Chicken-Orzo Salad with Goat Cheese

Made this for the hubby and I last night and loved it!  Didn't have goat cheese and so used Feta and it was yummy!  

an ok meal

Pretty good, especially for a quick weeknight dinner. I did add some whole grain dijon mustard and lemon juice to the dressing for a bit more flavor. Rather than using pre-cooked chicken, I marinated and broiled some chicken breasts, which added even more flavor. My husband and toddler loved it, and we have plenty left over for a couple of lunches this week. I will make again.

Love this dish (with my modifications -- ha!)

- I've used cooked chicken breasts or thighs. I've also used shredded rotisserie chicken.

- I use roasted red peppers that I chop up instead of raw red pepper.

- I use chopped shallots instead of red onion.
- This past time I made it, I couldn't find fresh basil when I needed it, so I used frozen basil cubes (made by Dorot, which I got at Trader Joe's). I thawed about 6-8 of them and mixed them in with the vinaigrette. I thought that worked really well and gave the dressing more of a pesto taste. 

- I use dried oregano rather than fresh. Use just about 1/2 tsp of dried (instead of 1 tsp fresh)

- I would recommend using a container of already-crumbled goat cheese. At first, I tried using a log of goat cheese that I crumbled, but it stuck together too much. I use more goat cheese than the recipe calls for. I've used a whole container (usually 4 oz).  

- I make this without the chicken sometimes when I need a side dish, and it's fabulous that way, too! 

Triple the oil and vinegar and double the amount of goat cheese; use rotisserie chicken. This is my go-to beach dish. Really light, I think the peppery taste of the arugula makes it perfect. Great for tailgating too.

I, too, think this is a good recipe - not great. It was easy to put together - I have the fresh herbs in my garden. Otherwise don't spend the $$ to buy the fresh herbs just for this (not to mention the rotisserie chicken). I think it needs something else in the dressing. It was uninteresting to me, but maybe for a 4th of July crowd, it could be a good side dish.

Very quick, very good. I gave it 3 stars for the description of the 3 stars.

Quite simple and delicious recipe. I had my doubts but it turned out to be really good.

This was very tasty but hardly a main entree salad. I like the idea one reviewer mentioned, making for a BBQ. Perfect for a small side

Didn't change a thing! Very tasty for dinner or special lunch with friends. Easy to make and prepare at the last minute.

It is exactly what three stars indicates- a good, solid recipe. Great flavor. Looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

This was awesome! My four yr old ate it up, whole family enjoyed it. I did use kale instead of arugula.

Great mixture of summer veggies and the dish comes together so quickly. For the dressing we doubled the oil, quadrupled the red wine vinegar and added juice from half of a lemon. We didn't need quite as much dressing as that made but will keep the proportions the same next time. Great fresh weeknight meal.

Great for light dinners, lunch dates and leftovers.

Great light dish. However, I felt like it needed a tad bit more dressing.

This recipe went over great with the family. My picky 15 month old even enjoyed it. Will definitely make again! I grilled my own chicken and doubled the dressing.

Excellent! I modified it by adding baby spinach instead of arugula and used feta instead of goat cheese.

I found this recipe, looking for an alternative to the normal pasta salad...an instant HIT! I make it as a vegetarian dish, and a a side with either grilled chicken or fish. I've never prepared it with the store bought chicken, but always with my own grilled chicken.

This is perfect for lunches that are easy to pack for work. I will definitely be making it again.

Yummy! This was a delicious recipe! I ended up using feta cheese instead of goat cheese (due to family preference) and it was still amazing!

This is a great, easy weeknight meal and so versatile. I've made this with various veggies, cucumber, tomatoes, olives, and feta for a Mediterranean flavor. I love this warm with pita, veggies, and hummus and it's great the next day too.

This was so easy to make and had amazing flavor. Excellent to make at the beginning of the week and have for lunches and even sides at dinner!

Easy midweek dinner. Added the goat cheese when the orzo was still hot, so it melted and made the dish creamy...I'm sure it addressed the lack of flavor/lack of dressing that other reviewers noted. I made a couple of other changes too. I used parsley instead of oregano and shallots instead of red onion because that's what I prefer. Also, eliminated the arugula (my kids don't like it) and served it with a Caesar Salad.

Very tasty salad. I felt the protein content was a bit low, and the goat cheese was very difficult to work with. But it has an outstanding flavor.

This is so easy to make and so tasty. .. Dinner and lunch. Paired with a Chateau de Berne.. . oh so tasty ! ! Five stars..

Really great base recipe. We made the pasta salad and added greens and cheese as we ate it throughout the week. Used rotisserie chicken and varied pasta shapes based on availability. Always a hit.

Great salad recipe. I subbed a bag of salad greens for the arugula and added celery and green onions. I also doubled the dressing. I love bringing the leftovers to work for lunch. Next time I'll try it with whole wheat orzo.

Delicious and perfect for summer. My husband liked it too. Probably could use less orzo and a little more dressing. Super leftovers the next day. Will definitely make this again.

This salad was fabulous, will definitely make it again. I substituted grilled pork marinated in a Greek vinaigrette, baby spinach, and balsamic vinaigrette ...outstanding!! The goat cheese really made this dish. Perfect for any occasion!

This recipe was great. It is basically my favourite salad with a twist. I made this for my boyfriend as a healthy meal and it was great. Make sure the flavour the chicken a lot. It gives the dish an extra kick!

Used freeze dried herbs, yellow pepper and leftover rotisserie chicken and whole wheat orzo. Easy and great. The kids even loved it (4 and 6).

I made 2/3 of the recipe, since we are only 2 people. I used a scant cup of orzo, but I made the full recipe of dressing and it was fine. I didn't have fresh basil, so I chopped additional fresh oregano, added some flat parsley, and put a large pinch of dry basil into the dressing. I cut back on the chicken because we don't need that much protein. I have fresh arugula from the garden and we thought this was delicious, light and a great summer recipe. I served it with grilled zucchini. The goat cheese is perfect in this recipe.

Good for a make ahead, busy weeknight dinner. I liked the spicy arugula, although think it would be good with a lot of greens. I used light feta (personal preference) in place of the goat cheese and served it with corn muffins. Will definitely make again.

Good recipe for weeknights, and really great to bring to lunch the next day. One complaint: I thought the dressing was revolting. Luckily I tasted it first, and just made a new dressing substituting balsamic vinegar for red wine vinegar. Once I did that, it was delicious.

Yummie!! Will definitely add this to my weekday staples. I doubled the oil/vinegar as previously suggested, and used mixed greens instead of arugula.

I thought this recipe was OK, but not great. The salad dressing used makes a big difference in how it will taste - I would not use just the oil and vinegar. It needs more seasoning than called for - I added some seasoned salt and seasoned pepper. I'll probably stick with another recipe that I prefer over this one.

I tried this. Rather bland and for those who liked it enjoy!

A FANTASTIC summer recipe! Made plenty of salad enough for a two people for a few days! The arugula never got soggy, but I will say that the salad lost a bit of flavour over the few days it was in the refrigerator. Perhaps adding more cheese to each new serving would help. Also, used goat feta which had a lovely result and taste.

We loved this. The only change I made was using jarred roasted red peppers. Yummy and easy, will definitely make again.

This has been part of my dinner rotation, since I received this issue. My husband loves it and it is so fresh and refreshing. I also love to eat this cold the next day for lunch.

This is a great salad. I cooked the chicken on a George Foreman grill with lemon pepper seasoning...so easy! Then used Meyer Lemon Olive Oil and it was amazing! Great for summer time! The whole family loved it!

I don't like arugala, so I subsituted spinach. Took a previous reviewer's suggestion and doubled the vinegar/oil. I'll definitely make again sometime.

Love this! Super easy summer dinner. I used feta that I had on hand instead of goat cheese-yummy! My sister-in-law would not leave without a copy of the recipe. This will be my potluck summer dish.

I did not like the arugula. Need to increase the oil and vinegar for added flavor. I also roasted a split chicken breast and cut it off the bone. It melted in my mouth

I used shrimp instead of chicken and it turned out awesome! I love this dish and everytime I make it everyone wants the recipe. It's very light but fullfilling. I served this dish with flat bread and hummus.

Fabulous! I made for a 4th of July picnic and everyone raved over it. About six months later a relative of a close friend called and wanted the recipe, she had been thinking about the salad since the picnic!