Pasta Salad – Nutrient Dense – Orzo

Pasta Salad – Nutrient Dense – Orzo

This has been my husbands all time favorite pasta salad I’ve made. As he was eating it he just kept saying “wow”, then take a bite, “wow”. Its light, nutrient dense and filling all at the same time.

Nutrient Dense Orzo Pasta Salad.

The favorite salad of the summer. Its filling, full of vegetables and protein? Win, win, win. Salads are one of my number one cravings this summer and I cant stop myself from making them. But I don’t want to have the same salad everyday or multiple times a week so I try to change it up. I proved myself wrong with this salad because I want to make it on the weekly and make sure theirs enough for tomorrow. If you are new here you should know my husband is my number one support and the most honest critique, which I value greatly. He said while he was eating this ‘that it was by far his favorite salad so far’. You need to try this. Remember to follow my Pinterest so you can easily save recipes and have a spot to find them all your favorites. I also have the video up on my IG, where I share a bunch of recipes that aren’t yet on the blog. So, feel free to head over there too and check it out. 🙂

Nutrient Dense?

What about this salad makes it nutrient dense? Well, I made sure to add a bunch of different vegetables for all the healthy nutrients and load it with chicken for the protein. Why the orzo? It is simply because I love orzo and it really makes it fun. However, if you are avoiding refined carbs you can totally replace the orzo with lettuce and this would still be an amazing salad.

What Inspired this recipe?

Summer. I wanted a summery meal for dinner and didn’t want to have to heat up my kitchen too much. Also, when I’m planning a meal I want it to have protein, vegetables and flavor. These are the most important things to me when making something healthy but tasty and satisfying. I think a fun part of this salad was adding the asparagus, I don’t see asparagus often in salads and I love this vegetable and its nutritious density.

What you will need

-A large bowl
-Strainer – for the orzo
-Tongs or two wooden spoons – for stirring
-A sharp knife – for effective chopping
-Medium pot – to boil orzo
-Kitchen thermometer

The Ingredients

-1/2 Cup of dry orzo
-1 Yellow bell pepper
-1/2 Large red onion
-2 Chicken breasts shredded
-2 Large or 3 medium heirloom tomatoes
-1/2 Cilantro bunch
-1/2 Large cucumber
-Asparagus bunch
For the dressing
-1/4 Cup olive oil
-1 Tbsp Dejon Mustard
-4 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
-Juice of 1/2 a lime – or a whole depending on how citrus you want it
-Pinch of salt
-Fresh ground pepper

Method:

For the orzo:

-In a medium pot bring 4 cups or water to a boil and cook orzo for 3-5 minutes till soft. Strain the orzo and then run cold water through the orzo so it cools down. Place the orzo in a large serving bowl and toss with a bit of olive oil to not stick and cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

For the chicken:

-In a large pot add a 6-8 cups of water and add your 2 chicken breasts or 3 chicken thighs. Bring liquid to a boil; reduce heat. Place a lid on your pot and simmer the chicken till in inner temperature is 165F – we don’t want any pink. For chicken breasts, it will take about 15 minutes. For bone-in, skin-on thighs, simmer for about 30 minutes. Always check the inner temp of the chicken for your kitchen thermometer.
-Remove the chicken from the water and allow to cool while you prep the rest of your salad. When it’s cooled down enough to handle, shred or chop into small pieces.

For the asparagus:

-In a large pot add 6 cups of water and bring to a boil. While that is heating up take your asparagus and cut off the hard end. Then cut it into 1 inch pieces. When your water is boiling drop all your cut asparagus into the boiling water. Cook for about 2-5 minutes. Test a piece at 2 minutes and see if it needs to cook longer. It should be soft with a little crunch – you don’t want it squishy. When finished boiling, strain the asparagus and run cold water though it like we did with the orzo. Place in a separate bowl and set aside.

For the vegetables:

-Wash thoroughly all your vegetables and rinse the cilantro. Chop the bell pepper and tomatoes. Peel and chop the cucumber and roughly chop the cilantro.

Putting it all together

-Above you see we start with the serving bowl and orzo. Up next with put our chicken followed by the cucumbers, tomatoes and bell peppers. Next we are going to add the asparagus and cilantro. Give that a good tossing and then its time for our dressing.

The dressing

-First I want to say I love this dressing so much. It is literally amazing on everything I can’t stop making it.
-In a medium mixing bowl or cup – I used a little cup as pictured above.
-Add olive oil, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, Dejon mustard, salt and pepper. Give that a good mix with a fork or small whisk.
-Pour the dressing over your orzo salad and toss.

-We are finished! This recipe is great to bring to a BBQ or potluck! I hope you enjoy this and share it with your friends and family. Bissus!

Things I recommend adding to this next time:

Feta – I think feta could really level this up.
Avocado – A satiating healthy fat, would be a great addition.

Other Recipes you will love:

Tomates Farcies – Stuffed tomatoes – my favorite French recipe.
Sardinian Herb Soup – Blue zone recipe and a must try.
Homemade Pita Bread – If you are feeling spunky and want to try these, it totally worth it.
Danish Winter Salad – It’s not exclusively a winter salad, you can still find all these ingredients still at whole foods or trader joes.
Gallo Pinto – Another Blue zone recipe that is so simple and delicious.

Questions/Comments?

If you have a moment please leave me a comment on how this recipe turned out for you! I love hearing from you all and it really helps me out if you guys leave me an honest comment.
Also, if you have any other questions, please feel free to comment on this post as well. I am happy to answer any questions or concerns!