Lemon Feta Orzo
on May 09, 2023, Updated May 30, 2023
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My lemon feta orzo will blow you away. I served this dish to my mom and she said it’s one of the best recipes I have ever made. Although this is not a traditional Greek dish, it uses ingredients that are prominent in Greek cuisine, such as dill, olive oil, feta, and lemon juice; the flavors bring me back home! Of course, as with all simple dishes, it’s important to use the best quality ingredients you can find and afford. A rich, buttery olive oil, super fresh dill, feta purchased in brine (and never pre-crumbled), and fresh juice from plump lemons will make all the difference in this creamy, light, and bright Mediterranean pasta dish. Orzo is the perfect pasta shape here because it cooks quickly and, when combined with this simple dressing, it soaks up all the flavors and creates a silky, smooth texture that slides right off the spoon.
Table of Contents
This recipe is perfect topped with any protein, such as grilled chicken, kebabs, or shrimp (as featured above). I reserved a few tablespoons of my incredible dressing and tossed it with shrimp before throwing them on the grill. This recipe is perfect for meal prep and can be made the night before. Every bite transports me to my childhood in Crete so I hope it makes it to your table too.
Lemon Feta Orzo
Ingredients
- salt
- 1 cup (8 ounces) orzo
- ¼ cup olive oil
- juice and zest of 1 large lemon, (about 1/4 cup juice)
- ¼ cup finely chopped dill
- 2 tablespoons honey Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- feta, measured with your heart, (good quality feta sold in brine; not pre-crumbled please)
- 10 jumbo tiger shrimp (optional)
Instructions
- Cook the orzo in salted water until al dente. Note: the water should be as salty as the sea as it's your only chance to flavor the orzo. Salt the water after it comes to a boil, stir, and add in the orzo.
- In the meantime, work on the dressing by adding olive oil, lemon juice and zest, dill, mustard, salt, and pepper to a glass measuring cup. Stir until fully combined. If you're making shrimp, reserve a few tablespoons of this dressing to coat the shrimp.
- Add the cooked orzo to a large bowl, and, while still warm, pour the dressing on top and stir. Crumble in some feta (measure with your heart) and stir again.
- For the shrimp: I thawed peeled and deveined jumbo black tiger shrimp and patted them dry. I added some of the reserved dressing and tossed them into that dressing.
- Heat a pan over medium-high heat. The pan should be hot before adding in the shrimp.
- Add the shrimp making sure to space them apart. Cook on each side for 1 to 2 minutes. You do not want to overcook them so be sure to take them off the heat as soon as they turn pink and curl up.
- Toss the shrimp in with the lemon orzo and enjoy!
Surprised by how good this was. I tweaked it a bit according to what I had in the pantry. Put in a little garlic and green onions. Yum!
I made this recipe for the first time tonight. I will make this again. I seasoned the shrimp.
I’m also going to try your Spinach and Orzo dinner.
Could you swap the mustard for something else?
Yes, you can use any variety of mustard or you could use a bit of mayo or plain, full-fat greek yogurt. The flavor will be a bit different, but mayo or yogurt will help emulsify the dressing, as the mustard does.
Made the Lemon Orzo this weekend and it was fantastic. I used chopped basil instead of dill and did not add feta but did use prawn. The lemon flavor permeated everything without a sharp taste and the briefly cooked prawn were incredible.
Yum! Sounds amazing.
Absolutely delicious! Made it will chicken thighs and everyone loved it!
That makes me so happy to hear!
Yum! Yum! Yum! I will make this recipe over & over again! Thank you!
Yay, so happy to hear this Paula!
So light and refreshing. I made it with shrimp. So good I made a cucumber red onion side salad. It was a perfect combination.
Sounds amazing! So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
I made this with basmati rice because I have Celiac disease so I can’t eat orzo. It was INCREDIBLE. I saw it on your Instagram and an hour later I was eating it!
That’s wonderful! I’m so glad you found a way to enjoy this recipe.
Also lately Delicious ! Will definitely make this again.
So glad to hear this!
Delicious ! Will definitely make this again.
Yay, love to hear that SD!
I had no idea what happened. I was so excited for this recipe after reading reviews and it turned out to taste way too salty and the mustard flavor overpowered everything. I measured exactly for the triple recipe conversion option and was bummed I wasted expensive ingredients like feta and shrimp on something that tastes this bad. I went back through the recipe trying to see what happened and realized that in the conversion, it didn’t change the lemon from 1 lemon to 3 lemons- makes complete sense why the mustard is so overpowering. Not sure if you are able to change that but I can imagine it makes a huge difference in how the final product tastes.
Hi there, so sorry to hear this because this shouldn’t be the case at all. What do you mean from 1 to 3 lemons? Also salt is always to taste so it may have been oversalted if it was too salty for you. The mustard that I used is honey Dijon and not regular mustard which should be extremely mild. I hope you try again as this recipe should taste absolutely delicious.
When the recipe doubles or triples, the amount of lemon juice doesn’t change. That’s what the original comment meant. I think that’s a typo in the conversion
Hi Lauren! If you double the recipe, you should use the juice and zest of 2 lemons. But please always season with your heart….add a little lemon, taste, and see if you want more. Hope that clears it up.
I think the above comment with the 1-3 lbs is that when u double or triple the recipe all the ingredients change amounts except the lemons…
Thanks for your comment Barbara! If you double the recipe, you should use the juice and zest of 2 lemons. But please always season with your heart….add a little lemon, taste, and see if you want more.