Oriental Chicken Orzo Pasta Salad
I have been looking for something that is healthy and easy to pack for work. I find myself eating too much junk food at work to satisfy my hunger and wanted something more exciting than a sandwich to take to work that was lighter on calories and satisfying. I find that lettuce tends to wilt too quickly and sorry I am not a kale fan. So, I wanted to create a pasta-based salad. I brought this together Sunday night and even found some cute little glass bowls to pack this in. I took it to work with me on Monday and heated in the microwave for 30-60 seconds and it was absolutely delicious the next day.
Almonds: I had purchased some sliced almonds which I thought worked great. However, my husband stated he would have preferred slivered almonds as they are meatier and tend not to over burn. I am not sure it really makes a difference. Toasting the almonds definitely calls for some baby-sitting to make sure they don’t burn.
Chicken seasoning: I used a Tuscan blend chicken seasoning. The chicken needs more than just salt to bring out the flavor. A combination of salt, garlic powder and onion salt would also work well to enhance the chicken flavor.
Dressing: The dressing makes the difference in this recipe. Without it the flavors do not meld together.
Ingredients
- 1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 2 cups shredded)
- 1-2 teaspoon chicken seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces Orzo pasta
- 3/4 cup minced red onion
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 3/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds
For the Dressing
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Minced Garlic
- 2 tablespoons water room temperature
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- For: 6 1 cup servings
- Preparation: 20 min
- Cooking: 40 min
- Ready in: 1 h
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
- Season the chicken breast with a seasoning blend of your choice and salt. Place on foil lined baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray.
- Place the chicken on the center rack in oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees Fahrenheit
- Remove from the oven and rest. Leave the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- While the chicken is baking, cook the orzo pasta according to package directions, drain and place back in pot. Put cranberries in to soften and cover with lid and set aside on cool burner on stove top.
- Toast the sliced almonds in a oven preheated to 350 degrees (same temperature as chicken, just leave oven on). Place on parchment lined roll sheet and place in oven for 4 minutes. Shake or stir almonds around place back in oven for another 3-4 minutes (watch them closely as they can turn color quickly). Ideally, they will be a nice golden brown.
- Once chicken has cooled enough to touch shred the chicken into bite size pieces.
- Place chicken, red onion, orzo pasta, and dried cranberries into a large bowl and combine with large spoon or spatula
- Pour the dressing over chicken mix and combine with large spoon or spatula.
- You can dish out while still warm or place it in sealed container in refrigerator to allow the salad flavors to develop.
- To serve top with 1-2 tablespoons of slivered almonds.
- Per serving
- Energy: 455 kcal / 1902 kJ
- Fat: 22 g
- Protein: 18 g
- Carbs: 44.6 g
