Best Orzo Recipes

Orzo is a type of short-cut pasta that resembles a giant grain of rice and is also known by its Italian name, risoni. Orzo is typically made with flour, but it can also be made with whole grains if that’s what you like. We have compiled a list of mouthwatering orzo dishes for you.

These unique ideas for orzo, which include salads, soups, and dinners prepared in a skillet, are sure to turn this pasta into your new go-to option. These dishes for orzo will be ready to eat considerably faster than any rice dish. Ten minutes is all that is required to make a dish of pasta that is perfectly al dente.

Best Orzo Recipes

Following are some of our top choices-

Minestrone Soup

Minestrone is the best winter soup. It’s filling, tastes great, and is so easy to make. This recipe for minestrone with Orzo and crispy Pancetta is the best. Yum! It has Orzo, beans, squash, carrots, and a lot of other things in it. Plus Pancetta! Crispy pancetta on top gives it an extra kick of flavor, which is so good!

Creamy Mushroom Spinach Orzo

This rich and satisfying orzo dish is the best vegetarian side dish ever created. Stuffed to the brim with mushrooms, spinach, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese for the most incredible garlic Parmesan cream sauce you’ve ever tasted. You could even make this into an entire dish by adding some chicken!

Orzo Salad With Vegetables and Feta

This Greek orzo salad is made with cucumbers, chickpeas, tomatoes, red onion, feta, herbs, and a herb dressing. A simple but filling pasta salad can be a main or side dish. Orzo pasta salad is a tasty surprise that can be added to any meal. It’s hard to find a better combination than crunchy vegetables, protein-packed chickpeas, and creamy feta cheese.

Greek Orzo Stuffed Red Peppers with Lemony Basil Tomatoes

These Greek Orzo Stuffed Red Peppers are quick, easy, vegetarian, healthy, and SO GOOD. Red peppers that have been slowly roasted and filled with Greek orzo and feta cheese, then topped with fresh lemony basil tomatoes. The best summer dinner ever!

This recipe is so simple, quick, and easy—perfect for Super Simple Thursday! Start by roasting the peppers in a little olive oil, garlic, and fresh oregano. I love to roast the peppers because they get so much more flavor as they roast. I love how their sweetness comes out, and the edges get charred. This is a straightforward and healthy dinner recipe, and the leftovers are great for lunch the next day, whether you eat them hot or cold. Getting two meals out of one is the best thing that could happen.

Asparagus, Tomato, and Grilled Corn Orzo Pasta Salad

This asparagus, tomato, and grilled corn orzo pasta salad taste like summer. Tender asparagus, corn, and cherry tomatoes that have been grilled are mixed with feta cheese and fresh basil, and then a simple balsamic vinaigrette is drizzled on top. So full of flavor and easy to put together!

We ate this corn orzo salad with grilled chicken, roasted potatoes, and grilled bread. It’s an excellent meal for the summer. Asparagus goes well with sweet corn and cherry tomatoes. This Lemon Parmesan Chicken with Zucchini and Squash in a Skillet is a super easy and super tasty chicken and vegetable dish that the whole family will love.

It’s a hearty dinner that tastes fresh and lemony and makes excellent leftovers. This recipe for lemon Parmesan chicken is as simple as it gets. Just cut the chicken into small pieces to get ready. The chicken cooks in about 6 minutes, after which you set it aside and cook the zucchini and squash for about 4 minutes in the same pan. Grilled and then mixed with salty feta. This dish comes together with fresh basil and balsamic dressing.

Italian Sausage Orzo Soup

This recipe for Italian Sausage Soup with Orzo is a great way to use leftovers in the fridge. It has a lot of vegetables, Italian sausage, orzo, and other things. Adding soups and other hearty dishes to our weekly menu, like this tasty Italian Sausage Soup with Orzo, is easy. Even though most of the vegetables in this Italian sausage soup are pretty simple, nothing about it is boring. This is a great way to change how you serve seasonal vegetables when dinner gets boring.

Enchilada Orzo

This tasty enchilada orzo can be made in just one pot and quickly become a family favorite. This is what makes me feel good. Some people like bread, others like mashed potatoes, and others like creamy Italian pasta. For me? Enchiladas inspire goodness with cheese and sauce. I can put a lot of it in a bowl, top it with all my favorite toppings, and pour on a lot of hot sauce.

Orzo with Spinach and Roasted Red Peppers

This simple dish is easy to make, tastes good, and is suitable for you. It only took me 15 minutes to make, and it has healthy ingredients like whole wheat orzo and spinach. This is a side dish I can definitely get behind.

The Orzo with Spinach and Roasted Red Peppers smelled great. When the garlic, basil, balsamic, and cheese were all together, they made a wonderful, comforting smell that made my mouth water. If your usual salad or side dish isn’t doing it for you anymore, try this quick and tasty Orzo with Spinach and Roasted Red Peppers!

Orzo Shrimp Scampi with Asparagus

Orzo shrimp scampi with asparagus is made from scratch and has a lot of garlic. This orzo shrimp scampi has a lot of toasted orzo pasta, shrimp that taste like lemon, and tender asparagus spears. Orzo Shrimp scampi is the perfect comfort food to take us right into the next season. It’s a casserole, so it mostly comes together in one pan (except for one tiny thing), so it’s still great for the last few weeks of winter, but the flavors make you think of sunshine and spring.

Is Orzo Pasta Healthier than Brown Rice?

Orzo, also called risoni, is a small rice-shaped pasta that can be used in place of rice in many recipes.

Comparison

Both have the same amount of carbs, but orzo has twice as much protein and a few more kilojoules as brown rice. All of these have little fat. Brown rice has almost twice as much fiber as white rice. When pasta cools, it makes resistant starch, a vital fiber type.

Minerals and Vitamins

Brown rice is a good source of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and B6. It also has some iron, zinc, and selenium, but not as much as other foods. Orzo is a good source of thiamin, niacin, B6, folate, iron, and zinc. White rice has more zinc than the others, but the other nutrients are in much smaller amounts.

Brown rice is the best option for a “go-to” carb, but all of these can be included in a nutritious diet; nonetheless, diversity is significant.

Orzo Health Benefits

Orzo is a type of pasta that looks similar to huge grains of rice and is excellent for cooking delicate recipes appropriate for spring flowering. Orzo is traditionally prepared with white flour; however, it can also be prepared with whole-grain flour, giving it a more nutritious alternative to other types of pasta.

Orzo is a good source of carbohydrates; one serving of orzo provides 42 grams of carbohydrates and two grams of fiber. This little pasta is a beautiful source of protein as well. Choose orzo prepared from whole grain flour rather than white flour if you want to increase the fiber you get from this pasta.

Orzo has seven grams of protein per serving, which can help improve your energy levels and provide other benefits. You can get more protein from your diet by eating more of this little pasta and matching it with other protein sources like salmon, shrimp, or chicken. This will help you get the most out of your body’s protein.

Orzo is another excellent low-fat option for pasta because each dish has only one gram of fat. Consuming more pasta, such as orzo, can help you feel full for longer. Orzo is a flexible pasta that may be enjoyed on its own, but it also goes well with various sauces, vegetables, meats, and cheeses.

How to Cook Orzo Pasta?

Orzo should be prepared with around 8 cups of water for every cup of dried pasta. Start the water boiling in a pot. Include the orzo in the dish. Immediately give it a good stir while scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent it from sticking. Orzo needs to be cooked for around 8 to 10 minutes with practically constant stirring until it is perfectly soft.

Orzo should only be rinsed before being baked or served fresh in a salad. If not, do not rinse the pasta because doing so removes a thin layer of starch that makes it easier for sauces and seasonings to adhere to the pasta.

Is Risotto Just Another Name for Orzo?

The grain-made orzo and risotto is probably the most crucial distinction between the two dishes. Risotto is made with arborio rice. An orzo is a wheat-based pasta, while arborio rice, short-grain and starchier, is used to make risotto. Orzo is a specific pasta used in various cooking applications, whereas risotto is an entire meal.

Conclusion

Try these tasty orzo dishes from our collection ‘Best Orzo Recipes’. The following are some of our top choices. These recipes can be made with few ingredients, less time, and less effort. It’s so simple and fast that even your kids can do it! So, try one of these recipes for a quick dinner!