Bring this Mixed Berry Caprese Orzo Salad to your next picnic, BBQ or get together. Orzo pasta is mixed with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, mozzarella cheese, fresh basil and mint and topped with a light, lemony dressing. 

Mixed Berry Caprese Orzo Salad

How beautiful is this Mixed Berry Caprese Orzo Salad? Does it make you excited for summer?

Even though you can’t tell by the weather in Cleveland, the time for picnics and BBQs is fast approaching. I love the warmer months of the year when we can grill out in our backyard and eat all of summer’s best produce and fresh herbs. Memorial Day will be here before we know it and that means we need to start thinking about all of those delicious pasta salads to pair with our meals, right?

I have a love for pasta salads for many reasons.

They are great for a big group of people. Pasta salads can easily be doubled, customized and eaten for lunches throughout the week. This Mixed Berry Caprese Orzo Salad would be a bright, beautiful addition to any meal or BBQ. With the patriotic colors I can see it at a Memorial Day or 4th of July party.

I have a few orzo pasta salads that are my go-to recipes including this Greek Orzo Pasta Salad and this Summer Orzo Pasta Salad.  They are always a huge hit when I bring them to a get together. Today’s Mixed Berry Caprese Orzo Salad combines blackberries, strawberries and blueberries with orzo pasta, fresh basil and mint and buffalo mozzarella cheese. I created the light, lemon dressing using extra virgin olive oil, honey, Nielsen-Massey Pure Vanilla Extra and Pure Lemon Extract to give it a touch of lemon flavor.

For those that aren’t familiar with Nielsen-Massey Vanillas they have been crafting vanillas for over a century.  They understand that vanilla tastes best when its natural essence is allowed to shine. That’s why in producing their vanilla extracts, they use a proprietary cold extraction process instead of heat extraction. Their passion extends to the bean itself! They examine all of their vanilla-bundle by bundle, bean to bean- to ensure each bean meets our high standard. They only use the highest quality beans which makes me very happy, and you can tell in their vanillas.

They also made the very specific choice to only use beans from the finest growing regions: Madagascar, Mexico and Tahiti. And to showcase the unique flavor profiles of vanillas grown in different regions, they offer origin specific vanilla extracts from Madagascar, Mexico and Tahiti.  Beyond their extracts, you’ll find this same level of commitment and attention to detail prevalent in the production of their vanilla beans, sugars, powders and pastes. Additionally, all of their products are Gluten-Free, Allergen-Free, GMO-Free and Kosher, and we also have a line of Organic vanillas.

To learn more about the types of vanilla to use for certain types of cooking and recipes go to this website

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Nielsen-Massey Vanilla’s vanilla and lemon extract work perfectly in this light, sweet salad but they also work great in so many other recipes from baked goods, to salads, to even a marinade for a grilling recipe.

I don’t know about you, but I am ready to start thinking about summer, beautiful salads like this Mixed Berry Caprese Orzo Salad and grilling out in my backyard!

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Mixed Berry Caprese Orzo Salad

Yield: 5

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Bring this Mixed Berry Caprese Orzo Salad to your next picnic, BBQ or get together. Orzo pasta is mixed with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, mozzarella cheese, fresh basil and mint and topped with a light, lemony dressing.

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Ingredients

• 6 oz. orzo pasta, cooked according to package {you can use whole wheat or gluten-free}
• 6 oz. blackberries
• 6 oz. blueberries
• 8 oz. strawberries, sliced {about 1 1/2 cup of sliced strawberries}
• 4 oz. fresh buffalo mozzarella {I used cherry sized}, sliced in half {about 2/3 cup of mozzarella}
• 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil, sliced
• 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh mint, sliced

For the dressing:

• 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Pure Lemon Extract
• 1/4 teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 teaspoon honey {more or less depending on the sweetness you want}

Instructions

1. Cook the orzo according to the package. Run under cold water once it is done cooking and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl put the blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, fresh mozzarella, basil and mint and stir gently to combine.
3. In a small mason jar combine the olive oil, vanilla extract, lemon extract and honey and shake to combine.
4. Pour the dressing over the salad and gently toss to combine. Refrigerate the salad for an hour before serving or you can serve it at room temperature.

Notes

Feel free to mix up the fruit if you would like by adding raspberries, peaches or nectarines or whatever is in season.

With the dressing you may have to add a bit more of the olive oil and honey once the salad sits for a bit. Sometimes the dressing gets soaked into the salad.

This salad is great with feta cheese instead of mozzarella as well.

For more recipe inspiration follow Nielsen-Massey Vanillas.

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Thanks to Nielsen-Massey Vanillas for sponsoring today’s post! I was compensated by Nielsen-Massey Vanillas for my time in developing this recipe and post. As always all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that allow me to create unique and exciting recipes.