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This Grilled Lemon Herb Chicken Avocado Orzo Salad with Honey Mustard Bacon Dressing is the perfect summer dinner salad. It’s almost no-cook and comes together quickly and easily. Grilled chicken tossed with a lemony herb honey mustard dressing, orzo pasta, cheddar cheese cubes, crispy bacon, and creamy avocado. It’s colorful and so delicious. Enjoy this for dinner and save the leftovers for lunch. Warm or cold, it’s always good. Or serve this up at your next backyard dinner with friends.

It’s a Monday salad, but an exciting Monday salad because it’s certainly not just greens and vegetables…there’s so much more! I love this one.

First of all, happy Monday guys. Hope everyone had a great weekend and is slowly slipping into the laid-back, chill, summertime mindset. It’s all about the easy-going life for the next three or so months, right? That’s kind of my thinking and I’m really embracing it when it comes to our weekly dinners.

I know most of us want to be out enjoying these summer days and not spending hours in the kitchen. So as I said last week, simple is the name of the game…all summer long.

I have what seems like hundreds of orzo recipes on HBH, so it’s really no secret that I love using orzo. Technically, it’s pasta, but it’s shaped like small rice, so I love tossing it into salads. It makes for super quick one-pot pasta dishes or even carbonara.

It really is so versatile, and one of my favorites ingredients to use in the summertime because of how quickly it cooks up.

Shockingly, I have not shared an orzo salad with you guys. So when I had this idea, I jumped right in and created it. It ended up being the perfect, quick-to-throw-together summer dinner…and you guys, it really is good and for so many reasons…

The lemon herb honey mustard dressing, the grilled chicken, orzo, bacon, creamy avocado, melty cubes of cheddar cheese, and fresh herbs. And when put all together, such a GOOD combination.

Here are the details…start with the dressing

The dressing is where you want to start. I was so into the dressing I made for those burrata vegetable sandwiches I shared the other week that I used the same dressing here. Only I added fresh herbs, rosemary, thyme, and basil, and a shallot too.

The dressing is the heart of this recipe. As the chicken grills in it and then the hot orzo gets tossed up with it too.

It’s a little herby, spicy, sweet, and tangy…all the things we really love.

Grill up that chicken and toss the orzo

Once you toss the chicken in the dressing, throw it on the grill. While the chicken is grilling, I boil off the orzo and then toss it with the chicken.

Now, this next step is key. I like to toss the hot orzo with the cubes of cheese and the dressing. The heat from the pasta turns the cheese melty and helps the dressing really soak into the pasta and infuse it with flavor.

Now finish it up

When you have the chicken grilled and the orzo tossed, add everything else, then top with the avocado and more fresh herbs.

You can enjoy this warm or cold, though I LOVE this warm with those melty chunks of cheddar cheese.

Totally and completely delicious. But simple to make!

I know I say this just about every day, but this recipe really is good.

It’s one of those recipes that you’ll crave time and time again. Plus the sauce just kind of melts in your mouth. YUM!

Looking for other quick dinners? Here are some favorites:

Pesto Chicken Caesar Salad with Tomatoes and Burrata

Lemon Parmesan Salmon with Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Salad

Tropical Jerk Grilled Chicken with Charred Mango Salsa Verde

Lastly, if you make this Grilled Lemon Herb Chicken Avocado Orzo Salad, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Grilled Lemon Herb Chicken Avocado Orzo Salad with Honey Mustard Bacon Dressing

Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 728 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Dressing

Salad

Instructions

  • 1. To make the dressing. Combine all ingredients in a glass jar and whisk until smooth. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.
    2. In a large bowl, toss the chicken with 1/3 of the dressing. Let sit 10 minutes. Set your grill, grill pan, or skillet to medium-high heat. Grill the chicken until lightly charred and cooked through, turning halfway through cooking, about 10 to 12 minutes. During the same time, grill the bell pepper, until lightly charred, then chop.
    3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the orzo to al dente, according to package directions. Drain. Add the hot orzo, cheddar cheese, blue cheese, and 1/3 of the dressing, toss to combine. Add the chicken, grilled peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, and bacon, tossing to combine.
    4. Top the pasta with avocado. Season with freshly cracked pepper and salt. Serve warm or cold.
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Comments

  1. I made this with fresh herbs but I don’t have that option this time. I’m going to make the dressing ahead of time but how do I adjust for dried herbs? Approximately a teaspoon each? More? I’ll adjust to taste but what’s a good starting point?

  2. Really liked the flavors of this recipe. The chicken marinated in the dressing was delicious. We didn’t so much like the cheddar cheese. When I make this again I think I would substitute the cheese with kernels from bbq corn on the cob.

  3. 5 stars
    I can see making this salad repeatedly!! It has all of my favorite things and the dressing has so much flavor!! It is really easy to meal prep. What’s not to love? For future reference I used feta instead of blue cheese and used tri colored whole wheat orzo. Can’t wait to eat my leftovers for lunch today!

    1. Hi Heidi,
      Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was a hit! xx

  4. 5 stars
    This dish was even better than I expected! I omitted the blue cheese and bacon, and it was still fantastic. A heathy dish that tastes like a treat, even my husband couldn’t stop saying how incredible it was! This will definitely be in our regular summer rotation.

    1. Hi Taylor,
      Happy Monday!!☀️🌊 I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear that it was a hit! xT

  5. 5 stars
    Made this for dinner tonight and it was amazing. Will definitely make it again. I love trying your recipes.

    1. Hi Sandra,
      Happy Friday!!🇺🇸🫐🍒 Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out and your comment, I love to hear that it was a winner! xx

  6. 5 stars
    This is one of our favorites, especially in the summer! It’s really good with orzo, but I often make it with quinoa instead and that’s also super yummy!

    1. Hi Amy,
      Wonderful!! I love to hear that you have been enjoying this recipe and appreciate your notes and feedback! xT