Cold Pasta Salad with Corn, Chicken, and Vinaigrette

Well hello there my blog friends and family, I hope you are having a fabulous week. It has been in the 90’s here in Idaho for weeks now, so it’s been a hot summer. For me, that means lots of pools, rivers, lakes, cold drinks, and eating food that is generally cold if possible.

That’s why I love creating cold pasta recipes in the summer because the last thing you wanna eat when you are hot, is a hot meal. I created this recipe with a small and mighty pasta called orzo. If you have never heard of orzo pasta, it is a short grained pasta, usually made of white flour or whole grain, and it sort of looks like a grain of rice. In Italy, the word means barley. Because of its short length, orzo cooks fast which is a huge plus. This is an underrated and underused pasta perfect for a cold salad.

I use rotisserie chicken in this recipe, because it is quick and couldn’t be more simple. I added marinated tomatoes, because it gives the salad SO much flavor, and keeps the salad moist, as well as giving each bite a burst of juice and crunchiness.

Of course we cannot forget about the crunchy, sweet, and delicious corn, which is great to eat in the summertime because its peak season is May through September.

Next, I came up with a lemon, dijon vinaigrette that I think really complements the other flavors. You could always just add some olive oil too if you don’t have time to make dressing.

Lastly, I added red onion, because it is tangy, and let’s be real I just love onion.

Feel free to add any other ingredients you would like: I recommend mozzarella pearls, I just didn’t use them because I am not eating dairy at the moment. You could also add some bacon if you’d like for some saltiness.

Have fun making this!

Cold Orzo Pasta Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

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• Author: Allison Olivia
• Total Time: 23 minutes
• Yield: 4–6 servings 1x

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Description

A refreshing summer salad full of cold pasta, sweet corn, marinated tomatoes, and a zesty lemon vinaigrette!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Pasta Salad:

• 1 1/2 cups uncooked orzo pasta
• 3/4 cup corn
• 1/2–3/4 cup red onion, finely diced
• 1 pint marinated cherry tomatoes, halved (or regular diced tomatoes is fine too)
• 1 1/2 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded
• 1 ripe avocado, cubed, for the top
• Salt to taste
• Mozzarella pearls (optional)

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste

Marinated tomatoes:

• 1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

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Instructions

Prep: (hours before serving or the day before):

1. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan.
2. Pour in the uncooked orzo and turn down to medium and cover partially with a lid.
3. Cook pasta for roughly 7-10 minutes or until pasta is cooked through.
4. Drain the orzo and rinse with cold water well.
5. Store in a bowl with a little olive oil (to keep it from sticking together)
6. Store for 3 hours in the fridge or until pasta is cold.

Marinated Tomatoes:

1. Place all the ingredients in a small bowl, cover and let marinate for 3 hours or overnight.

Cold Pasta Salad:

1. Place the orzo, corn, red onion, tomatoes, chicken, and mozzarella pearls in one large bowl and toss together.
2. Add avocado on top when serving
3. Drizzle the lemon vinaigrette on each individual serving (to keep it from getting soggy)

Dressing:

1. Combine all ingredients into a mason jar or bowl and mix vigorously.
2. Pour over a serving of cold pasta salad

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 8 minutes
• Category: Lunch
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American

Keywords: cold pasta salad, pasta salad, orzo salad, orzo pasta, cold pasta salad with corn, easy lunch, lunch recipe, lunch ideas

Marinated Tomatoes recipe adapted from: https://pinchofyum.com/5-ingredient-marinated-tomatoes