The flavors of roasted mushroom and broccoli combine with fresh arugula, grilled chicken and tender orzo for a nutritious and delicious salad.
Today, we beef up a pasta salad with LOTS of veggies!
Or perhaps we add a little bit of pasta to a veggie salad?
In either case, this yummy salad is full of roasted veggies like broccoli and mushrooms, fresh arugula and red onion, savory grilled chicken and tender orzo, all tossed in super easy homemade garlicky red wine vinaigrette!
This salad was inspired by Chrissy Teigen's Roasted Cauliflower, Feta, and Orzo Salad. A friend of ours in Chicago brought it to a holiday party and I LOVED it! So of course I thought to myself, what other things would be delicious in such a salad?
Mushrooms? Um, yeah - that was easy. Broccoli? I'm not the hugest fan of raw broccoli - but roast it and you have won me over! And now we have this delicious roasted mushroom, arugula and orzo salad.
Honestly roast just about any veggie and I'm down, they're just so flavorful and hearty. A bowl of raw veggies has serious potential to feel very diet-y to me, and the simple step of tossing them in salt, pepper & olive oil and popping them in the oven takes them to next level goodness.
This salad has a really great combination of flavors and textures. The mushrooms are meaty, I love the little char on the broccoli, the red onion adds just the right little bite, the arugula is fresh and peppery, and there is just enough orzo to make it feel a little indulgent.
And it tastes great at room temperature so it's awesome for entertaining!
Yummy noises await you!
Roasted Mushroom, Arugula and Orzo Salad
Ingredients
- 8 oz baby bella/crimini mushrooms, sliced
- 3 cups broccoli florets, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 1 cup orzo pasta, uncooked
- 2 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces*
- ⅓ cup red onion, thinly sliced
- 2.5 oz fresh arugula, (about 2 cups tightly packed)
- ½ cup Garlicky Red Wine Vinaigrette
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F. Spread the broccoli and mushrooms on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Roast for about 15 minutes, until tender and browned.
- Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook the orzo according to package instructions. Drain well.
- In a big bowl, add the cooked orzo and drizzle with ¼ cup of the garlicky red wine vinaigrette, stir well. Add the cooked mushrooms, broccoli, chicken, onion, arugula, and another ¼ cup dressing and toss well to coat. Taste and add more dressing, salt or pepper if desired.
Notes
Sounds amazing. Can't wait to make one.
For some reason, the rating stars aren't working for me.
Hopefully the stars come through on this one. It really sounds wonderful.
Thank you! And you can definitely skip the chicken and it will still be delicious!
I love everything in this! Can't wait to make it. I think it would be great either with or without chicken. Crimini mushrooms are so meaty and flavorful!
Definitely - the chicken is great if you’re making it as a main dish but it’s still so good without! I could eat pounds of mushrooms on my own ????❤️