Chrissy Teigen’s Orzo Salad Recipe
Chrissy Teigen’s orzo salad is my favorite of all her salad recipes. It takes a while to cook orzo and cauliflower but trying out Chrissy Teigen’s recipe was enjoyable. When I did, the result was fantastic! I couldn’t believe how tasty my new dinner bowl was with this salad.
Right, this is a dinner recipe. Chrissy is modest when naming this a salad! It’s so packed and, oh, SO delicious! The mix of cauliflower and orzo into one bowl is genius. The flavors are spot-on. I cooked my orzo al dente per her instructions, but I think I’ll try it a tiny bit softer next time.
In addition to the great taste, this Chrissy Teigen’s orzo salad is also really healthy, colorful, and nutritious! It is a smart choice to have meatless meals, even if it is just for once a week.
Spinach, feta, and orzo make a perfect cold salad, but the addition of cauliflower gives this salad a great crunch. This salad recipe is my new favorite!
I heart you, Chrissy Teigen!:) Thank you for putting this recipe in your book! I love it.
How To Make Chrissy Tiegen’s Orzo Salad With Roasted Cauliflower and Feta?
According to Chrissy Teigen, to make roasted cauliflower, feta and orzo salad recipe, you need to:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Mix the cauliflower, garlic, three tablespoons of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread it on a baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes until softened. That would take about 20 minutes.
- In the meantime, bring water to a boil, add a pinch of salt, and add orzo. The ratio of water and orzo should be 2:1. So, 2 cups of water with a cup of dried orzo. The texture should turn out creamy.
Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain pasta well, rinse in cold water, drain again and let cool to room temperature in a large bowl.
While the two ingredients that need to get cooked are already cooking, don’t waste your time staring at them. Now is the time to start chopping up your other salad ingredients.
- Finely slice a small red onion and then mix it with feta cheese cut in cubes (or crumbled) and dried cherries in a large bowl. Once the orzo is drained well, add it to this bowl.
- After that, combine the roasted cauliflower with all the remaining ingredients. Add more salt if necessary.
- Careful! Spinach is the last ingredient you should add to this salad. And, do not cut it at all!
Leaves are fragile and do not need overmixing. So, after you have combined all the ingredients in the recipe, spinach is the last to come, and it only needs 2-3 very gentle tossing.
Serve cold if you want a cold pasta salad, or serve warm that comfort warm dinner.
Possible Variations For Orzo Salad
Here are some ideas I will try myself next time I made Chrissy Teigen’s orzo salad:
If you’re not a fan of orzo, you could also use farro, quinoa, wheatberry, or any other type of small pasta. This salad is easily customizable to your taste preferences.
Don’t like cherries? Leave them out! You may as well use any other of your favorite dried fruit. Raisins, for example, also go great cauliflower, feta, and orzo salad.
I haven’t tried it, but I imagine this cold orzo salad would work great as a taco filling or would be great on top of nachos. Add some spice and think outside the box!
You could also leave this salad to just roasted cauliflower pasta salad, but it would not be the ideal choice because you can’t call it a salad if it is not colorful.
A quicker recipe could be only spinach, feta, and orzo salad. Finish with a generous amount of freshly grated parmesan cheese to taste.
Roasted cauliflower and spinach would also make a perfect warm veggies salad. Cauliflower would take on a slightly roasted flavor, and spinach leaves would soften. Along with a creamy tahini dressing and some grated cheese that you like would be perfect!
One change I already made is not using tahini in the dressing. I know it makes it creamy, but I don’t think tahini and feta cheese are the best combination… not on this salad.
This salad’s dressing goes well with other veggies as well.
So, if you have a different variation of this salad in mind, feel free to share them in the comment section below!
And, by the way, here are some related salad recipes in case you are thinking of vegan and comforting meals:
Quinoa Salad With Boiled Carrots
Now that we’ve covered all the necessary insights, time to get our hands dirty.
P.S: Let me know your feedback and suggestions below!
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Chrissy Teigen’s Orzo Salad Recipe
- Total Time: 35
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Chrissy Teigen’s orzo salad is such a comforting mealraculous recipe. It is easy to make and it brings a whole meal for the family. The roasted cauliflower is the perfect choice to make this dish a warming winter meal, while it can be easily replaced with other seasonal vegetables.
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 3 tbsp olive oil, extra-virgin,
- 3 tbsp lemon juice,
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tbsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 freshly ground black pepper
For the salad:
- 1/2 thinly slices red onion
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 cup dried cherries
- 4 cups baby spinach
- 1 small head cauliflower (makes about 5 cups)
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 3 gloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tbsp black pepper
- 1 cup orzo pasta
Instructions
In a big bowl whisk olive oil, lemon juice, honey, mustard (optional), salt and pepper.
For the salad:
1. Prepare the cauliflower and orzo.
2. Preheat the oven the 400F (200C).
3. In a bowl, toss the cauliflower with 3tbsp olive oil, garlic (minced or powder), salt and pepper.
4. Spread on a baking sheet and roast until softened and the edges are charred. This takes 20-25mins. After that let it cool and set a side.
5. In a pot of salted boiling water, cook orzo 2mins less than the package directions.
6. Drain in a colander, rinse well under cold water, drain again and toss the remaining with 1 tbsp olive oil.
7. In the big bowl where you whisked the dressing, add the cooked orzo, roasted cauliflower, onion, feta and cherries. Toss gently to coat all the ingredients.
8. In the end add spinach and give it a final toss.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 30mins
Keywords: vegetarian salad; Chrissy Teigen orzo salad; dinner bowl
