This week I’m bringing my own salad bar to lunch! I love a good salad bar and being able to mix and match vegetables, proteins, and other goodies, so that’s what has inspired my Orzo Salad Meal Prep this week. I paired my Italian Orzo Salad with slices of fresh mozzarella and hard boiled eggs for a light and satisfying cold lunch meal prep. I’ll list some other ideas of what can be paired with the orzo salad below, if you want a different mix for each day or just aren’t a fan of eggs or mozzarella. :)
For more information about meal prepping, how it works, and why I do it, check out Meal Prep 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Prepping and Portioning Meals, or check out my entire Budget-Friendly Meal Prep Archive.
Orzo Salad Meal Prep
This Meal Prep Includes
Italian Orzo Salad: $8.77
4 large Hard Boiled Eggs: $0.88
8oz. Fresh Mozzarella: $2.79
Total Cost: $12.44
4 Servings: $3.11 each
Leftovers: NONE
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How to Hard Boil Eggs
- Place your eggs in a sauce pot and add enough water to cover the eggs by one inch.
- Bring the pot up to a boil over high heat. Once it reaches a full boil, turn the heat off, place a lid on the pot, and let the eggs sit for 15 minutes. (15 minutes is the appropriate time for LARGE sized eggs. Larger or smaller eggs will need more or less time.
- After 15 minutes, transfer the eggs to an ice water bath and let them cool in the ice water for 15 minutes.
- For step by step photos of this process, check out my Sriracha Deviled Eggs recipe post.
Notes:
- Hard boiled eggs stay the freshest in their shell, but I peeled and sliced mine open for the photographs.
- This salad would go with several other side items, like: salami or pepperoni, grilled or rotisserie chicken, cubed cheddar cheese, crackers, garlic bread, sliced bell peppers, or dried apricots.
- I found this salad to hold up surprisingly well, even after the dressing was added, but if you want extra protection against wilting, pack the dressing separately and add it just before serving.
Incredible recipe!! I didn’t have olives but I added extra lemon juice and some cucumbers and it was phenomenal. Definitely adding to my weekly meal rotation.
I love the orzo salad meal prep that was wonderful and I will be using this one often
Do you have the calories for this recipe?
I don’t have totals for everything in the box, but if you click through to the orzo salad recipe that has nutrition info.
I used this as inspiration for dinner tonight. I made a Greek orzo salad and paired it with salami, cubed cheddar and eggs. This combo was surprisingly satisfying and fun to eat. Thanks for the idea!
Do you just leave the egg in shell and freeze?
No, I don’t freeze this one. Refrigerator only and it keeps for 4-5 days. :)
Hi Lynne, This recipe is intended to be eaten throughout the week, so I would not recommend freezing hard boiled eggs- However, It IS possible to freeze but the egg texture  changes when it’s frozen and it’s a little unpleasant to eat compared to a refrigerated egg ( plus the egg takes longer to thaw in comparison to the other items in the recipe. If you want to freeze your meals, leave out the eggs. Just hard boil a small batch when you are ready. I hope this helps!
Perfect office lunch ! Thank you !
Doesn’t the fresh mozzarella get kind of hard and yucky after being out of water for more than a day?
Mine held up fine. :) The kind I bought was actually packed as a log in vacuumed plastic with just a little liquid, so it wasn’t really in water to begin with (it was from Aldi), but it held up in the boxes. You could always do regular mozz, instead.
This looks so good! I’m totally going to have to try this for lunch today!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com