I love this Cilantro Creamy Pasta Salad for so many reasons! It is packed with fresh veggies and avocado, and coated in my creamy cilantro dressing recipe. This recipe is also great for any celebration - such as showers, birthdays, or a backyard BBQ!
You get so much flavor from the crunchy cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, corn, and avocado mixed with orzo pasta. This is a popular recipe in the summer months because of all the fresh ingredients that can grown in your home garden.
I really enjoy homemade dressings because a lot of the time, store-bought dressings are either high in sodium or fat. By making them at home you can control the ingredients you put in it!
Jump to:
- Ingredients for Creamy Cilantro Dressing Recipe and Pasta Salad
- Instructions
- Substitutions/Variations
- Nutrition
- Equipment
- Storage
- Top tip: If you are preparing this pasta salad the day before, I highly recommend waiting to add the avocado until day off to prevent the avocado from browning. I also recommend waiting to mix the pasta salad and dressing together until right before serving too prevent the ingredients from becoming soggy.
- Cilantro Creamy Pasta Salad
Ingredients for Creamy Cilantro Dressing Recipe and Pasta Salad
Ingredients for the pasta salad:
- Orzo pasta - I love the texture of orzo pasta for whatever reason! Other pastas like farfalle or rigatoni would be good options.
- Corn kernels - I use frozen corn kernels but you can cook a few ears of corn and slice off the kernels if you prefer fresh!
- Red onion - Red onions give a pop of color and is not as strong of an onion taste like white or yellow onions.
- Cilantro - I snagged some of my neighbors cilantro for this! Nothing beats fresh herbs from the garden.
- Cherry tomatoes - I choose to do cherry tomatoes or even grape tomatoes because of my taste preferences.
- English cucumber - I prefer to use English or Persian cucumbers versus field cucumbers because they hold up better in a dressing and is more crunchy in my opinion.
- Avocado - Avocados add some smoothness and creaminess to the
- Lime - I used fresh lime juice but bottled would be just fine as well.
Ingredients for the cilantro dressing:
- Plain Greek yogurt - Most of the time I use full-fat Greek yogurt. I like how it has more protein than regular yogurt plus the fat helps your body absorb nutrients!
- Lime juice - Again, I used fresh but bottled would work!
- Cilantro - Fresh cilantro all the way! Feel free to use the whole bunch - stem and all! It will be blended together so you wouldn’t be able to tell plus the stems have more flavor.
- Olive oil - I use extra virgin olive oil, healthy fats help your body absorb nutrients!
- Garlic - When I am able to, I love to use fresh garlic and mince it but I also love to use jarred for the convenience!
- Cayenne - Adds a little bit of spice!
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
How to Make The Pasta Salad
Prep the orzo: Prepare the orzo noodles according to the box instructions. Allow the pasta to cool after being drained and rinsed.
Prep the vegetables: While the orzo is cooking, start prepping the vegetables. Halve the cherry tomatoes, microwave the frozen corn, dice the cucumber, red onion, and avocado, and finely chop the cilantro.
Combine in a mixing bowl: Place the cooled orzo and chopped vegetables into a large mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice over top and mix.
How to Make The Creamy Cilantro Dressing Recipe
Blend it all together: In a blender add the cilantro, olive oil, lime juice, plain Greek yogurt, garlic, salt, and cayenne and blend until completely smooth.
Add to the noodles and vegetables: Pour the creamy cilantro lime dressing recipe over the noodles and vegetables and toss until the salad is well coated. Enjoy!
Hint: If you want to prep some of the recipe the day before, make the creamy cilantro dressing and store in the fridge!
Substitutions/Variations
Gluten-free: Try Barilla’s chickpea orzo instead of the regular orzo! Or any other gluten-free pasta that you enjoy. Everything else is gluten-free friendly!
Add some meat: Add some crispy turkey bacon bits to the pasta salad to add some more flavor and protein!
Nutrition
By using Greek yogurt, you are increasing the protein content of the dish. High protein intake is very popular right now, and for a good reason! Protein helps build and repair your muscles and is very satiating.
This pasta salad is packed with fiber, vitamins, and minerals from all the vegetables! Many people have a hard time getting enough vegetables in but this is a fun and very flavorful way to meet your vegetable intake.
Equipment
When I make homemade salad dressings, I love to use my Magic Bullet! It is much smaller than your big blenders and I put everything but the blade piece in the dishwasher! You can also use a food processor or immersion blender if you have one.
Storage
Storing pasta salad is pretty easy!
- Use an Airtight Container: Store your pasta salad in an airtight container to keep it from drying out.
- Keep It Cool: Refrigerate your pasta salad as soon as possible. Ideally, it should be stored at a temperature below 40°F (4°C).
- Add Dressing Later: If possible, store the dressing separately and mix it with the pasta salad just before serving. This keeps the pasta from getting too soggy.
- Pasta salad is best enjoyed within 3-5 days. If it starts to smell off or looks questionable, it’s better to toss it.
Top tip: If you are preparing this pasta salad the day before, I highly recommend waiting to add the avocado until day off to prevent the avocado from browning. I also recommend waiting to mix the pasta salad and dressing together until right before serving too prevent the ingredients from becoming soggy.
Looking for other recipes? Try these:
Cilantro Creamy Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 10 ounces orzo pasta cooked and cooled
- 12 ounces frozen corn kernels
- ½ red onion diced
- ¼ cup cilantro finely chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- ½ English cucumber diced
- 1 avocado diced
- 1 lime juiced
Creamy Cilantro Dressing
- ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- ½ cup cilantro roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 garlic clove minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne
Instructions
- Prepare the orzo noodles according to the box instructions. Allow the pasta to cool after being drained and rinsed.
- While the orzo is cooking, start prepping the vegetables. Halve the cherry tomatoes, microwave the frozen corn, dice the cucumber, red onion, and avocado, and finely chop the cilantro.
- Place the cooled orzo and chopped vegetables into a large mixing bowl. Add the lime juice over top and mix.
- In a blender add the cilantro, olive oil, lime juice, plain Greek yogurt, garlic, salt, and cayenne and blend until completely smooth.
- Pour the dressing over the noodles and vegetables and toss until the salad is well coated. Enjoy!
Lauren jarvis
So so yummy! Made it without corn (because my dad doesn’t like it) and it was still delicious!
Katharine @ Be Well Table
Love that! Glad you all liked it so much!