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This recipe is a regular in our Summer rotation! Summer recipes = grilled corn on the cobb! My husband is a huge fan of this dish warm and cold. Amazing recipe – thank you!
Valérie
Summer, summer, summerrrr.
This salad screams all things summer at me, and I am happy about it.
Currently, as I write this post, we are getting ready to pack up and head to the cabin with my family for a few days. Which also screams summer. If you live in the Midwest and you do the “up north” thing, you totally know this scene:
Cleaning out the fridge. Trying to locate your beach towels and swimsuit after 11 1/2 months in storage. Running the dishwasher and taking out the garbage. Sending bae to Caribou for a rooibos tea latte with almond milk (heyyy caffeine free) to sustain your packing energy. Without caffeine.
Doing a mental run-through on all electronic devices and related chargers – and this includes very important food electronics such as a blender and a spiralizer and a food processor because you know for a fact that there will be no such foodie luxuries at the cabin and you are confident enough to embrace your high maintenance food-loving ways. Planning to wear a cute outfit and do your hair but realizing you said you were going to leave an hour ago and you really don’t have time for that – plus, let’s be real, it’s the cabin and the only people you will see up there are, well, you won’t see anyone. Washing the sheets and making the bed so that you don’t hate life when you come back home again. Making sure you have that stuff that warm weather dwelling people wear when they go out in the sun – what do they call that again? Oh yeah, sunscreen. Do we even own sunscreen?
Packing up a cooler with odds and ends from the fridge or freezer that might be able to be made into a meal, because you are Midwestern and you are scrappy above all else. And finally, shoving a mash up of winter, fall, and summer clothing into a suitcase (up north can get cold, as you know) and grabbing your sunnies and running out the door, getting in the car, and driving off into the great UP NORTH LAND.
And then inevitably realizing you forgot something super important (no but seriously! it’s going to be such a long week without your almond butter) and then going back, and then leaving for real this time.
In the midst of all this pre-cabin chaos, we have THIS SALAD.
It’s very possible that I loved this salad so much because I was enormously hungry when I ate it last night amidst all the pre-trip planning and packing and last-minute chaos, but I also think I love it because it just completely embodies summer.
It’s fresh dill. AHHHHHHH fresh dill! I sort of forgot about dill for a few years there, but wow. Its flavor is nothing short of fresh and cooling and miraculous.
On top of the dill, it’s rotisserie chicken cut up into tiny pieces because you are in pre-cabin mode and rotisserie chicken is delicious. Go with it.
And because it’s summer and veggies taste better this time of year, it’s cucumbers and spinach and fresh sweet corn and just a little bit of that garlic bite that we love.
But in an effort not to get too veggie up in the house, it’s also goat cheese and WHOLE WHEAT ORZO. I have never in my life had whole wheat orzo until this moment and it is just everything. I literally stood over the stove just eating it, tossed with some straight up lemon juice olive oil sea salt magic, feeling only happy things because it’s whole wheat and it is the most fun shape/texture and it’s being paired with delicious whole foods and vegetables. Also see note about being enormously hungry.
So naturally, let’s finish it off with a heavy handed drizzle of lemon juice and olive oil sprinkled with salt and pepp. Right? SO RIGHT.
I hope you’re celebrating summer, whether it’s by going to the cabin to relax for a few days and/or making this salad in between all your rushing around.
Summer = this orzo salad = joy.
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Zippy Orzo Summer Salad
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 1x
Description
Orzo Summer Salad! With chicken and orzo, loaded with fresh veggies, and finished with a zippy lemon dressing and goat cheese.
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 1 cup uncooked orzo
- 1–2 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded or cut into small pieces
- 1–2 cups chopped cucumber
- 1–2 cups baby spinach
- 1–2 cups fresh sweet corn (3–4 ears), cut off the cob
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Crumbled goat cheese (optional)
For the Dressing:
- olive oil
- lemon juice
- a small bundle of fresh dill, minced
- a small bunch of green onions, sliced
- salt and pepp
Instructions
- Cook orzo according to package directions.
- Heat a little bit of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and the corn; saute until the corn is bright yellow and tender.
- Toss all ingredients together, including dill, green onions, and olive oil, lemon juice, goat cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot or cold. YUMMYYYYYY.
Notes
Nutrition label is based on 2 tbsp of lemon juice, 2 tbsp of olive oil, 1/4 cup dill, and 1/4 cup green onion for the dressing. If you really like sauce, you can up the amounts of lemon juice and olive oil to 1/4 cup.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: summer salad, orzo summer salad, orzo salad
MORE TASTY SALADS:
Glowing Grilled Summer Detox Salad
Super Clean Broccoli Salad
Winter Spa Salad with Lemon Chicken
Spicy Southwestern Salad with Avocado Dressing
The ultimate summer salad and one of my favorite PoY recipes of all time! I meal prep this every year for my first week of school lunches to ease back into teacher mode. It’s so fresh tasting but still comforting at the same time. When I don’t have time to run to Costco for a rotisserie chicken, I sub in a can of chickpeas as my protein and that works great as well!
I want to make this for four adults so I’m opting for the two-cup ingredient measurements. Can you give some more specific guidelines for the dressing amounts? This sounds like a perfect summer evening meal.
We’re a Pinch of Yum household with 75% or more of our meal plans being made up of recipes from Lindsay and team. We LOVE this pasta salad. It’s great for summer parties AND we love to make it in bulk on Sunday or early in the week( often with different pasta shapes like mini-bowties) and then use it for kid and adult lunches over the next few days. Make extra dressing to amp it up on leftover days or throw in extra spinach on adult portions. So good! An underrated POY gem!
Thank you so much for making our recipes!
Love this recipe – incredibly summery. Don’t be afraid of dill! I’ll probably use a bit more next time.
I made this tonight for the first time and served it to company…. Something I usually avoid doing as it can be so nerve-wracking! It was a hit. Everyone loved it and as we’re all watching our diets a bit, the fact that it is healthy and tastey was definitely appreciated.
I did make a couple tweaks since my husband hates cucumber and I don’t frequently buy rotisserie chicken. The night before, I roasted some chicken breasts (seasoned generously with dried basil, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper) and 3 small zucchini. I chipped them all up and used in place of the rotisserie chicken and cucumber. It was SO good! Tonight I officially wrote out the recipe with my changes and it’s going into my tried and true recipe book. I think it would even be great for bringing to pot lucks or bbqs!
So glad it was a hit, Carolyn! Thanks for the comment!
Made last night for dinner for teenage daughter and I. After the first bite she commented “the salad is really good”. Her benchmark is “not bad” – so I would call this recipe a keeper!
🎉
Can you use feta instead of goat cheese? I don’t like goat cheese but this sounds very good!
Sure!
My whole family loves this recipe… even my 2 year old!
Hey there, I was curious how much olive oil and lemon juice you use for this recipe?
yeah, my apologies but I don’t get it, no measurements for the dressing ingredience??? How can this be a successful result?
Hi Linda! Lindsay recommends a drizzle of olive oil. For the lemon, you could start the juice of 1/2 of the lemon, and then add more if needed.
Made this last night for dinner and it was fantastic. Added some slivered almonds for added crunch (yum!). But you guys, the leftovers today? EVEN BETTER. I think I’ll make this a day ahead now because letting it all marinate in the dill is amazing.
Extremely good and very easy to make!
Thinking about making this for an office party lunch. If I made it the day before and kept the dressing separate, simply adding it before serving, do you think it would keep well? Has anyone tried this with this particular salad or any other of Lindsey’s salads? Thanks for the help everyone!
Hi Erica! I’ve done this before and it works just fine. 🙂
I made this yesterday to take to the pool for dinner. Leftovers were just as delicious for lunch today! I think adding the dressing the day before would give it extra time for the flavors to mingle. Maybe place the spinach on top after you’ve mixed everything and then when you get to your lunch party, mix the spinach in with the rest.
This recipe is a regular in our Summer rotation! Summer recipes = grilled corn on the cobb! My husband is a huge fan of this dish warm and cold. Amazing recipe – thank you!
So glad to hear it, Valérie!
This recipe is amazing! I cook a ton and am constantly adding new recipes to my rotation. My family specifically requested that I make this weekly! I’ve shared it with so many. So tasty!
Glad to hear that, Beth!
Love and friendship
Very, very good! I’m impressed. I’m not much of a salad person and not easily impressed with salads, but I really enjoyed this and will definitely make it again. Bravo!
Made this tonight….unbelievable! Thanks so much for sharing
Looks so tasty! I can use canned sweet corn for this recipe, can’t i? Will it have any problem if i mix the butter on the corn while it was cooking on the skillet?
Hi Lita! Yes, canned corn is fine. Butter would be fine, but we really love the flavor of olive oil in this one!
Is this a good make ahead meal or does the spinach get funky too fast?
You can make most of it ahead of time, but I’d probably wait to add the spinach and cheese until serving!
Nevermind!!! My phone must have been doing something funny because I see them now. Thanks for this awesome recipe and many others!!
Am I missing Where the nutritional info is? I tried looking,for it and cannot find it.
This salad is favorite I’ve made it many times!
My husband wants me to meal plan count cals and macros…it’s always so helpful when nutritional are included!
oh my gosh my partner and I LOVE this!!! Thanks for sharing!
Lovely salad! Perfect for the spring!
This was so delicious! It was so fresh and light and filling and just wonderful! I made two changes, based on what we had on hand (canned chicken from Costco and feta instead of goat cheese) and it was perfect. I think this would be amazing as a side dish for some simple grilled/baked salmon (maybe just omit the chicken)! Thanks for sharing this recipe! 🙂
That does sound amazing! Glad you enjoyed it!
I made this last night and it was soooooo good. I foresee this being a summer staple. Thanks so much!
Awesome! Thanks for the comment! 🙂