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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

Author: Tieghan Gerard
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.

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Ingredients

Dressing

Salad

US Customary – Metric

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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This post was originally published on June 7, 2021
4.70 from 363 votes (248 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Fantastic summer salad! The dressing and orzo really made it a stand-out. I had to make some adjustments, based on what I had on hand. I omitted the bell pepper and used goat cheese in place of the cheddar and blue cheese. I only had chicken breasts, so cubed them before adding the dressing and then skewered them to grill. Would definitely make this again. Thanks for a great recipe Tieghan!

    Reply

    1. Hey Natalie,
      Fantastic! I am thrilled that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! xxTieghan

      Reply

    1. Hey Sabine,
      Fantastic! I am thrilled that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! xxTieghan

      Reply

  3. 5 stars
    I had all the ingredients except blue cheese, so made it for dinner last night. I had some feta, so added that instead. Delish! Will be eating the leftovers for dinner tonight!

    Reply

    1. Hey Sue,
      Fantastic! I am thrilled that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! xxTieghan

      Reply

  4. In the description you mention using thyme, basil, rosemary for the dressing but in the ingredients list you say to use oregano, basil and rosemary.

    which should I use, oregano or thyme?

    Reply

    1. Hey Joanna,
      Either is great to use! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan

      Reply

      1. I did! it was a huge hit! Went with oregano, basil and rosemary 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing! can’t wait to make it again!

        Reply

  5. You call it honey mustard bacon dressing, but I don’t see any bacon in the dressing. Am I missing something?

    Reply

    1. 5 stars
      Way too much orzo….. Flavor of dressing is amazing. I put fresh mint and feta…. In lieu of blue and cheddar. Yum

      Reply

      1. Hey JoAnn,
        Fantastic! I am thrilled that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! xxTieghan

        Reply

    2. Hey Barbara,
      The bacon gets tossed in with the dressing. I’m not sure if you are familiar with my recipes, but I love including all of the major ingredients in my recipes titles so people know what they’re getting. I hope this makes sense! xTieghan

      Reply

  6. 5 stars
    Extremely delicious and yet still very easy. Perfect amount of heartiness for early summer, and the three warm ingredients are quick and easy. “Close to no-cook” was a nice way of putting it, considering what REALLY cooking for a large family actually entails. My mom is fond of saying “It ain’t cooking unless it’s all four burners, a double oven, and a smoke alarm blaring.” You probably know that drill coming from a family of 8! 😉 The flavor combination was amazing, and the combo of warm and cold elements really brought the dish to life. The dressing was spot-on, too!

    Reply

    1. Hey Aline,
      Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed! Have a wonderful day:) xTieghan

      Reply

    2. Your mom’s words of wisdom made me laugh!!! She must have been quite a cook. I just made my marinade and am heading out for orzo and cherry tomatoes (I can’t believe I don’t have any). I now have to figure out a way to alter this for my vegetarian (grilled lemon herb tofu?).

      Reply

      1. Hey Karen,
        Lol thanks so much, she actually was not a cook, she likes to bake! Tofu would be great here. I hope you love this recipe! xTieghan

        Reply

  7. 4 stars
    This was quite good! However, I questioned the one pound of orzo…..and also the 3/4 pound of chicken tenders……for 6 people. I doubled the tenders to 1 and 1/2 lbs, doubled the dressing ingredients, used marinated artichoke hearts instead of peppers. This gave 4 people two tenders each. The pound of orzo was WAY too much. I think even if using 1/2 lb of orzo, I would increase the dressing.
    Will make again! Thanks.

    Reply

    1. Hey Stephanie,
      Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed! Have a wonderful day:) xTieghan

      Reply

  8. 5 stars
    Delish!! Made this tonight. It was really tasty. The dressing was killer! Kids devoured too. Thanks for yet another 5 star dish.

    Reply

    1. Hey Liz,
      Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed! Have a wonderful day:) xTieghan

      Reply

    1. Hey there,
      Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed! Have a wonderful day:) xTieghan

      Reply

  10. 5 stars
    So very good! But your 40 minutes was my hour and a half. Could be because my dog would not move from the middle of the kitchen flour. 😉 lol!

    Reply

    1. Hey Patty,
      Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed! Have a wonderful day:) xTieghan

      Reply

  11. making this for dinner tonight! cant wait! it looks amazing and these pictures are gorgous!

    Reply

  12. This is a stunning salad and looks DELICIOUS. I am dying to try it warm like you suggested. Making this next week and will report back <3

    Reply

    2. Hey Dawn,
      You could use GF orzo, rice, or a short cut GF noodle. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan

      Reply

        1. Hey Devorah,
          That would be totally fine to do. I hope the recipe turns out amazing for you, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan

          Reply

  15. Your food photos are so visually stunning. I always take a moment to just look at your new recipe’s main picture when I come to your site. Always gorgeous, colorful, and well balanced. And of course your recipes are well thought out and always turn out as expected.

    Reply