Orzo, a pasta that’s shaped like rice, is the perfect hearty addition to salads like our Hot Honey and Farmer Cheese Orzo Salad. While it’s traditionally made with wheat, you can also find gluten-free orzo pasta options made from rice, lentil, and chickpea flour. No matter what type of pasta variety you choose and love the most, Lifeway Farmer Cheese’s cooling and creamy texture is the ultimate upgrade since it’s packed with protein. It also contains live and active cultures to assist with digestion and nurture your gut.
This Hot Honey and Farmer Cheese Orzo Salad has the perfect balance between cool and hot flavors; with the hot honey, spices, peppery arugula greens, and the cooling cucumbers, tomatoes, and pasta combined with our cheese create a flavorful, nutrient-dense salad you’ll love. Make this recipe as versatile as you want to with different spices and herbs, depending on what your favorites are, or add additional cheese varieties like Parmesan, feta, or other types you love.
A drizzle of olive oil on top with hot honey is the perfect topping to add a little something special. Mix up this easy salad and serve it at all your summer gatherings. Everyone will love it!
The Benefits of Cultured Dairy for Better Health:
Research continues to show the importance of eating healthy foods, including cultured dairy such as kefir, for better gut health, a strong immune system, and to support the microbiome. Fermented foods like kefir hold important value in this line of research due to the link between the gut-brain axis and overall health. Specifically, kefir has been shown to help diversify the microbiome, improve digestion, reduce inflammation, and even help support healthier blood sugar levels and improve levels of satiety due to how ittriggers the release of GLP-1 since it is an excellent source of protein and high in bioavailable nutrition.
Lifeway Kefir contains a variety of nutrients that are vital for healthy bones and overall health: vitamin D3, K, calcium, and vitamin B12. Lifeway also offers our artisan-made Farmer Cheese, a creamy cultured cheese made with live and active cultures to support a healthy microbiome that is also an excellent source of complete protein.
Prep Time: 10 minutes Servings: 2-3Ingredients
- 2 cups arugula greens
- 2 cups spring greens
- 1/2 an English cucumber (seedless), chopped
- 1 cup grape tomatoes (baby tomatoes)
- 1/2 cup Farmer Cheese
- 1 cup orzo pasta (use gluten-free if needed)*
- 1/2 cup sauerkraut (use raw/fresh sauerkraut for the best option)
- juice of a lemon
- cracked black pepper to taste (or red pepper flakes)
- 1 tbsp. extra-virign olive oil for topping
- 1 tbsp. hot honey
- Optional: other cheese varieties like Parmesan or feta cheese, diced red bell peppers, chopped zucchini
Directions
- 1. Cook the orzo according to the directions on the package.
- In a bowl, add the arugula, spring greens, chopped cucumbers, the grape tomatoes, and toss to combine them (if you want to). Add any other additional veggies you like; for instance, red bell peppers and diced zucchini would both work well here. Squeeze the juice of a lemon on top, and toss to coat the ingredients.
- Once the pasta is done, add it on top. Then add Lifeway Farmer Cheese and other cheese varieties, if using (Parmesan or feta would also work well here), and add the sauerkraut to the bowl.
- Drizzle a little olive oil on top, the hot honey, add then some cracked black pepper or red pepper flakes. Enjoy!
- *Don't love orzo? The ingredients in this salad would also be delicious with quinoa or any other gluten-free grain/pasta you love.
