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This lemon orzo salad recipe is a fresh, healthy, and colorful summer salad with chicken that’s a breeze to make! It’s ready in about 30 minutes.
Try this Easy Italian Pasta Salad or Avocado Corn Salad next.
Why you’ll love it
Orzo is extremely popular lately, so I’m thrilled to bring you even more recipes with it. You loved this Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup, so I’ve come up with this irresistible orzo salad with chicken and fresh vegetables and a quick lemon honey dressing that’s simple to make.
This bright lemon orzo pasta salad is easily customizable and lends itself to substitutions or additions. My mantra has always been that summer recipes like salads should be fuss-free. Enjoy this one outside on the patio with a glass of prosecco, or use it for meal prep!
What you’ll need
For the salad
- Orzo – you’ll find this small rice-shaped pasta in the dry pasta aisle
- Cucumbers – I prefer using mini (Persian) cucumbers, but if you can’t find them, half a regular English one works just fine
- Tomatoes – use grape, cherry, or any little tomato variety
- Onion – red onion is the ideal kind for salads since it’s less sharp than other varieties and packs a crunch
- Arugula – for some green goodness
- Chicken – I just bought a rotisserie chicken for ease, but if you’ve got a leftover Roast Chicken, that’s great too
- Parmesan – always use freshly grated
- Basil – for a pop of freshness
For the dressing
- Lemon – we’re using both lemon juice and zest for ultimate brightness
- Olive oil – a good base to any salad dressing
- Honey – for a hint of sweetness and balance
- Garlic – use even more if you’re a big fan of garlic!
- Salt & pepper – as with any pasta salad, it’s important to be generous
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- I like to use this garlic press to mince it since you don’t even need to peel the cloves first, and a Microplane is great to effortlessly zest/grate the lemon and parmesan.
- One of these large glass prep bowls is pictured.
- Store the rest of your lemon in this cute lemon saver for freshness.
Make ahead tip
If you want to make this salad ahead of time or for meal prep, I suggest leaving out the arugula. That way, it’ll last in the fridge a few days no problem. Just mix in the arugula and toss with the dressing when you’re ready to eat it.
How to make lemon orzo salad
This is an overview, and full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Boil a salted pot of water, and cook the orzo al dente. Rinse with cool water, drain, and transfer the pasta to a large bowl.
- Prep and chop all the salad ingredients and add to the bowl.
- Add the dressing ingredients to a jar or small bowl and mix thoroughly. Toss the salad with the dressing, and enjoy!
Substitutions and variations
- This salad is very forgiving. Feel free to throw in any fresh herbs you may have in the garden, swap the arugula for spinach, can be vegetarian without the chicken, etc.
- I use a rotisserie chicken for this recipe, but you can definitely quickly cook some chicken if you have some. Try pan frying it with your favorite seasoning, and it’ll be delicious.
- Kalamata olives and/or capers would go great in here if you’re a fan for a briny quality.
What to serve with orzo salad
- It makes a fantastic lighter main course, so it’s perfect on its own or with a slice of crusty bread.
- You can also leave out the chicken, and then it makes a perfect complement for seafood recipes such as my Easy Pan Seared Salmon Recipe or these Tequila Lime Shrimp.
Leftovers and storage
- As mentioned above, this orzo salad will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days no problem if you leave out the arugula.
- If this salad has been sitting out in the sun for any amount of time, I’d eat it right away or discard it for food safety reasons.
More pasta salad recipes
Leave me a comment below if you have any questions or if you made this orzo salad. As always, tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram if you’ve made one of my recipes!
Lemon Orzo Salad with Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked orzo
- 2 mini cucumbers (or 1/2 English cucumber) chopped
- 1 cup little tomatoes (grape/cherry/etc.) cut into quarters
- 2 tablespoons red onion chopped
- 2 cups (loosely packed) fresh arugula optional
- 2 cups cooked/rotisserie chicken
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil sliced thin
Dressing:
- 1.5 tablespoons lemon juice + zest of 1 lemon
- 2.5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 clove garlic minced
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil a salted pot of water and cook the orzo al dente according to package directions. Once it's done, rinse it with cool water and let it drain thoroughly. Transfer to a large bowl.
- Meanwhile, prep all the salad ingredients and add them to the bowl. If you're not going to eat the salad right away, I suggest skipping the arugula.
- Add the dressing ingredients to a jar or small bowl, and whisk/shake until well combined.
- Toss the salad with the dressing. Add more lemon/oil if needed. I also add plenty of salt & pepper – there's a lot of pasta in here, so you need to salt it well so it doesn't taste bland.
Notes
- This recipe makes quite a lot of pasta salad. If served with nothing else, this could serve 4 adults. You can easily get 6+ servings out of this. If you know you’re going to have leftovers, I suggest either leaving out the arugula or only tossing it with the portion of the salad you’ll be eating right away. Without arugula, this salad will last in the fridge for a few days no problem.
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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If making ahead, what do you think about adding in the arugula just before serving?
I suggest that in the recipe notes, so yes lol. It’ll definitely work. 🙂 Hope you enjoy the salad!
I absolutely devoured this! Such a perfect spring lunch! (I spaced on picking up cucumber at the market and it was still delicious)
I’m thrilled you enjoyed it, Frédérique 🙂
This is so good!!! Trying to cut out meat so ommited that and I changed it up a bit by only adding 1/4 cup parm, no cucumber or onion , subbed spinach for arugula, and used sundried tomatoes. It was amazing!!! Love all of your recipes!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! Thank you!
My plan was to have this lovely salad for a dinner party outdoors yesterday. However, the weather disagreed & a cold plate didn’t seem appropriate. Long story short, I doubled the dressing, omitted the cucumber & served this as a hot dish. It was a DELISH! It got raves & was truly tasty.
Thanks for yet another versatile crowd pleaser.
Ooh love that idea!! So glad you were able to pivot 🙂
I found the salad good but not fantastic. A little on the bland side as there was nothing the came forward …and I made it per the recipe. I would definitely add more lemon to the dressing. And feta instead of Parmesan cheese. Also some pitted black olives.
Really enjoyed this!!!
Excellent!! 🙂 Thanks for letting me know, Joy!
Loved this salad and will definitely make it again. I doubled the dressing, because I find pasta always soaks it right up. Added sliced kalamata olives. Soooooo good! Thanks for the recipe! We will enjoy this all summer.
I’m so glad you liked it, Donna!! Yup, the pasta definitely soaks it up.
This is so yummy and so easy! Im out of parmesan so I substituted it with feta, and I’m happy with the outcome. Thank you for another recipe that hits it out of the park! XOXO
I’m so glad you liked it!! Thank you 🙂
Absolutely will make this for July 4th patty!! Looks so yummy!
Yay!! Let me know if you do!
Hi,
I agree with the point of recipes needing to be fuss free during this season.
I’d love to try this as it seems an innovative way to present pasta with less effort.
My query is that is there any possibility to substitute Orzo with any other form of pasta?
Thanks.
Hi! I would normally say “yes”, but my concern is that there may not be enough dressing if you do that. The orzo is pretty compact, and large pasta shapes may not work as well with the listed ingredient quantities. It is a pretty forgiving salad, though, so if you’re willing to do a few tweaks (if needed), then I don’t see why you couldn’t give it a try. 🙂
You could try Acini de Pepe pasta. I find it to be a good substitute.
An absolute favorite! Already made this salad 3 times!!! Light and flavorful. Thanks for helping me look like a hero in the kitchen🥰
That’s wonderful! Thanks so much for commenting. 🙂 XO