty bread or focaccia.
Leftovers & Storage
If you have leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. The longer you save them the softer the orzo will get. Reheat leftovers in the microwave and stir in fresh spinach when they are warm.
You can also eat leftovers cold as a pasta salad. Let them sit out at room temperature for 15 minutes, so they aren’t as cold. Then toss in baby spinach or arugula and splash of lemon vinaigrette. I don’t recommend freezing leftovers.
Recipe Tips
- The asparagus roasts quickly. Don’t roast it too long. When it’s ready, it will be bright green and tender, but still crisp.
- Don’t overcook the orzo. It should be al dente with a good toothy bite. You don’t want it to turn out mushy which can happen with smaller pasta shapes.
- Immediately after you drain the orzo, stir in the pesto. This will prevent the pasta from sticking together.
- You can make the pesto up to 2 days in advance. Store it in a jar in the refrigerator. Before you stir it into the orzo, let it sit out at room temperature for at least 15 minutes.
Recipe FAQs
For a shortcut, you can use store-bought pesto. Jarred pesto has a more cooked flavor. I prefer fresh pesto that you can find in a refrigerator case at the grocery.
Leave the parmesan out of the pesto. Then sprinkle the orzo with nutritional yeast as you serve it.
Just use gluten-free orzo. I am a big fan of chickpea pasta.
Yes. Roasted cherry tomatoes, zucchini or yellow squash are options for summer. During fall and winter, try roasted butternut squash or sweet potatoes.
More Orzo Recipes
Roasted Broccoli Orzo
Grilled Vegetable Orzo Salad
Zucchini Squash Parmesan Orzo
Roasted Butternut Squash Orzo
Lemon Orzo Pasta Salad
Roasted Zucchini Tomato Orzo
More Asparagus Recipes
Roasted Asparagus Soup
Sesame Tofu Asparagus
Roasted Asparagus Potato Salad
Sheet Pan Mushroom Asparagus Gnocchi
Grilled Asparagus Tomato Salad
Udon Noodle Stir-Fry with Asparagus, Mushrooms & Peas
Asparagus Salad with Cannellini Beans
Asparagus Mushroom Barley Salad
Check out my collection of simple seasonal pasta recipes including some of my favorite ingredients and tips.
Spinach Pesto Orzo with Roasted Asparagus
Ingredients
For pesto
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts plus more for serving
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese plus more for serving
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 lemon, juice
- 1/3 cup olive oil
For asparagus
- 1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch long pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For orzo
- 1 cup orzo
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 1 tablespoon minced chives
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- For the pesto, finely chop the garlic, 1 cup baby spinach, walnuts, parmesan, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. With the motor running, drizzle 1/4 cup olive oil through the feeder tube processing until smooth and combined.
- On a sheet pan, toss the asparagus with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Spread the asparagus into a single layer and roast until crisp-tender and bright green, about 7-8 minutes.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, cook the orzo until al dente following the recommended cook time on the package. Save 2 tablespoons of the pasta cooking water. Then drain the orzo.
- Stir the pesto with the orzo in a large bowl. Add 1-2 tablespoons of the reserved cooking water, so the pesto coats the pasta.
- Fold in the roasted asparagus, 1 cup spinach and chives. Serve topped with additional grated parmesan and chopped walnuts.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
