Go Back
a serving bowl of summer orzo salad with a towel and a serving spoon next to it
Print Recipe
5 from 5 votes

Easy Summer Orzo Salad

This easy summer orzo salad is chuck full of seasonal produce and flavors such as grilled corn, cherry tomatoes, shrimp, avocado, pesto and feta cheese. 
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Dinner, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: corn and shrimp orzo salad, grilled corn and shrimp orzo salad, orzo salad with corn, orzo salad with feta, orzo salad with shrimp, pesto orzo salad
Servings: 12 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 lb orzo pasta
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 ears corn on the cob
  • 1 lb medium shrimp
  • 1 1/2 cups quartered cherry tomatoes
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 cup feta cheese
  • 3/4 cup pesto
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Instructions

  • Cook the orzo according to package instructions until al dente. Strain and rinse orzo to cool it down and stop the cooking process. Toss orzo with olive oil to prevent sticking.
  • Heat a grill or grill pan to medium heat. Grill the corn on all sides until charred. Allow the corn to cool completely, then cut the corn off the cob. 
  • Grill the shrimp 2-3 minutes on each side.
  • In a large serving bowl, combine the orzo, shrimp, corn, cherry tomatoes, feta, avocado, pesto and basil. Toss well so everything is coated in pesto. 
  • Garnish with additional feta and fresh basil.

Notes

Notes:
  1. If you are using a grill to grill the shrimp, thread the shrimp onto skewers or grill on aluminum foil to avoid losing shrimp through the grill grates. 
  2. Easy way to cut the corn off the cob: lay corn cobs down flat on the cutting board, cut the corn off along one side and then rotate the cob a quarter and repeat.
  3. Add the avocado last and toss gently to prevent smushing.