Nothing is as refreshingly delicious as a bowl of Lemon Spinach Orzo Salad during the spring and summer months. Perfect for lunch at work, a light dinner, or for a picnic.
We recently trekked out to Iowa in our party van (aka, Mom’s minivan overflowing with all the boys, DVD’s, books, and snacks. Lots of snacks.)
One of our boys has been in competitive soccer for the last couple of years, and traveling out of state is part and parcel of weekend tournaments. We’ve spent countless weekends out on baseball and soccer fields for the not-so-little Littles in the past few years.
However. Last weekend’s Iowa tourney was the first time we stood out there that drenched with rain and that whipped with wind.
It wasn’t kind-of raining; it was pouring. With a fun bonus of 30-40 mph gusty winds the entire weekend. For 2 days, we all stood shivering and drenched and cheering. Of course, nobody dared called the games, so onward we went like that. For two. Days.
The soaked boys fought fiercely for the championship and brought their victory home. They were beyond thrilled.
Me…well, I pretty much decided Hubby will go without me next time there’s a storm; no coin flipping needed.
I promise to have the best chocolate chip cookies baked up when they return. And a healthy Lemon Spinach Orzo Salad to balance it all out…
We’ve been back on our orzo fest once spring officially hit. If you haven’t tried this fantastic Lemon Basil Orzo with Chicken, you’ll want to bookmark it immediately. It will come in super handy this spring/summer, guaranteed.
Orzo looks and even feels like rice, but it’s pasta all the way. The kiddos love it, and it’s a blast putting it in everything from orzo soup to salads.
This here 20-Minute Lemon Spinach Orzo Salad has got it going on. It’s quick, easy, light, and fully satisfying. You’ll feel great about serving it up for a healthy lunch or dinner. It’s perfection at any picnic or spring-summer potluck.
Make the dressing a day or two ahead of time, and you’ll have this dish ready in no time.
Pssst…you can absolutely add bacon to it if you want. 😇
20-Minute Lemon Spinach Orzo Salad
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 8 mins
- Total Time: 18 mins
- Yield: 6-8 1x
- Category: side, salad
Description
Nothing is as refreshingly delicious as a bowl of Lemon Spinach Orzo Salad during the spring and summer months. Perfect for lunch at work, a light dinner, or for a picnic.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry orzo pasta
- 5 TB fresh lemon juice
- zest of 1 lemon
- 3 TB extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tsp pure honey
- 1 tsp coarse ground or whole seed mustard
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 4 cups baby spinach leaves
- 1 cup diced/sliced cucumber
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup feta cheese
- Optional: 1/2 cup crumbed bacon, 1/2 cup toasted nuts (almonds or pecans work well)
Instructions
- In a heavy pot of well-salted water, cook orzo just until al dente. Drain and rinse; Toss with 1 TB olive oil to prevent sticking; set aside.
- While orzo is cooking, make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, zest, 2 TB olive oil, honey, mustard, kosher salt, pepper, garlic, and shallots (dressing can also be made ahead of time; cover and keep chilled until ready to use.)
- Gently toss dressing with orzo. Add remaining ingredients and gently toss to combine well. Sprinkle with bacon and/or nuts, if desired.
Source: Chew Out Loud
Kitchen Essentials:
Pasta ‘n Salad…
- Pesto Pasta Salad with Grilled Chicken
From your photos it looks like you have some mustard seeds in the dressing. Do you use any stong ground mustard as an emulsifier? I don’t see it on the ingredient list. Thanks!
Karen, good catch, thank you! I updated recipe to reflect 1 tsp whole seed mustard 🙂 Hope you love this!