Easy Orzo Salad with Crispy Tofu, roasted sweet potato, chopped kale, and fresh herbs. Balanced with protein, kid-friendly, and ideal for meal-prep. This healthy dish will quickly become one of your go-to weeknight dinners!
Make this veggie packed Orzo Salad ahead of time and enjoy it throughout the week. It's packed with nutrients, greens, and includes tofu for plant-based protein. This is a great meal for getting more veggies into your diet. Plus, it's easy to make, tastes incredible, and suitable for family dinners as kids love it too.
This was inspired by my healthy Vegan Roasted Veggie Orzo Salad on this site, as well as this flavor-packed Mexican-Inspired Street Corn Orzo Pasta Salad recipe.
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👩🏼🌾 Ingredients
- Kale is a nutrition superstar, loaded with vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Plus, it holds up to dressings much better than its leafy counterparts without becoming soggy. Lacinato or curly kale are both suitable for this Orzo Salad recipe.
- Extra-firm tofu or super-firm tofu works best for this dish. Press the tofu beforehand, or try to find super firm or sprouted tofu which is pre pressed. Nasoya and Wildwood are the brands I use. Plus, super firm tofu has the most plant-based protein of all the types of tofu.
- Fresh parsley adds even more nutrients and brightens this dish. Parsley has many vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that can provide important health benefits. It is a particularly rich source of vitamin K.
See recipe card for quantities.
🍠 Substitutions
- Orzo - substitute with farro, barley, couscous, quinoa, or brown rice instead
- Sweet potato - instead of sweet potato, use carrots, or butternut squash
- Kale - substitute with arugula, spinach, or more fresh herbs to change things up
- Cornstarch - use arrowroot instead as desired
- Parsley - substitute with cilantro, thyme, mint, basil, or any herbs you already have on hand
- Crushed red pepper - omit as desired
- Pepitas or pumpkin seeds - I added roasted pepitas for a delicious crunch. Plus, they are a good source of fiber, and heart healthy fats.
Try marinating your tofu beforehand with my '3 Easy Tofu Marinades in 10 Minutes' recipe for the easiest tofu meal prep. For more healthy salads with plant-based protein, visit my Vegan Salad Recipes page.
📖 Instructions
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Cook the orzo according to the directions on the packet until al dente. Drain and set aside.
Step 2. Transfer the tofu and sweet potato to a large bowl. Add the cornstarch and toss until evenly coated. Add a drizzle of olive oil, and salt, and toss to coat.
Step 3. Transfer the tofu and sweet potato to a large rimmed nonstick baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden.
Step 4. Chop the red onion and kale. Make sure to chop them small so they do not overwhelm this Orzo Salad. Plus, this way they will be more evenly incorporated throughout.
Step 5. Mix the olive oil, red wine vinegar, maple syrup, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper in a medium bowl. Press or grate the garlic into the bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 6. Transfer the orzo, kale, red onion, parsley, pepitas, tofu, and sweet potato to a large bowl. Mix to combine. Add the dressing to the Orzo Salad and crispy tofu, and toss until evenly coated.
💡 Expert Tips
- Cut the tofu and sweet potato evenly into ¾-inch cubes so they cook evenly and become crispy. Cornstarch adds even more crisp to them, but it is an optional ingredient.
- Chop the kale and red onion small. The Orzo Salad tastes best this way as there will be a mixture of veggies in each bite.
- To reduce the sharpness of the red onion, soak the cut onion in water for 10 minutes before adding it to the salad.
- Storage: Refrigerate any remaining Orzo Salad with Crispy Tofu in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
🙋🏽♀️ Recipe FAQs
Cook the orzo, drain, and set aside to cool. Toss it with a drizzle of olive oil so it does not stick together.
Bake the tofu and sweet potato, and chop the kale and red onion. Refrigerate the orzo in an airtight container, the sweet potato and tofu together in a separate container, and the kale and red onion in a third container. Alternatively, you can combine these ingredients and refrigerate them in one large container.
Make the dressing and refrigerate it in a separate airtight container. Add dressing for serving.
Orzo is a thin, rice-shaped pasta. It is classified as pastina or 'little pasta,' which is a category of very small pastas. It is often mistaken for rice because of its shape, but it is actually made from semolina, a type of flour that comes from durum wheat. Orzo is used widely in soups, but it is also great for salads.
Orzo is made from semolina flour. Semolina is coarser than traditional flour, and may be darker and more golden in color. The coarse texture of semolina, as opposed to the fine texture of white flour, makes it a healthier choice because it is absorbed more slowly. Plus, it contains nutrients like fiber, carbohydrates, and protein.
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👩🏽🍳 Made This Recipe?
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Try making this salad with my Orzo Rice instead of plain orzo. It has an incredibly delicious texture and I know you will enjoy it!
📖 Recipe
Orzo Salad with Crispy Tofu
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry orzo
- 7 ounces extra-firm tofu pressed and drained, cut into ½-inch cubes
- 1 large sweet potato cut into ¾-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot
- Drizzle of olive oil
- Salt to taste
- ⅓ cup finely chopped kale lacinato or curly
- ½ cup chopped red onion small dice
- ⅓ cup chopped parsley
- ⅓ cup roasted pepitas (optional)
For the dressing:
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- ¾ teaspoon Italian seasoning or a combination of dried basil, thyme and oregano
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 small cloves garlic
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
- Cook the orzo according to the directions on the packet until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Transfer the tofu and sweet potato to a large bowl. Add the cornstarch and toss until evenly coated. Add a generous drizzle of olive oil, and salt. Toss to coat evenly.
- Transfer the tofu and sweet potato to a large rimmed nonstick baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden.
- Mix the olive oil, red wine vinegar, maple syrup, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper in a medium bowl. Press or grate the garlic into the bowl. Season with salt. And pepper to taste.
- Transfer the orzo, kale, red onion, parsley, pepitas (if using), tofu, and sweet potato to a large bowl. Mix to combine. Add the dressing a toss until evenly coated.
Notes
- Cut the tofu and sweet potato evenly into ¾-inch cubes so they cook evenly and become crispy. Cornstarch adds even more crisp to them, but it is an optional ingredient.
- Chop the kale and red onion small. The Orzo Salad tastes best this way as there will be a mixture of veggies in each bite.
- To reduce the sharpness of the red onion, soak the cut onion in water for 10 minutes before adding it to the salad.
- Storage: Refrigerate any remaining Orzo Salad with Crispy Tofu in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
This information is provided as a courtesy and is an ESTIMATE only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased can change the nutritional information in any given recipe.
Diana
Your ingredients list is missing the kale and red onion
Nisha Melvani
Sorry -just updated the list.