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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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This was a perfect summer salad. We ate it as a main dish. Very good and light. I did make 50% more dressing, however which was perfect.
I’m so glad it was a hit!! Yup, definitely easy to tweak the dressing. Thanks for your review, Trudy! 🙂
I made this tonight and it was super tasty! I didn’t have a red onion so I added a little Dijon to the dressing to try to make up for the missing pizzaz. Really enjoyed it. Took the suggestion and mixed the arugula in when serving so I can enjoy over a few days. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome!! I’m so happy you liked it!
We made this for a large and inexpensive dinner on vacation in Hawaii and LOVED IT! Thank you!
That’s awesome!! So glad you guys enjoyed it. 😀
I made this recipe. I thought it was good! I life arugula so I ate some with it. My husband thought it was a side salad, so we’re have it with fish tonight. I used Banza rice instead of orzo for more protein.
I’m glad that you enjoyed it!!
Omg! This was excellent. Had as leftovers for a couple of days and forgot the arugula. Didn’t miss it actually. Soooo good. Will definitely make again.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Lori!! 🙂 Thanks for letting me know!
Great easy one dish recipe. I added a can of chick peas and tripled the dressing. I kept the arugula in a separate dish without dressing. I put 1/2 the dressing on the chicken, orzo and veggies and kept 1/2 for people to add with the arugula. Loved this dish and will make it again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Louise!!
Excellent yummy fresh pasta salad. Quick and easy. Was a huge hit with everyone. Didnt change a thing. Will be making again for sure
Oops, I did change one thing. I almost doubled the amount of Lemon juice the recipe called for.
Yup, definitely a good idea to tweak ingredients to your liking. 🙂
Fantastic! So pleased you enjoyed it, Rachel!
My family loved this salad! Very light and summery. I substituted Dijon mustard for the garlic, used honey roasted rotisserie chicken, and feta instead of the Parmesan. They all agreed it was a keeper! Thanks for the great recipe!
Fantastic!! Sounds delicious. Thank you!
We all loved it. So fresh and so tasty.
Fantastic!! Thank you, Pia.
If you are meal prepping and don’t eat it right away do you reheat it or eat it cold?
It’s not hot to begin with, so yeah it’s great for meal prepping and eating cold. I recommend adding the arugula just prior to serving or leaving it out altogether if meal prepping (it’s in the recipe notes).