25 Easy Orzo Recipes for Creamy Dinners, Salads and Sides
Orzo may look like rice, but it cooks like pasta, which makes it one of the easiest ingredients to use in quick dinners, simple sides, fresh salads and cozy soups. Its small shape absorbs sauces, broths and dressings beautifully, so it works just as well in creamy one-pot meals as it does in cold meal-prep salads.
From lemon chicken orzo and Parmesan garlic orzo to Greek orzo salad, shrimp scampi orzo and vegetarian skillet meals, these easy orzo recipes show just how much you can do with one small pantry staple. Explore alternatives to your go-to meals with these easy orzo recipes.
Jump to Section
- What Is Orzo?
- How To Cook Orzo
- Best Orzo Recipes At A Glance
- Simple Orzo Side Dishes
- Creamy Orzo Recipes
- Chicken Orzo Recipes
- Vegetarian Orzo Recipes
- Orzo Salad Recipes
- Seafood Orzo Recipes
- Orzo Soups And Stews
- What To Serve With Orzo
- Is Orzo Healthy?
- How To Store And Reheat Orzo
- FAQs About Orzo Recipes
What Is Orzo?
Though it may superficially resemble rice, orzo is a pasta shape that originated in Italy, where it’s called risoni, and spread throughout the Mediterranean. Today, it’s very popular in both Italian and Greek cuisines and is also used in recipes from France to Turkey and in other Mediterranean dishes. Like most Italian pasta, it’s made of durum wheat. In fact, by strict Italian law, manufacturers are required to produce dry pasta using 100% durum wheat semolina (or semola di grano duro) and water.
How To Cook Orzo
Cooking methods for orzo depend on what you’re doing with it. The simplest approach for cold orzo recipes is to cook it as you would any dried pasta in salted boiling water, then drain before using. If you’re making a creamy orzo recipe, you’ll probably want to simmer the dried pasta directly in whatever sauce, cream or broth the recipe calls for. Either way, it's a simple ingredient to cook with and lends itself well to a number of easy pasta recipes.
Orzo is easy to prepare, but it tends to stick together, so make sure you’re using enough liquid to cook it and be vigilant about stirring if you’re cooking it in a cream-based sauce. You may also want to add a little liquid when you reheat orzo to prevent sticking after your dish is prepared.
Best Orzo Recipes At A Glance
Orzo is a super-versatile meal base, so you may want to keep tabs on the best orzo recipes for different purposes or tastes. Here are a few go-to options when you’re looking for a more specific orzo recipe.
Simple Orzo Side Dishes
1. Parmesan Garlic Orzo
Although orzo pairs well with just about anything, the nutty creaminess of Parmesan seems tailor-made for an orzo side dish. And in this surefire hit, the classic combination of parmesan and garlic in a light but creamy sauce coats warm orzo pasta, packing in the flavor without requiring much effort on your part.
It’s also great as a side dish because it lets you sneak the taste and texture of pasta and cream sauce into your spread without devoting an entire meal to a heavy, creamy pasta-based main course. That said, all you’d need to do to turn this flavorful orzo recipe into an entree is add some vegetables or protein.
2. Orzo Pilaf
If you want your next weeknight meal to make you feel like you’re on a Mediterranean getaway, consider adding this adaptation of a classic Mediterranean rice dish as a side. Cooking orzo in chicken broth gives it a savory flavor profile that is best enhanced by butter, garlic and herbs. With very little effort, you’ll have a ridiculously delicious side dish on your hands in a fraction of the time it would take to prep the rice version.
Fat is an integral part of the pilaf flavor profile, but if you’d like to make this recipe a little lighter, you can definitely swap the butter for olive oil. Sub the chicken broth for vegetable broth as well for a fantastic vegan pasta recipe.
3. Lemon Butter Orzo
Lemon and orzo are a classic combination for good reason, and all this simple orzo recipe requires is cooked orzo tossed in a butter-based lemon sauce. Absorbent and neutral-tasting, orzo absorbs sauces easily, and lemon pairs well with a handful of the orzo recipes on this list. It’s the perfect light but indulgent summer side dish and would also be a great addition to a salad.
4. Garlic Herb Orzo
For the ultimate light orzo side dish, you’ll need nothing more than garlic, olive oil and fresh herbs of your choice. It’s hard to get simpler than this, but Garlic Herb Orzo is still an excellent potluck idea because it's versatile, so it pairs well with a lot of other dishes. Orzo takes on the simple but punchy flavor profile beautifully and one can easily imagine how simple it would be to make a well-rounded meal out of this orzo recipe by adding some legumes or vegetables of choice.
Creamy Orzo Recipes
5. Creamy Parmesan Orzo
Parmesan and orzo are such a good pair that they’ll show up again and again on this list, but this one-pot wonder is probably the simplest orzo recipe that shows them off best: a creamy parmesan cheese sauce is all orzo needs to transform from a humdrum pantry ingredient into a hearty, can-I-have-seconds weeknight meal. Think of this one-pot orzo recipe as a kind of Mediterranean mac and cheese, where a small pasta shape takes a hefty coating of cheese sauce to perfection. And although the taste is bold as-is, adding some chicken or vegetables will bulk up this admittedly carb-heavy meal.
6. Creamy Mushroom Orzo
Cream of mushroom soup in pasta form: that’s the best one-sentence description of this indulgent one-pot orzo recipe, where versatile orzo becomes a brilliant backdrop for a rich cream sauce studded with mushrooms. It’s an easy creamy orzo recipe for meal prep or a simple dinner if you want something with a little more substance. Although the addition of mushrooms already adds some heft, you couldn’t go wrong adding chicken.
7. Creamy Lemon Orzo
One of the best parts of cooking with orzo is how easily it can feel like a full meal with very little effort, and in this dish, all you need to make an incredibly rich and flavorful one-pot meal is lemon, feta cheese, and olive oil. That’s it! The punchy flavor of lemon and the saltiness of feta make Creamy Lemon Orzo a standout you could easily augment with roasted vegetables for an even more filling meal prep recipe.
Here's our recipe for Creamy Lemon Orzo
8. Creamy Tomato Orzo
Tomato-based pasta sauces usually aren’t very creamy — not so in the case of this orzo recipe. Creamy Tomato Orzo is a dish a little bit like Spanish rice, where a meaty tomato flavor profile is the star of the show, but with a pasta base and a creamier sauce that’s a hit on the weeknight dinner table. Adding a protein like sausage or ground beef is also a great call with this one.
Chicken Orzo Recipes
9. Lemon Chicken Orzo
Add this one to your growing list of orzo recipes with lemon in the front seat. Grilled chicken served over orzo bathed in a creamy lemon sauce is about as filling as it gets, and it makes a great comfort food for a weeknight when you’re exhausted and just want something delicious and comforting that won’t take two hours or a million dirty dishes to make. If chicken is getting a little boring, you could also easily mix things up with another protein – scallops or shrimp might suit.
10. Greek Orzo Salad With Chicken Thighs
Chicken thighs are a meal-prepper staple, and this chicken orzo recipe is a simple dish to make ahead if you’re honed in on hitting your protein goals. The healthy Greek-inspired additions of tomato, olives and feta cheese bring bright, fresh flavor to the pasta base, and the use of orzo ensures a balanced mix of macronutrients, with some carbs to help you recover from your last gym session. Roasted chicken thighs round out what has to be one of the most nutrient-dense orzo recipes on this list.
11. Greek Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
As a texture middle ground between rice and pasta, orzo is a wildly underrated addition to soups, and Greek Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup is a tangy but comforting way to use orzo in an easy soup. It's another great option for meal prep and a delicious alternative to the usual chicken noodle and minestrone recipes you might be getting tired of. If you want a comforting orzo recipe with chicken that isn’t heavy on cream, this is the one for you.
Here is our recipe for Greek Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
12. One-Pot Chicken And Spinach Orzo
Nothing is better at the end of a long day than no dishes to clean. This creamy, hearty orzo recipe promises you won’t need anything more than a pot to make it. It brings together protein, vegetables, and pasta in a stellar all-arounder for a weeknight dinner.
Vegetarian Orzo Recipes
13. Tomato Spinach Orzo
Orzo is a great vessel for all kinds of vegetables, so a light and refreshing salad of orzo with braised spinach and tomatoes is a very appealing way to get your daily servings of vegetables. Though optional, it’s much more fun if you top it with a hefty serving of parmesan cheese — name a tomato-based dish that wouldn’t be better that way!
14. Orzo with Tomato and Chickpeas
Chicken isn’t the only protein source that pairs well with orzo, and it’s totally possible to find a plant-based, protein-packed orzo recipe if you’re going meatless for your next meal prep. Adding chickpeas brings some protein to this one-pot, meatless orzo recipe, and their creamy texture delightfully contrasts the tang of tomatoes and the stable, neutral binding agent of orzo. Substitute white beans if chickpeas aren’t your thing.
15. Roasted Vegetable Orzo
This might just be the easiest orzo recipe for meal prep that you’ll ever find. All you have to do is cook a pot of orzo, roast your favorite vegetables, and toss everything together in olive oil. Highly customizable and incredibly simple, this is a great recipe for people who want to try using orzo but are wary of making heavy, creamy, carb-heavy dishes with little fiber. And it’s especially good for meal preppers because if you get bored midway through the week, you can throw in any protein, cheese, or additional vegetables — its neutral flavor allows for that.
16. White Bean And Orzo Skillet
This one-pot orzo recipe is another win for the meatless protein crowd, with white beans in a starring role. Often served with a creamy sauce and sundried tomatoes, it’s a one-pan weeknight dinner winner for anyone who’s avoiding meat but doesn’t really want to eat more roasted vegetables. It’s also easy to customize — meat eaters could add chicken and get a delicious result, and although white beans are most popular for their mild flavor, you could use any type of bean with a firm texture.
Orzo Salad Recipes
17. Greek Orzo Salad
Take the classic Greek salad and swap the lettuce base for orzo, and you have the rough idea of this easy, eat-it-cold orzo recipe that’s a classic fresh salad for a potluck side dish. Olives, tomatoes, feta cheese, and onions make a bright and nutritious salad that you can dress with olive oil or your dressing of choice. If you’re trying to eat more vegetables but dread eating salads, this might be an orzo recipe worth trying.
18. Antipasto Orzo Pasta Salad
Want to impress at your next work event? Bring this deceptively simple side dish. Inspired by classic Italian appetizers, this orzo salad packs in tomatoes, herbs, mozzarella, roasted peppers, and olives, and can easily be bulked up with prosciutto or another Italian cold cut of your choice. Don’t sweat about a fancy appetizer if you’ve ended up on a list to bring a side dish, because this orzo recipe takes all the components of a good appetizer-inspired side tray and throws them together with the binding tie of chewy orzo pasta in an easy-to-make whole.
19. Mediterranean Orzo Salad
Add chickpeas and herbs to a Greek-inspired base of orzo, feta, olives and onions for a uniquely crunchy orzo recipe brimming with flavor and textural contrasts that keep things interesting. Orzo provides a stable, neutral base that pulls the whole flavor profile together.
It’s an ideal herb lunch option, as the addition of chickpeas makes it unique, and you can easily customize it to suit just about any taste. Want to add a favorite dressing, take out the olives or switch chickpeas for kidney beans? Go for it.
20. Grilled Zucchini Orzo Salad
This light and fiber-packed orzo recipe is a brilliant match for summer menus because it's easy to serve hot or cold with just orzo, zucchini and whatever mix-ins catch your fancy. Our recommendation: feta for a little creaminess and satiating healthy fat, and sun-dried tomato for flavor. It would be right at home on the menu at a backyard barbecue as a side dish or, like so many cold orzo recipes, in your meal prep rotation.
21. Pesto Orzo Salad
Name a pasta shape that pesto doesn’t suit — we’ll wait. This no-cook orzo recipe provides the easiest imaginable ready-made sauce and perfectly complements whatever vegetables or protein you might feel like adding. It’s a crowd-pleasing salad that any party spread would be lucky to have, but also a great thing to keep in your fridge for those days when you just couldn't be bothered heating anything up.
Seafood Orzo Recipes
22. Shrimp Scampi Orzo
Shrimp scampi is a popular pasta dish that’s usually made with linguine, but in this orzo recipe, our star of the day works equally well for a more practical, everyday version of what’s usually a dinner-out treat. It provides easier-to-control portions when you use orzo, and it makes this creamy, protein-packed seafood pasta a little more accessible as a weeknight meal or, probably, your next several workday lunches. Scallops will work if you don’t have shrimp on hand.
23. Salmon With Lemon Dill Orzo
Looking to pack in your Omega-3s? Then opt for one of the healthiest fish to eat, salmon, as the protein in this orzo recipe. The tang of lemony sauce and the aromatic bite of dill offset the buttery salmon. More of a protein-over-carbs setup than a salad or a skillet dish, this recipe makes a great weeknight dinner for its excellent nutritional profile and refreshing flavors. For a little more fiber, add asparagus or roasted zucchini.
24. Scallops With Lemon Orzo
If salmon isn’t your favorite, seared scallops work equally well over orzo in a lemon-based sauce. Whether you make this orzo recipe as a one-pot dish or cook the components separately to use for weekly meal prep, it’s a novel way to eat up that orzo in your pantry that feels delightfully fancy even though it’s very easy to make.
Orzo Soups And Stews
25. Avgolemono-style Greek Lemon Orzo Soup
Avgolemono is a classic and criminally underrated Greek soup that usually includes rice and chicken in a creamy, eggy lemon broth. And no, this orzo recipe isn’t quite the traditional food you’ll find in Athens, Greece — but using orzo in place of rice adds weight and satiety to the soup and doesn’t alter the comforting texture or flavor at all. We advise making this one exactly as your favorite recipe instructs: it’s a classic for a reason, and one worth enjoying on a cold winter weeknight in all its simple glory. You could revise the ingredients to make this a low-carb soup.
What To Serve With Orzo
Like many types of pasta, orzo is incredibly versatile because its neutral taste pairs well with just about any protein or vegetable you could select. Chicken is a perennial favorite to pair with orzo, but meatballs make a delicious addition, too.
Roasted vegetables of all kinds also pair nicely with orzo (think asparagus or zucchini), and any tomato-based dish is likely to work well. It also works well as a base for, or an addition to, a salad if you’d rather stick to raw vegetables. And seafood works too: think salmon, scallops, and shrimp — anything you might think to add to traditional pasta.
Is Orzo Healthy?
Because orzo is a pasta shape at the end of the day, and not an entirely different food group, it’s best to treat orzo like you would other types of pasta for nutritional purposes. Orzo isn’t inherently healthier than other starches, and is high in carbohydrates, so the healthfulness of your orzo recipe depends on how much you eat and what you combine it with. Healthy pairings for orzo include vegetables, lean proteins like chicken and sources of healthy fats like salmon or olive oil.
How To Store And Reheat Orzo
Orzo is easy to make ahead and store in the fridge, but you might want to rehydrate it a little: it tends to get firmer in the fridge. Adding a little broth or water to a warm dish before reheating it can restore its original texture. If your dish is cold, use lemon juice or olive oil to avoid a sticky or stodgy texture.
Cooked orzo lasts for about 3 to 5 days in the fridge when stored properly in an airtight container. To keep it fresh and prevent it from clumping, cool it down first, and place it in the fridge within two hours of cooking. Toss in a tiny drizzle of olive oil before refrigerating to stop the grains from sticking together. Always discard refrigerated orzo if it develops a sour smell, slimy texture or visible mold. If you need to store it longer, you can freeze it in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months.
FAQs About Orzo Recipes
What Does Orzo Taste Like?
Orzo tastes pretty much the same as any other durum wheat-based pasta, but because the individual pieces of pasta are so tiny, it’s much more absorbent of other flavors. It’s one of the reasons orzo is so adaptable: whatever sauce, seasoning or add-in you throw into your pot of orzo, the tiny surface area of each piece of pasta means you’ll rarely get a bite that hasn’t absorbed the flavor.
Do You Rinse Orzo After Cooking?
Since orzo can get sticky when it cools, it’s often a good idea to rinse it after cooking if your recipe is served cold. In the case of creamy orzo recipes, though, you’ll probably want to avoid doing this. As tempting as it can be to try to rinse the stickiness off, it helps sauces stick to the pasta, so don’t do this before assembling a creamier recipe.
What Protein Goes Well With Orzo?
Almost any protein can work in an orzo dish, but chicken, seafood and legumes especially stand out. Sausage and meatballs work, too; your best seafood options are shrimp, salmon and scallops. And if you’re looking to add plant-based protein to your orzo dish, chickpeas or white beans are great for adding protein, too.
Can Orzo Recipes Be Made Ahead?
Absolutely! Nearly every recipe on this list is great for making ahead and meal prepping, especially salads, soups, and side dishes. Creamy orzo recipes work as make-ahead meals, too, but you’ll want to reheat them with a little liquid to ensure the texture is just as good as it was fresh.
Is Orzo Rice Or Pasta?
Orzo is pasta, not rice. It has a small, rice-like shape, but it is usually made from durum wheat semolina, like many other dried pasta shapes.
Orzo deserves a regular spot in your pantry because it can become a quick side, a creamy one-pot dinner, a fresh salad or a cozy soup with very little effort. Keep a box on hand for busy weeknights, meal-prep lunches and easy sides that work with chicken, seafood, vegetables or beans.
For even more ways to explore the best orzo recipes, check out Cozymeal’s chef-led cooking classes.
