Lemon Chicken Orzo Salad

This easy Lemon Chicken Orzo Salad recipe features chewy little pasta bites, flavorful chicken and veggies, cubed feta, kalamata olives, and herbs - all folded together in a bright lemon dressing. It's colorful and yummy, the perfect light-yet-hearty summer salad!

📝 Ingredients

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon Morton kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken tenders
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Morton kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 pound uncooked orzo
• 2 cups thinly sliced Persian cucumbers ((or another small variety of cucumber))
• 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 1 cup halved, pitted kalamata olives
• 8 ounces block feta, (cut into 1/2" cubes (about 2 cups))
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs of choice
• 6 fresh lemon wedges

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- Dressing ---
2. 2Combine all dressing ingredients in a large salad bowl.
3. 3--- Chicken ---
4. 4Evenly coat chicken with olive oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over chicken.
5. 5Set your grill, grill pan, or skillet to medium to medium-high heat. Cook chicken until cooked through, turning as needed, 8-12 minutes total. Remove chicken to a cutting board and let rest for a few minutes before chopping it into bite-size pieces.
6. 6--- Salad ---
7. 7While chicken is cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add orzo and boil gently, until orzo is al dente. Drain. Then add hot orzo to the salad bowl with the dressing, and toss to combine.
8. 8Add chopped chicken, cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, olives, feta, and herbs to the salad bowl. Toss again to combine evenly.
9. 9Serve warm, right away (my favorite!), with lemon wedges to squeeze over the top of individual portions. Or store in the fridge and then serve cold. The salad will develop more flavor as it sits. The orzo will also soak up more of the dressing as it sits, so I like to squeeze a little more fresh lemon juice over any leftovers before eating.