One Pot Vegetarian Orzo

At a glance

What stands out: Brightly flavored with fresh basil, sun-dried tomatoes, and lemon, vegetarian orzo is creamy and satisfying. You can have this dinner on the table in just over a half hour (with only one pan to wash!).

How long it takes: 35 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: large skillet with lid
Servings: 4 main course

There are nights when we want a good pasta dinner…but we do not want to deal with boiling water, draining pasta, and a sink full of dishes. (To be clear, this is the case every time we make pasta.)

You know your girl loves a one-pan pasta and this is a great one to add to the repertoire.

It’s straightforward, it’s fast, and cleanup is basically a non-issue. That’s our kind of dinner.

What makes it special:

• Straightforward! One pot pasta dinners are a standby thing ever. No boiling water, no colanders, no stress!
• Loads of flavor. Sun-dried tomatoes are slightly chewy and tart. They add so much concentrated tomato flavor, like little atomic bursts of tomato! Leafy spinach, sunny lemon, and fresh basil make this a beautiful and lighter pasta dinner.
• Ready to eat in just a half hour. This vegetarian dish makes a great side dish but it also goes well with lemon salmon or pork medallions with lemon garlic sauce. We love it with lemon pepper shrimp or grilled marinated chicken (Italian chicken marinade), too.

About orzo

Even though orzo may look like rice, it’s a pasta, and you’ll find it with all the other pastas at the grocery store. It cooks quickly and isn’t messy to eat. You can buy whole wheat or regular.

There are a lot of orzo recipes on our site. Orzo works evenly for this bruschetta pasta salad or creamy Southwestern orzo salad, both of which are popular at picnics and potlucks. Spring orzo salad with arugula, asparagus and toasted pine nuts is a pretty memorable salad, too.

Creamy lemon orzo with greens, Greek baked orzo, and spaghetti-style baked orzo are one pot pasta recipes we love. Orzo works well in soup, too, like our meatball soup or lemon chicken orzo soup.

How it comes together

Select a large skillet. You’ll need a pretty good-sized pan with a tight-fitting lid. We use a large straight sided skillet (it’s not the one in the pictures; see the recipe card for a pan we recommend!).

Sauté. Begin by sautéing onions and garlic in the pan. Add the dry orzo briefly to lightly toast it.

Add liquid. Add two cups of milk and 2 to 3 cups of broth to the pan. That may seem like a lot of liquid but you’ll be amazed how it’s absorbed by the orzo as it cooks (no draining required!). Between the starch from the orzo and any extra liquid, you’ll end up with a beautiful creamy sauce. It’s like magic!

Prep. While the pasta is cooking, chop the sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and basil. Zest and juice a lemon, and shred some Parmesan cheese.

Finish up. Stir the remaining ingredients into the pasta: tomatoes, spinach, lemon zest and juice, red pepper flakes, and basil. Cook for a minute or so to wilt the spinach and make sure everything is steaming hot. Sprinkle in the cheese, stir, and serve!

About The Well Plated Cookbook

This recipe comes from The Well Plated Cookbook. The author, Erin Clarke (of the blog Well Plated) has been one of our closest friends for years so we're thrilled to have the opportunity to tell you about her book.

You may be wondering why you should trust us and buy this book since we're obviously biased.

Here’s why: we know first-hand how high quality every single recipe in this book is. We know, because we know Erin is meticulous and tests each recipe multiple times. We know, because we cooked alongside Erin while the amazingly talented Becky of The Cookie Rookie shot the photographs you’ll find in this book (they’re stunning!). We know, because we know Erin wouldn’t produce anything that wasn’t the highest quality possible.

So, not only did we personally taste countless recipes in this book (how lucky am we?), but we also prepared the recipes.They’re straightforward to follow, straight-forward, and contain no odd ingredients. They’re a joy to prepare, even if you’re on your 12th recipe of the day. That’s saying something.

Erin’s style of cooking is similar to ours (approachable, lighter recipes), so if you love Bomumo recipes, you’ll definitely love the recipes in this book.

Straightforward Recipe Variations

• Use a different type of pasta. If you want to choose another type of pasta, make sure it’s a small size pasta that will cook in about the same amount of time as orzo. Follow package directions for cooking times and adjust the cooking time if necessary.
• Add protein. Cooked chicken, sautéed shrimp, or diced ham could be stirred into the pasta. Cooked bacon or pancetta would be tasty, too.
• Vary the veggies. Instead of spinach, try baby kale or arugula. Any speedy-cooking green would work. You could add blanched chopped broccoli or corn. We like to sauté sliced mushrooms (about 8 ounces) with the onions.
• Like a creamier sauce? Try our marry us chicken pasta. It is a one pot pasta recipe somewhat similar to this recipe with sun dried tomatoes, penne, and a creamy sauce. It’s pretty fabulous, too!

Make Ahead

To freeze: Prepare this one pan pasta and pour it in a greased casserole dish. Wrap securely and freeze for up to 2 months.

To reheat: Let the frozen casserole thaw in the fridge overnight, cover with foil, and bake at 350°F for 35 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the casserole. Remove foil, sprinkle with additional cheese, and bake for 5 minutes, or until cheese melts. Garnish with fresh basil before serving.

Storing & Reheating

Refrigerate: Leftover pasta should be refrigerated in a covered container. It will keep for up to 3 days.

Reheat: Reheat it gently on the stove top or in the microwave with a splash of water, broth, or milk if pasta seems a little dry.

Free Meal Plan

Interested in a weekly meal plan that includes this recipe? Take a look at our Meal Plan #16. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list. Let us do the planning for you this week!

Browse Meal Plans

• Yield: 4 main course
• Prep: 15 minutes
• Cook: 20 minutes
• Total: 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 package (3 ounces) dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes (about ¾ cup, tightly packed)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, cut into ¼-inch dice (about 1 cup)
• 16 ounces whole wheat orzo pasta, uncooked (about 2 ½ cups)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cups nonfat milk (can use 2% or whole milk)
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth, divided (up to 1 cup more, if needed)
• 5 ounces baby spinach, coarsely chopped (about 5 cups)
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus additional to taste
• zest and juice of 1 medium lemon (about 1 teaspoon zest and ¼ cup juice)
• ⅔ cup shredded Parmesan cheese (about 2 ½ ounces) (plus additional for serving)
• ¼ cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced, divided

Method

1. Place the sun-dried tomatoes in a small bowl and cover with very hot water. Let sit to rehydrate while you prepare the orzo.
2. In a large Dutch oven or similar large, heavy-bottomed pot with a tight-fitting lid, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and sauté until fragrant and beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the orzo, garlic, salt, and black pepper. Sauté, stirring to combine the ingredients and coat the orzo with the onion and oil. Cook just until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Be careful not to let the garlic burn.
3. Slowly stir in the milk and 2 cups of the broth. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring very frequently with a wooden spoon and scraping the spoon along the bottom of the pot to prevent the orzo from sticking.
4. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to a light simmer. Cook until the orzo is al dente, most of the liquid is absorbed, and the orzo is very creamy, 8 to 10 minutes. Lift the lid every few minutes to stir and run the spoon along the bottom to prevent sticking. If the pasta looks dry at any point, add additional broth as needed to loosen it.
5. Drain and roughly chop the sun-dried tomatoes. Add them to the pot. Stir in the spinach, red pepper flakes, lemon zest and juice, Parmesan, and half of the basil. Continue to cook and stir until the spinach is just wilted and the cheese melts, about 1 minute. Taste and season with additional salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes as desired.
6. Serve immediately, sprinkled with the remaining basil and additional Parmesan.

Notes

Yield: This recipe makes 4 main course servings but it also can be served as a side dish (serves 8 to 10).

Substitutions: If you prefer, regular (not whole wheat) orzo can be substituted. Sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil can be substituted for the dry-packed sun dried tomatoes. Skip step #1 (soaking); instead drain the tomatoes and pat lightly with paper towels to remove excess oil. You can use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.

Storage & reheating: Store leftovers in a tightly covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the stove top or in the microwave with a splash of water, broth, or milk if pasta seems a little dry.