This colorful orzo and chicken main dish salad is packed with an assortment of chopped fresh vegetables and tossed with a tangy lemon dressing.  It's a great use for leftover or rotisserie chicken.

Lemony Orzo-Veggie Salad with Chicken

orzo

lemon rind

lemon juice

olive oil

salt

garlic

honey

black pepper

shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast

English cucumber

prechopped red bell pepper

green onions

dill

(2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese

Cook orzo according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain and place in a large bowl.


While orzo cooks, combine lemon rind and next 6 ingredients (through black pepper), stirring well with a whisk. Drizzle juice mixture over orzo; toss to coat. Add chicken and next 4 ingredients (through dill); toss gently to combine. Sprinkle with cheese.


Good use for leftover produce, but I wouldn't go out of my way to make this again. It lacked seasoning. 

Simple and tasty and a great use of summer produce. I did think it was a tiny bit dry - might make more dressing if I try this again.

i added one can each drained and rinsed black beans and garbanzo beans &amp; 1 cup corn and doubled dressing to insure it was moist the following day.  We make this every other week and love it!

I was so excited for this, but I just didn't love it.  I love dill, but this was all dill and nothing else.  It was just missing something.  For those who said it wasn't very filling, It is only 275 calories per serving, which is not really a 'meal' for most people.  I made it 3 servings at 367 calories each, which I found to be a light and satisfying lunch.

I made this for supper tonight, followed the recipe to the "T" and it was perfect!  I omitted the chicken and partnered it up with ranch oven baked chicken.  The portion is perfect and have enough left over for two for lunch tomorrow!

I agree with the other reviewers that this is a very tasty salad. However, as one other person put it, it is not very filling. It doesn't work as a main dish. It was supposed to serve four people and two of us ate almost all of it in one sitting. 

Loved this recipe...so good!  Very easy to make.  I had a baked whole chicken left over from the night before in the refrigerator so having that cold and ready, it made making this very easy and quick.  I will definitely make this again. .  

I just made this and it's really tasty!  It took a little more time than I like for making a salad but I guess that's because I baked a huge chicken breast myself.  I added capers on top!  Yum.

This is really simple to make and tastes fantastic! I've made it for picnics and gathering and everyone loves it!

I made this tonight for the first time.  My husband and I loved it!!! I made just a few changes~   I did not add any cheese or dill.  The recipe was light and yummy.  I will be making this again

We love this salad!  I make it for potlucks, picnic nights, pool days, and dinners at home.  A great one to pack and take and tastes better the next day.

 Lemon Orzo Salad from Cooking Light magazine﻿! This was a nice, light summer-ish salad that I highly recommend! http://heatskitchen.blogspot.com/2013/07/lemon-orzo-salad.html 

Made this last night with some leftover chicken and it was delicious.  Best of all it is super easy to make.  Ate it today for lunch served cold and it was almost better, because the flavors had time to sit and blend overnight.  Yum!  Will definitely make this again.  Would also consider serving it as a side dish at a summer potluck, but would probably switch out the goat cheese for something else, since not everyone is a fan of this tangy cheese.

This is awesome.  Too awesome, I ate twice the recommeded serving size.

We loved this light and refreshing dish!  It is being added to our monthly meal plan.  Even the kids liked this!

We absolutely love this recipe and it is a weekly meal for us.  I also added a bit more lemon juice and honey along with grape tomatoes and arugula.

VERY NICE DISH... Light and healthy with wonderful flavor - Absolutely Delicious!  Will put on our "rotation" list of recipes.  My only change will be to add a little more lemon juice, olive oil and honey.  Mixture seemed a little on the dry side; and instead of goat cheese, I used feta.

I'm always looking for ways to use left over grilled chicken and this was absolutely perfect!  I substituted grape tomatoes for the cucumbers and used orange bell pepper for a color contrast.  I used Chavrie goat cheese which is creamy and mild.  Really good flavors especially after combining for a couple of hours.  This is a new favorite pasta salad!

I made this recipe as a side dish without the chicken, and it was good.  I used fresh basil instead of dill, and feta in place of the goat cheese.  I will make this again, but increase the amount of dressing - it seemed a little dry.

I liked this recipe, but be careful with the lemon and spices because the next day it can be overpowering.
I ended up adding an extra tablespoon of olive oil in the end so it would stay moist the next day.
Also added less dill as the first time I made it, the next day the dill was overpowering. 
I include baby tomatos sliced in half. And used crumbled feta instead of goat cheese.
All in all, I like this recipe and recommend it to others. This would be great at a summer cookout and at room temp its still very tasty.

This is a tasty, feel-good dish, especially in warm weather. Not the most filling the world, but more than satisfactory on the taste buds.

So wonderful. this has been my summer salad that I make for cookouts or potlucks or having a casual dinner with friends.  

I double the dressing.  Enjoy!

Very good.  I didn't have enough orzo so I used a harvest blend of grains and red onion instead of green but it was excellent.  Will make it many more times.
We had sliced tomatoes and foccacio bread with it.

This was great. I did it without the chicken and added extra veggies. Swapped the goat cheese for FF Feta and it was delicious! It was perfect for our annual block party and was easily doubled. It was definitely better made ahead a few hours though, so take the time to make it in advance.

Loved this and would make this again for a picnic or potluck.  Reminded me of a wonderful pasta salad.  Fresh and lively.

Great summer dish. Didnt have goat cheese but substituted Feta. Also added yellow cherry tomatoes for more taste and color. I served this as part of a salad supper with fruit salad, caprice salad and Greek slaw. It's a keeper!

wow! this was absolutely yummy! so perfect for a light summer dish! I followed the recipe except added extra dill, no red peppers(not a fan) and didn't have the goat cheese. It was so good I immediately made a second batch just to have in fridge.

Good, light pasta salad for a hot summer evening.  Followed recipe except I subbed in feta cheese (no one likes goat cheese!) and used fresh basil from my garden rather than the dill.  Looking forward to the leftovers for lunch today!!

Very easy to make..followed the recipe exactly...it was perfect and light for a hot summers night

Outstanding! The taste stays fresh even as leftovers the next day.

We thought this was delicious - and fresh and easy. A great addition to the summer weeknight meals.

lemony orzo-veggie salad with chicken

Total: 20 minutes

Servings: 2.5

Author : Ivy Manning

Ingredients

Instructions

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