One-Pot Healthy Orzo
This One-Pot Healthy Orzo dinner dish is the perfect mess free dinner that everyone will love. This dinner dish has the perfect balance of carbs from the orzo, protein from the chickpeas, and vitamins from the veggies.
This is the perfect dinner to make when you need something quick and easy, or have guests coming over and need to feed a large crowd. We love a no-mess dinner because it’s made in one-pot.
What ingredients do I need?
- Orzo
- Yellow Onion
- Chickpeas
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Zucchini
- Peas
- Spinach
- Olive Oil
- Garlic
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic Powder
- Vegan Parmesan
How to make it:
- Sauté the onion, garlic, tomatoes, zucchini and chickpeas.
- Add in the orzo and the water.
- Stir until all of the liquid is absorbed and add in the spinach and peas.
- Add in salt, pepper, and garlic powder and stir.
- Top with vegan parmesan and enjoy!
What are the health benefits of this dinner?
Finding a dinner for you and your family that is both nutritious and easy can sometimes be difficult. This One-Pot Healthy Orzo dinner is the perfect combination of both.
The orzo and chickpeas have a great amount of protein which will give you long lasting energy and help you to feel full. This recipe is loaded with vegetables like tomatoes, spinach, onion, peas, and zucchini which are packed with fiber and antioxidants.
Substitutions:
Orzo: While you could always use a gluten-free orzo if you have an allergy, another substitution for this is quinoa, farro, rice, or noodles.
Chickpeas: Any time of bean can be substituted for the chickpeas. For example, navy beans, northern beans, or cannelini beans.
Zucchini: If you have an allergy or disliking, you can substitute the zucchini, or really any of the veggies, for other veggies like squash or eggplant.
Helpful Tips:
- Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Make sure to stir the orzo often while it’s cooking so it does not adhere to the bottom of the pot!
- Add more liquid to the orzo if you use up the 4 cups and it’s still not tender.
- To keep the pasta from sticking together, add a little olive oil.
- I am obsessed with my Caraway Dutch Oven. It is non stick and makes cleaning up so easy.
Other recipes you might like:
- This roasted vegetable orzo salad is a great dinner or lunch option!
2. Creamy vegan pumpkin alfredo is so indulgent (and healthy) you would never guess it’s dairy-free.
3. Need a great tofu recipe? Make this vegan teriyaki tofu! It’s delish.
One-Pot Healthy Orzo (10 minute dinner!)
the ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup diced zucchini
- 16 oz orzo
- 4 cups water
- 1 15oz can chickpea
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 cups chopped spinach
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- vegan parmesan
- squeeze fresh lemon juice
- fresh flat leaf parsley
instructions
- Prep your veggies! Dice the onion, mince garlic, half the cherry tomatoes, dice the zucchini and strain and rinse your chickpeas.
- In a large pot on medium heat, sauté onion, garlic, tomatoes, zucchini and chickpeas for a few minutes.
- Pour in the orzo and water to your pot. Add in the salt. You can start with 4 cups of water and then add 2 cups more if the orzo still isn't tender. Bring to a boil.
- Turn stove down to medium and stir every 30 seconds until all of the liquid is absorbed. When it's almost done, add peas and spinach. This should take about 10 minutes.
- Taste the orzo when the liquid is absorbed and make sure it is tender to your liking.
- Season with nutritional yeast, pepper and more salt to taste if needed.
- Sprinkle on vegan parmesan, garnish with some fresh parsley, squeeze in fresh lemon juice and enjoy!
Made with love,
Danielle
Looks amazing!!! I can’t wait to try this recipe out.
I highly recommend this recipe. I modified it slightly just using veggies I had on hand. I just recently started learning how to cook, and it came out perfect which means it’s super easy to make. It’s a very comforting dish.
I made this recipe last night! Very easy, takes very little time, and it’s a perfect winter comfort meal.
I don’t see chickpeas in the ingredient list, but see it in the instructions.
Thanks for pointing this out! The recipe has been updated
Thank you for this recipe. I am new to making no meat meals and this recipe is easy and delicious. My whole family like it and always get seconds. I have taken this and made substitutions and it still comes out delicious. I usually use vegetable broth instead of water. I have used canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh and have used both yellow squash and zucchini. Definitely a versatile, quick, and yummy recipe.
Ok this was amazing, but it does not take 15 min for me, more like 30min (for an average cook). Still worth it! I’m not vegan so I added regular Parmesan instead, and used bone broth to substitute some of the water and add more protein. Didn’t see directions on when to add garlic powder so I added with the Parmesan and pepper. This makes a huge batch! Would definitely make again.
I loved it! You definitely need the extra 2 cups of water though!
This was delicious!
Super easy, delicious recipe! I used Arborio rice instead of orzo, since that’s what I had on hand.
Made this dish tonight! Super easy! We added in some bok choy. Baby bok choy would have been more tended but it added some crunch. I think I might have liked the sauce just a touch sweet but all in all it was super tasty!!
Made this tonight! Very tasty! Similar to others we needed 6 cups of liquid. We used vegetable stock. We added some mushrooms and Kalamata olives. The lemon juice is what really gives it flavor. Next time I would like to try green olives and vegan feta cheese. Definitely doable in one pan but took about 30 minutes all together. Will make again for sure!
Loved the flavor and the ingredients. My orzo got gooey and overcooked and I also felt like there was too much of it. I’d make this again and 1) half the amount of orzo and 2) cook it separately.