Lemon Feta Orzo

4.92 from 62 votes

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!

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Total Time15

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Greek

Keyword: feta, greek food, greek recipes, orzo

Servings:

Author: The Modern Nonna

Equipment

Ingredients

1 cup orzo 8 ounces
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice + zest from one lemon
¼ cup dill finely chopped
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

For the Orzo

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!

Video

Nutrition