Orzo Salad with Watermelon, Chicken and Feta

This orzo salad with watermelon, feta and marinated chicken is refreshing and delicious. Your whole family will love it.

Warning: I’m squeezing in as many summer recipes as humanly possible before fall is in the air

And I do love fall! I’m just not a blogger that is so great at doing Christmas recipes in July and summer recipes in January. I like to eat fruits and vegetables that are in season and taste good, so that usually means that summer recipes always run a bit into fall and fall recipes into winter…and winter into spring.

But hey…there’s always next year. Pin this recipe, bookmark it, print it…whatever you prefer. Make orzo salad with watermelon, chicken and feta when the mood strikes!

This orzo salad pairs watermelon and feta. I love that combination, sweet and salty. Add grilled chicken which has been marinated in watermelon juice, lime and honey, and you’ll come up with a salad that the whole family loves.

This orzo salad with watermelon is lightly dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. You can use either regular balsamic or white balsamic vinegar.

Initially, my husband was skeptical of the watermelon in this salad (said he’d prefer it on the side), but the second time he ate it, he said, “You were right, the watermelon is really good in here.” Converting the skeptics…it’s what I do.

The chicken is flavorful and moist due to a marinade of pureed watermelon, lime juice and garlic. The marinade is then reduced and basted over the chicken during cooking (or grilling!). You could leave that step out if you want to simplify the process, but it does make the chicken even more tasty.

Enjoy!

Looking for more great uses for orzo?

 

• Orzo Salad with Yogurt Dill Dressing
• Creamy Tomato Soup with Whole Wheat Orzo
• Spinach Orzo Salad with Chickpeas and Meatballs
• Orzo Salad with Chicken and Vegetables
• Greek Orzo Salad with Roasted Shrimp
• Creamy Orzo with Chicken Sausage from Table for Two
• Orzo with Collard Greens, Sausage Meatballs and Sundried Tomatoes from Bev Cooks

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Recipe

Get the Recipe: Orzo Salad with Chicken, Watermelon, and Feta

5 from 3 votes

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Additional Time: 2 hrs

Total Time: 2 hrs 40 mins

4 main dish servings

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This Orzo Salad combines whole wheat orzo, juicy watermelon and flavorful marinated chicken. Your whole family will love this salad. Great for picnics too!

Ingredients

• ▢ 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, uncooked
• ▢ 4 cups chopped watermelon, divided
• ▢ the juice of 1 lime
• ▢ 3 tablespoons honey
• ▢ 1 clove garlic, minced
• ▢ 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• ▢ salt and pepper
• ▢ 2 cups [whole wheat orzo]
• ▢ 4 ounces reduced fat crumbled feta cheese
• ▢ about 2 cups chopped cucumber
• ▢ ~2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Instructions

• In a blender, add 2 cups chopped watermelon, lime juice, honey, garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil and pepper. Puree until smooth. Pour into a zip-top bag with chicken breasts and let marinate at least two hours.
• When ready to assemble salad, take chicken out of the fridge. Remove chicken from marinade, reserving marinade. Bring marinade to a boil in a small saucepan and boil until slightly reduced, or about 15-20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook chicken under broiler, on grill, or in a grill pan. It should take about 15-20 minutes depending on how hot your broiler/grill is. The last few minutes, baste often with the sauce/marinade. Cook until chicken is cooked through. Let cool slightly before slicing into thin strips.
• While the chicken is cooking, cook pasta according to package directions, drain, transfer to a large bowl and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Let cool (stick in fridge if need be).
• Combine pasta, watermelon, chicken, feta, and cucumber in pasta bowl. Drizzle with remaining olive oil (3 tablespoons) and the balsamic vinegar. Stir to combine all ingredients. Taste and add more oil/balsamic/salt/pepper as you see fit.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1main dish salads, Calories: 876kcal, Carbohydrates: 94g, Protein: 58g, Fat: 33g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 22g, Cholesterol: 127mg, Sodium: 430mg, Fiber: 13g, Sugar: 26g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© Author: Rachel Gurk

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