Keto Mediterranean Orzo Salad

Lately, I’ve been doing a ton of recipe development using Kaizen keto pasta products. Buying the RV and spending a lot of time camping = wanting easy to make meals for on the road.

Anyway, one of the recipes I developed (forthcoming!) involved using their “Rice” pasta product in a soup.

... and it blew me away!

The soup was amazing on its own, and - while the Kaizen pasta didn’t register as “rice” to me, it hit me right in the food nostalgia.

When I was a kid, I LOVED orzo pasta. It was a texture thing for me - I could have it plain with just a little butter on it, and I’d be happy.

As soon as this read as “orzo” to me, I knew I’d have to play with THAT whole idea.

Anyway, I’ve been missing pasta salads, and things like tabbouleh lately.

So, I decided to make a Mediterranean inspired orzo pasta salad - loading it with fresh produce.

I added chicken for a quick one-bowl meal, as this happened during a busy week for me.

Finally, I dressed it with a quick Greek vinaigrette, marrying all the flavours.

OMG. It was one of the absolute best things I’ve eaten in a long time, and became an instant go-to as an easy meal.

I make up a batch of this low carb keto orzo salad, and I’ve got easy meals for up to 3 days - just spoon it up and serve!

I love the mix of flavours, colours, and textures. It’s just so bright and fresh - what’s not to love?

Anyway, let’s have a look at that recipe ...

Ingredients

This recipe takes a few basic ingredients - that can be found in most grocery stores - and one specialty ingredient. A few notes for you:

Keto “Orzo”

I use Kaizen Rice as my “orzo” - it’s a VERY low carb pasta, made with lupini beans. High protein, too!

Since photographing this post, I’ve gotten better with my technique for cooking it. In this post, the pasta was broken down a bit in the cooking process, as I boiled it too hard.

For it to stay looking like grains of rice - or orzo pasta - simmer it gently until it’s soft enough. Don’t rough-boil it!

Chicken

I use boneless skinless chicken breasts that I’ve chopped into small pieces.

If you’re using previously frozen chicken, be sure it’s fully thawed and blotted dry before using, for the best texture.

Also, if you’d prefer to use boneless skinless chicken thighs, go for it! It’s a tasty substitute!

Fresh Produce

A lot of the colour, texture, and flavour in this orzo salad comes from the use of fresh produce. You will need:

English Cucumber
Cherry Tomatoes or Grape Tomatoes
Red Onion
Fresh Mint
Lemon (Both Juice and Zest)
Garlic Cloves

In terms of substitutions:

If you’re not a fan of tomatoes, feel free to add a chopped red bell pepper instead of using the tomatoes.

Can’t handle nightshades? Just skip the tomatoes entirely.

If you prefer, feel free to use chopped parsley and/or dill in place of the fresh mint.

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you’ll need:

Crumbled Feta
Pitted Kalamata Olives
Chicken Broth
Olive Oil
Dried Oregano
Salt
Ground Black Pepper

If you’d like to swap out the feta, crumbled goat cheese would work nicely.

How to Make Keto Chicken Orzo Salad

The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, here is the pictorial walk through:

Chicken and Orzo:

Trim chicken breasts if needed, chop into bite sized pieces. Season with a bit of salt and pepper.

Saute chicken breasts and olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat until chicken is cooked through. Remove from heat and chill until use.

In a medium pot, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Add Kaizen rice, turn heat down to low, and GENTLY simmer for 6-8 minutes, until cooked through.

Drain, rinse with cold water, and chill until cold.

Note: I’ll usually just mix the chicken and orzo in a large bowl, then chill them together.

Keto Pasta Salad

Once pasta is chilled, add it to a large bowl, along with the chilled chicken and the remaining salad ingredients.

Gently combine.

Mediterranean Dressing

Using an immersion blender or milk frother, blitz dressing ingredients - except salt and pepper - together until emulsified.

Season with salt and pepper, pour over prepared pasta salad.

Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Fluff leftover salad with a fork before serving.

More Low Carb Salad Recipes

Looking for more keto friendly recipes for salads? From simple side salads to indulgent main dish salads, I’ve got you covered!

Low Carb Creamy Cucumber Salad
Colourful Keto Coleslaw
Keto Broccoli Salad
Low Carb Caesar Salad
Keto Vietnamese Noodle Salad
Cauliflower Potato Salad
Keto Taco Salad
Buffalo Chicken Salad
Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad
Cobb Salad
Italian Sub Salad
Keto Taco Salad
Mediterranean Chicken Salad
Salad Meal Prep
Seafood Cobb Salad
Sesame Ginger Chicken Salad
Shawarma Chicken Salad
Steak Salad with Creamy Wasabi Dressing
Thai Pesto Salmon Salad

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