Juicy sweet roasted cherry tomato and garlic orzo is the perfect summer pasta dish! It only requires a handful of ingredients and makes for a great quick weeknight meal.

I can’t get enough of the abundance of seasonal tomatoes at the moment and have been adding them to just about everything!

While they’re delicious fresh off the vine they are even more spectacular when roasted with some olive oil, salt and pepper.

They’re the star of this dish so you want to make sure you’re buying good quality cherry tomatoes.

My favourite varieties are piccolo and vittoria which you can get from most supermarkets or markets at the moment! You really don’t want to skimp on the tomatoes because you get what you pay for with quality. 

This recipe is so simple, packed with flavour and a great way to switch up your usual pasta dishes! It takes less than 30 minutes and this flavourful tomato orzo can be yours!

Orzo is a type of short cut pasta in the shape of rice. You can use it as a substitute to rice or an alternative to other pasta styles!

How to make orzo:

It’s great in hot and cold dishes and makes for a great pasta salad or risotto! As it’s similar in size to rice it is quicker to cook, around 7-9 minutes but do check packet instructions beforehand!

To start this recipe we are going to prep and roast the tomatoes. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Place them on a baking tray with a nice glug of oil and some salt and pepper.

Pop them in the oven for 15-20 minutes, stirring half way. They should be soft and starting to caramelise (like the photo below).

The sauce for this orzo is a really simple aglio et olio (olive oil and garlic). Again, you want to use a good quality extra virgin olive oil for this. 

Once the olive oil is hot we add the garlic and cook on a medium-low heat until fragrant and soft. Do not let the garlic burn or you’ll ruin it!

Next we add salt, lemon juice and dried chilli flakes and let cook for a few more minutes. When the orzo is cooked reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta water.

Drain the orzo and add to the pan with the garlic oil and pasta water, giving it a good stir until the orzo is coated in the sauce. 

Serve straight away and top with some fresh basil and vegan parmesan (Violife is my favourite).

This can easily be made into a pasta salad, just give it all a good mix and leave to sit for 20 minutes before serving. 

It will keep in the fridge for a few days, if you want to reheat it you can either use a microwave or heat in a pan on low-medium heat. 

For more pasta recipes you may also enjoy:

Roasted Red Pepper and Sundried Somato Pasta

Roasted Courgette Pesto Pasta

Tagliatelle Puy Lentil Ragu

As always if you make this roasted cherry tomato garlic orzo be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!

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