Spinach Pesto Vinaigrette Orzo Salad with White Beans and Tomatoes

Quick, easy and fresh, this Spinach Pesto Vinaigrette Orzo recipe features white beans and tomatoes. It’s perfect for summer.

When my children were very little, I used to experiment a lot in the kitchen. I was creating recipes for Sarah’s Cucina Bella as well as working for clients like the now defunct Well Fed Network, Mott’s More to the Core blog and AllParenting. I also did a lot of work for the General Mills family of publications and was doing sponsored posts fairly regularly. Back in those days — the end of the first decade of the 2000s and into the 2010s — brands were always seeking recipe developers who could bring a fresh perspective to the work they did. Bloggers were a novelty then, a developing industry, and there were no rules or standards.

That began to shift eventually though. Brands wanted more control. Sponsored posts grew in popularity and in requirements. New bloggers saw the potential for money making. But they didn’t experience the sweat equity that had gone into developing the industry from scratch. Where early food bloggers were driven by passion and a love of food, bloggers approached it differently.

Between 2019 and 2020ish, I decided to shift my attention. I largely stopped developing recipes for client publications and published my last sponsored post. Focusing more on my own site for all things food and recipes, I began working on projects behind the scenes such as updating old posts and cataloging recipes. I kept writing too. But between grad school, kids, emergencies and my full time job, I didn’t do it as often or regularly as I wanted to.

Fast forward to now. I’ve just finished teaching for the spring semester. My course load included food writing and a class on professional blogging. Both had heavy history components to them, as well as a lot of writing. My students in both classes were thoughtful and engaged. They asked important questions about the changes in both industries.

All of that got me thinking: Why am I blogging differently these days? When I shifted my focus four years ago, wasn’t it to get back to basics?

So here I am. I’m just a girl, writing a blog post about a new orzo salad, asking you to read me. And I am hoping that after reading this, you’ll want to come back and read more. Perhaps you’ll start to get to know me as well as my children. Will is 18; Paige is 16. They’ve grown up with Sarah’s Cucina Bella being another family member in our house.

I am hopeful that this will be the start of more creativity, more intimacy and more good food talk.

As for this Spinach Pesto Vinaigrette Orzo Salad with White Beans and Tomatoes, I created it with a few things in mind. First, I wanted to make something with white beans. I love them and have been wanting some lately. My kids both love orzo. Pesto vinaigrette seemed like a great way to bring the flavors I wanted to use — tomatoes and roasted red peppers — together. It’s fresh and springy. It has vibrancy but isn’t overwhelming. And it will hold up to being chilled.

That’s especially important for salads like this. You can make this ahead for that barbecue you’re planning and it will be just as good as if you just finished mixing it.

To make this, begin by cooking your orzo. You want it tender but not mushy. While it’s cooking, prepare the salad mix-ins — halved grape tomatoes, rinsed cannellini beans, sliced roasted red peppers and sliced sundried tomatoes. I always prefer sundried tomatoes that are packed without oil, but use the ones you like best.

Next, you’ll make the pesto vinaigrette. It has the flavors and texture of pesto with few added ingredients to transform into vinaigrette. I always make this in my mini food processor (so easy!). If you don’t have one, you could do it in a mini blender or in a mortar pestle.

Then mix it all up.

This Spinach Pesto Vinaigrette Orzo Salad with White Beans and Tomatoes is a wonderful summer salad. It feeds four, generally. But if you are serving many salads with your weekend barbecue (so people take smaller portions), this will feed 8-10.

Let me know if you try this recipe. And bookmark Sarah’s Cucina Bella (or sign up for my newsletter!) so you remember to come back for more. Thanks for reading!