This Homemade Chicken Orzo Salad with Red Bell Peppers and Feta is an easy pasta salad for lunch, meal prep, potlucks, or a light family dinner.
It’s made with tender chicken, small orzo pasta, sweet red bell peppers, salty feta, and a simple dressing that brings everything together.
The best part is that this chicken orzo salad can be served cold or at room temperature, so it’s perfect for make-ahead meals, summer parties, BBQ sides, or work lunches. It’s fresh, filling, and ready in about 30 minutes.
With protein from the chicken, creamy feta, and crunchy vegetables, this Mediterranean-style orzo salad is a simple recipe you can keep in the fridge for busy weekdays or easy entertaining.
It holds up well in the fridge, travels easily in a lunchbox, and works as a side or a full meal if you add extra chicken. I love serving it alongside a roasted sweet potato salad or with garlic butter noodles for a bigger spread.
If you’re into easy pasta salads, these are worth bookmarking too:
- Black Bean Roasted Sweet Potato Avocado Salad
- Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos on Soft Taco Shell
- Homemade Beef Lo Mein Noodles with Julienned Carrots and Broccoli
- Quick Garlic Butter Noodles Under 20 Minutes
Ingredients You’ll Need
Rotisserie chicken makes this a 20-minute salad (I rarely cook chicken from scratch just for this). The red bell peppers add crunch and a little sweetness, and feta brings the salt so you barely need to season the dressing.
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Ingredients
1 1/2 cups orzo pasta
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (rotisserie works great)
1 red bell pepper, diced
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
1/3 cup red onion, finely diced
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Directions
- Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook the orzo according to package directions, usually 8-9 minutes, until al dente.
Orzo looks like rice but cooks like pasta, so don’t walk away from it (it goes from firm to mushy fast).
Drain it and rinse under cold water until it’s completely cool, tossing it around so it doesn’t clump. - While the orzo cooks, dice the red bell pepper and red onion into small, even pieces.
Shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces if it isn’t already, and halve the olives.
Smaller, uniform pieces mean every bite gets a little of everything, which matters more than you’d think in a salad like this. - In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper.
Taste it before adding more salt (the feta and olives bring plenty on their own).
You want the dressing slightly assertive, since the orzo will mellow it once everything’s tossed together. - In a large bowl, combine the cooled orzo, shredded chicken, bell pepper, red onion, olives, and parsley.
Pour the dressing over the top and toss until everything is evenly coated.
This part takes a little patience if you want even coverage, so don’t rush the tossing. - Fold in the crumbled feta last, gently, so it doesn’t break down into the dressing.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.
This chilling step matters more than people expect, it’s when the flavors actually come together.
- Serve chilled or at room temperature and enjoy!
Important Recipe Notes
- Cool the orzo completely before mixing. Warm orzo will wilt the parsley and melt the feta into a paste instead of leaving distinct crumbles.
- Don’t skip the rinse. Rinsing the orzo under cold water stops it from cooking further and washes off excess starch, which keeps the salad from turning gluey.
- Use rotisserie chicken to save time. A store-bought rotisserie chicken gets this on the table in 20 minutes, and the chicken orzo salad still tastes homemade.
- Let it chill before serving. The orzo soaks up the lemon dressing as it sits, so a 30-minute rest (or longer) makes a real difference in flavor.
- Storage. Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. The orzo will absorb more dressing over time, so add a splash of olive oil and lemon juice before serving again.
- Don’t freeze this one. The feta and fresh vegetables don’t hold up well after freezing and thawing, the texture turns watery and grainy.
- Swap the protein if needed. Grilled chicken breast, canned chickpeas, or even leftover turkey all work in place of rotisserie chicken.
- Add greens for a bigger meal. Tossing in a few handfuls of baby spinach or arugula right before serving turns this into a full dinner salad.
How to Serve, Store & Customize This Recipe
Serving:
This salad is best served chilled or at room temperature, never piping hot straight off the stove. Spoon it into a wide, shallow bowl so the colors show, and finish with an extra crumble of feta and a few cracks of black pepper.
Storage:
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
The orzo will continue absorbing the dressing as it sits, so the salad gets a little drier each day. A quick drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice before serving brings it right back.
Customiziation:
Swap the feta for goat cheese if you want something creamier, or leave the cheese out entirely for a dairy-free version. Cucumber, cherry tomatoes, or roasted artichoke hearts all work well stirred in.
Homemade Chicken Orzo Salad with Red Bell Peppers and Feta
Course: Recipes4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalIngredients
1 1/2 cups orzo pasta
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (rotisserie works great)
1 red bell pepper, diced
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
1/3 cup red onion, finely diced
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Directions
- Cook orzo in salted boiling water until al dente, about 8-9 minutes, then drain and rinse under cold water.
- Dice the bell pepper and red onion, shred the chicken, and halve the olives.
- Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper together for the dressing.
- Combine cooled orzo, chicken, vegetables, and olives in a large bowl, then toss with the dressing.
- Fold in feta gently and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.
- Serve chilled or at room temperature and enjoy!
Notes
- You can use grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken, leftover baked chicken, or poached chicken for this orzo salad.
- Let the orzo cool before adding the feta so the cheese does not melt into the salad.
- Cook the orzo just until tender, then rinse it under cold water to stop the cooking and keep it from sticking together.
- This salad can be served cold or at room temperature, making it great for meal prep, potlucks, BBQs, and lunch boxes.
