Lemon Orzo Salad with Asparagus and Tomatoes
I found this lemon orzo salad with asparagus and tomatoes recipe on A Big Mouthful and I am so glad I did because it was light, healthy, and full of flavor. The lemon gave the orzo a nice summery feel and the asparagus and tomatoes made it seem a little more hearty. I served this delicious salad with the Paprika Panko Crusted Chicken Thighs and the Italian Salad with Fresh Basil Vinaigrette. The whole meal was delicious but the orzo was my favorite part of dinner. My husband took the leftovers to work the next day and he said it was really tasty.
How to Make Lemon Orzo Salad with Asparagus and Tomatoes
Boil a pot of salted water over high heat. Add the orzo and cook per instructions. Add the chopped asparagus to the boiling water/orzo 2 minutes before the orzo finishes cooking. Drain the orzo and asparagus, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add the orzo and asparagus to the skillet and toss to coat evenly.
Add the lemon juice, zest, tomatoes, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, to taste then gently mix until well combined. Add some reserved cooking liquid if needed. Place into a serving dish then top with freshly chopped parsley and Parmesan if desired. Enjoy.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 oz of orzo cooked per instructions
- 6 asparagus spears chopped into thirds
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- Handful of grape tomatoes sliced in half lengthwise
- Zest and juice from half a lemon
- Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
- Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Boil a pot of salted water over high heat. Add the orzo and cook per instructions. Add the chopped asparagus to the boiling water/orzo 2 minutes before the orzo finishes cooking. Drain the orzo and asparagus, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid.
- Add the lemon juice, zest, tomatoes, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, to taste then gently mix until well combined. Add some reserved cooking liquid if needed. Place into a serving dish then top with freshly chopped parsley and Parmesan if desired. Enjoy.
GIVEAWAY WINNER:
The winner of the Spicy Apron is comment number 94:
Susan Martin — May 4, 2012
Thanks for posting the giveaway- think the tangerine flowers apron is my fav. Been following your site for quite a while and think you are the greatest! Thanks for the great recipes, beautiful photography, and easy-to-print feature.
Congratulations Susan! Please check out Spicy Apron’s website to choose the apron of your choice (worth $29.99 or less). E-mail me the apron you have chosen and your mailing address so Spicy Aprons can get it into the mail to you right away.
I may have to try orzo someday. Never have but I see a lot of recipes with it that sound really yummy! And I love asparagus! These colors draw me in.
looks delicious.. I love orzo pasta.. it’s like half way between rice and pasta. so light and healthy.
Yum! This looks like such an easy, hearty, healthy side dish that would go well with anything. Plus, orzo is one of my favorite kinds of pasta.
Hi Susan!
Thank you very much for providing this recipe! I tried it this weekend, my husband and kids loved it and they are asking for more 🙂 , next time I will do a larger quantity.
Thanks again
I love orzo. I am bookmarking this one!!!!
: ) Kris
This look really
elicious Pam:)
This looks so fresh and “Springy”, Pam! I imagine it was the perfect side dish to the Panko Crusted Chicken. You make the most amazing meals!
Gorgeous salad with lots of flavor.. what’s not to love???
Congratulations to Susan for wining the apron!!!
So fresh, light, and delicious!
Looks so fresh and light. Great looking salad, we’d love everything in there!
I love orzo and I almost always make it with a lemon flavor combination. This looks perfect to me!
This sounds wonderful!
This looks so good I am going to make it for Mother’s Day this weekend with our grilled salmon! Love your site and have printed out more recipes than you can imagine. I am never disappointed-thanks!
Pasta salads like this scream summer to me with all the veggies and fresh lemony flavor. Total yum!
I love orzo salad and it almost tastes better the next day once the flavors have had a chance to mesh together. It’s also a great leftover salad because it tastes great cold as well. I could see throwing some feta cheese on top of this! Yum!
Yummy salad! The veggies add a great color, and the lemon sounds perfect!
I made this tonight with hamburgers. A nice quick dinner. What a great side dish! I love your orzo with peas and parmesan too!
Orzo is one of my favorite salad making pastas, and my husband will even eat it. I have pinned this to try soon!
I’ve always wanted to try orzo!
This looks like a great side dish. I love all the ingredients in it.
This looks like it could be a good main lunch course. Summery and delicious.
Made this last night to go with my salmon with pesto. It was a great go along. I used a little fresh basil instead of parsley since I was out and it was really good. Thanks!
This looks so light a refreshing! The perfect summer side dish!
Way to go! Another great recipe! We gobbled this up!
This salad is delicious. I have one question, is it meant to be served cold,warm or room temp?
I served it warm.
Made this tonight. Perfect lite summer dish
An this salad be made a day ahead?
This was amazing. I diced a whole tomato because I didn’t have grape tomatoes on hand. The lemon taste is soooo good. Not overpowering at all. Thanks
Linda,
I’m so glad you enjoyed this salad! Thank you for taking the time to let me know.
-Pam