Lemon Orzo Salad With Garlic Butter Shrimp

Lemon Orzo Salad With Garlic Butter Shrimp is a simple yet elegant main dish made with bright lemony flavors and fresh dill. Serve it at your next dinner party or pack it up for your weekly meal prep!

This easy Lemon Orzo Salad is fully of bright citrusy flavors and comes out creamy and delicious. It serves as an easy main dish, perfect for weeknight dinners or a delicious side dish for a summer picnic.

This recipe was developed in paid partnership with Filippo Berio. Thank you for being supportive of me working with brands I use and love.

Lemon Orzo Salad Recipe

Summer always seems to be everyone’s favorite time for pasta salads. People are searching the web for “what to bring to a BBQ” and “what to bring to a potluck dinner”, and pasta salad is like top five.

So, what should you serve at your next dinner party? This Lemon Orzo Pasta Salad, of course! It can be served with or without the shrimp and tastes absolutely delicious either way.

I’ve never really been a fan of “pasta salad”. I think because it’s served cold, and I prefer my pasta warm. There’s something about warm pasta that just screams comfort, even in the Summer! It’s one of those foods that’s like a tummy hug from the inside.

So I made a warm Lemon Orzo Pasta Salad to satisfy my cravings.

This Lemon Orzo Salad is one of the 12 recipes I am sharing this year featuring Filippo Berio’s product line. We’re using their classic olive oil for sautéing and grilling, and their organic extra virgin olive oil in this recipe.

Why do we need to use two different olive oils? We use two different olive oils in this pasta salad recipe is because the classic olive oil has a higher temperature smoke point, making it great for sautéing the Garlic Butter Shrimp.

Filippo Berio’s organic extra virgin olive oil has a rich, bold flavor that elevates the lemony vinaigrette for the salad.

I promise I’ll be sharing products from the rest of the collection starting next month the olive oils are just TOO good and such high quality so I’ve been using them a ton!

What is orzo pasta?

Orzo is a form of short-cut pasta, shaped like rice. It’s also known as risoni and is traditionally made from semolina flour which is made from duram wheat (just like couscous), but can also be found made with whole grains.

When looking for an orzo pasta brand to purchase, I would look for one that uses semolina with higher protein content. This will keep the pasta from getting mushy or gummy while cooking.

I cook orzo pasta the exact same way I cook rice, but they are two totally different things!

How to cook orzo pasta

Orzo cooks similar to rice, but in half the time. I cook mine in chicken bone broth because it adds more flavor than water and has much less sodium than chicken stock. Like half the amount of sodium, it’s crazy!

Cooking orzo in bone broth also makes it sooo creamy! I don’t know what it is, but it always turns out so much creamier and flavorful when I use bone broth. I use this technique on rice, too!

To cook the orzo, all you have to do is boil chicken bone broth, or other liquid of your choice. Vegetable broth works well too.

Then you’ll want to rinse the orzo in a mesh strainer under cold water. This helps keep the pasta from sticking, especially when serving it in a salad. Add the orzo to the bone broth and cook, stirring occasionally for 7-9 minutes or until al dente (firm to the bite).

Lemon Orzo Salad Ingredients

Orzo pasta: this is what makes and orzo salad, an orzo salad! A good substitute for orzo is orecchiette or arborio rice.

Dairy: for this recipe, I used feta cheese but you can also use goat cheese if you prefer. It’s super creamy and tastes amazing in this pasta salad.

Wet ingredients: you will need chicken bone broth, fresh lemon juice, and Filippo Berio Olive Oil.

From the garden: red onion, fresh dill (or fresh parsley), cherry tomatoes (or grape tomatoes).

How to make Lemon Shrimp Orzo Salad

Though this looks like a sophisticated and complicated dish, it’s actually quite easy to make!

How to make orzo pasta

1. Cook the orzo. Bring a large saucepan with bone broth a boil, add orzo, and 1 tbsp of olive oil, stir and cook for 7-10 minutes or until it has a firm and chewy texture.

2. Prepare the vinaigrette. While the orzo is cooking, make the lemon dill vinaigrette: whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, 2 tbsp dill, kosher salt, and pepper in a small bowl.

3. Strain and toss with ingredients. When the orzo is finished cooking, strain it and set aside to cool. Then toss it with the tomatoes, red onion, 2 tbsp dill, feta cheese, and the lemon dill vinaigrette.

How to Make Garlic Butter Shrimp

These garlicky shrimp are so tasty and super easy to make! They’re tossed in a delicious garlic butter sauce that will have you feeling like you’re at a 5 star restaurant.

1. Prepare the shrimp. Heat a large skillet with a splash of olive oil on medium-high heat. In a large bowl, toss the shrimp with the olive oil and dill until fully coated.

2. Cook the shrimp. Add the shrimp to the pan in a single layer without overcrowding the pan, cook 1-2 minutes on each side until the shrimp are pink and opaque. Just before the shrimp are finished cooking, add the butter, white wine, and garlic. Toss the shrimp in the garlic butter for about a minute. (I usually toss them around the pan for the full minute)

3. Add shrimp to orzo salad. Remove the shrimp from the pan and mix in with the orzo salad. Garnish with the remaining fresh dill.

I cooked the shrimp in butter and olive oil, but if you’re looking for a lighter version you can always omit the butter. They are also a delicious addition to spaghetti squash or cilantro lime farro.

If you have leftovers (we never do), you can pack them up in a mason jar for a light lunch!

Orzo Pasta Recipe Variations

You can easily customize this orzo salad to satisfy your cravings by adding ingredients like:

• Kalamata olives, grilled chicken, and Persian cucumbers.
• Red bell peppers, fresh asparagus, and any of your other favorite fresh veggies.
• Add lemon zest if you want to kick up the lemony flavor in this recipe.
• Sugar snap peas, fresh mint, burrata cheese and steak.

What to Serve With Orzo Salad

There are so many ways to serve this orzo salad. You can make it a surf and turf night with a nice juicy Filet Mignon or Flank Steak. If you’re serving it as the main dish, you can add some Red Wine Mushrooms or Roasted Yellow Squash to the plate for a well balanced meal.

Here are a few more options:

• Air Fryer Chicken
• Salmon Cakes With Lemon Dill Sauce
• Air Fryer Cauliflower
• Best Ever Seared Scallops

More Recipes with Filippo Berio products

• Roasted Beet Hummus
• Broccolini With Marcona Almonds
• Heart Beet Brownies
• Pesto Grilled Cheese
• Burrata Pesto Pizza

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