Simple Vegan Orzo Salad with roasted broccoli, chickpeas, and almonds.
I am a huge fan of orzo salads. They are always quick and easy to make, perfectly customizable, and the result is so satisfying! In today’s version we have some oven roasted broccoli florets, apple and red onion slices, chickpeas, toasted almonds, and a zesty garlic-cashew dressing. Great for serving as a main dish or side.
It’s gonna be a quick post today, because I’m just about to leave to travel through Europe tomorrow. Since Laika doggie joined the family, traveling got a little more complicated, because we can’t go for a long trip with him by train, bus or plane yet. So the only thing left is a good ol’ boring car ride.
A friend of mine is having her wedding in Romania this weekend, so we rented a car and plan to drive over 4000 km all together in the next days, visiting my parents in Hungary on the way too. It’s gonna be interesting, but I hope everything will work at the end. So far Laika really enjoyed car rides, so we have high hopes that he’ll be able to handle such a long way too. We got him a lots of new toys, an ikea bag full of his favorite snacks, plus of course we plan to drive maximum 5-8 hours a day, so he won’t get too bored on the way.
Once he made the trip, the only things left are to hope that 1, they won’t hate each other with my family’s dog, and that 2, he can behave well in a wedding situation, where apparently some other dogs will be too. So cross your fingers for us please, it’s gonna be an exciting little time for us.
Orzo Salad w/ Roasted Broccoli
Before I leave I still wanted to share a recipe with you. I made this orzo salad a while ago first, when I had a massive obsession with roasted broccoli, but it’s still a huge favorite in my kitchen nowadays. Mainly because this salad is so easy to make, plus because the flavors work really well together here.
What’s also nice about this salad, is that you can eat it both cold or warm, so you can easily prepare a huge batch, then eat it throughout the week. Especially, because the salad tastes even better once the orzo soaked up all the dressing!
As always, feel free to add in any of your favorite extras, or just substitute anything you don’t like for something else. My personal favorite add-ins are: Tofu Feta Cheese, fresh herbs, beluga lentils, or toasted pine nuts.
If you try this recipe, let me know! I would highly appreciate if you could leave a comment and rate it. Also don’t forget to take a picture and tag it on Instagram (use the hashtag #greenevi) or post it on Facebook! I love seeing what you come up with! ♥︎
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Orzo Salad w/ Roasted Broccoli
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 2-4 1x
Ingredients
1 small head of broccoli
1 tbsp lemon juice
200 g/7 oz orzo
1.5 cups cooked chickpeas
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 apple, thinly sliced
1/2 cup toasted almonds
salt, pepper
for the dressing:
2 tbsp cashew butter (or use tahini, almond or sunflower butter)
1 lemon, juice+zest
1 tbsp mustard
1 tsp maple syrup
1 garlic, minced
salt, pepper
Instructions
- Cut broccoli into florets, and place in a single layer on a baking tray. Drizzle with lemon juice, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 200°C/400°F for 20-25 minutes, tossing halfway, or until cooked through and lightly charred.
- Meanwhile prepare orzo according to package instructions. Drain and let cool a bit.
- For the dressing whisk together dressing ingredients. Adjust consistency with a few tablespoons of water, if needed.
- Add slightly cooled orzo, chickpeas, onion, apple, almonds, and roasted broccoli to a large bowl. Drizzle with dressing, and mix well. Serve immediately warm, or chilled at room temperature. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
Healthy and yummy! Have fun traveling through Europe, Evi. That’s a very handsome dog!
Thanks for this delicious recipe! Only had barley, so I used that instead of couscous. Great flavors!!
Barley sounds like a lovely option too! 🙂
Thanks, Angie! 🙂
The salad looks great.
Your dog is gorgeous. I think he will be happy with the long drive. My dogs is used to it and he travels even more than 8h if necessary. Not too often because it will be too much for him and for us as well. The only thing to consider is that his schedule is important, if you have one. My dog has his breakfast and dinner at specific hours and we do our best to adjust the schedule so he eats at a similar time when we travel. Also, I never give him toys in the car because I want him to relax and snooze or watch the cars, not to play. In the almost 10 years we’ve had him, he has travelled loads of time and it is ok for him. I hope your journey will be smooth and delightful.
Thank you so much, this was super helpful!
I prepared to entertain him the whole time, but just read your comment when we got in the car, so I decided I try not giving him toys at all, and it worked so well. We spent around 50 hours in the car all together, and he was pretty much sleeping the whole time, it was amazing. Now he connects car rides with sleeping, so he immediately starts to sleep when we get in the car. 🙂
Thanks again for your tips, Anca!
That salad made me want to reach out and grab it off the screen 😛 Loving each every element of this beautiful and delicious salad.
Thank you!
I often dream about that reach-and-grab-off-the-screen function too 😀