Fresh Basil Orzo & Kidney Bean Salad: A Plant-Based Recipe for Easy Meals

This recipe is for you if you love basil as much as I do. A simple orzo pasta salad that’s packed full of delicious plant-based flavors and varied textures. Fresh basil leaves shine as the star of the show here, so make this when your basil plant is overflowing.

We’ve made this salad to take on picnics, for lunches on the go or to summer parties. It’s always a hit!
But, then again, I am a true pasta lover at heart. Try one of my other vegan pasta recipes after you make this one.

Ingredient notes and substitutions

⦁ Orzo: You can use another small pasta in place of the orzo, if you want, like rotini, macaroni, shells or ditalini.
⦁ Kidney beans: Red kidney beans add color to the salad, but you could use white kidney beans (aka cannellini beans) instead. Chickpeas would also be tasty here.
⦁ Orange bell pepper: I prefer the more mild, sweet bell peppers for this salad. Orange bell pepper adds another color to the mix. Feel free to use red or yellow bell peppers, too. If you prefer it less sweet, use green.
⦁ Raisins – Adding a pop of natural sweetness, raisins could be swapped out for dried cranberries or dried cherries.
⦁ Cashews – For crunch and richness. Swap out for pine nuts if you’d like.
⦁ Olive oil – Go for extra virgin olive oil in this dish. If you’re cutting back on oil, then just skip the oil and add a little extra lemon juice.

Tips

To make this in 10 minutes or less, cook your pasta beforehand and store it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to mix the salad together.

The prepared salad will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Still have fresh basil left over after making this salad? Use some to make sweet basil marinara sauce.

Recipe: Basil Orzo Kidney Bean Salad

Serves: 2-4 people
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
16 ounces orzo
1 cup packed whole basil leaves
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 orange bell pepper, de-seeded and chopped into ½ inch pieces
½ cup raisins
¼ cup cashews, roughly chopped
Juice of one lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
⦁ Cook orzo according to package directions in salted water. Stir frequently (it likes to stick to the pan). Once tender, drain and rinse with cold water (see notes) and set aside to cool.
⦁ Meanwhile, remove basil leaves from stems, wash and pat dry. Chop your bell pepper and cashews.
⦁ In a large mixing bowl, stir to combine beans, chopped bell pepper, raisins, cashews, lemon juice and olive oil.
⦁ Once orzo has cooled, add to the bowl and stir together. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
⦁ Mix in whole basil leaves (if they are very large, you can tear them in half) once pasta has cooled to room temperature. (If you add them to hot pasta, they will turn black.)
⦁ Serve and enjoy!

NOTES
I don’t normally recommend rinsing pasta after you cook it for most recipes. However, the orzo for this recipe tends to stick together, so rinsing helps.
Can be eaten cold or room temperature.
This recipe was adapted from The Feed Zone Cookbook.

Thank you so much to Abi at Very Veganish for this great recipe! Over the last few months I have been eating more plant based meals, and this salad is on my list to try!

You’ll find more of Abi’s great recipes by signing up for her Very Cozy Fall Cookbook which includes
20 pages, 11 recipes – all vegan, plant-based recipes, including Pumpkin Pie, Apple Pie
Oatmeal, Texas 3-Bean Chili and Skillet Potatoes and Kale.