This light and tasty Easy Orzo Pasta is a delicious dish enhanced with lemon, herbs, and parmesan cheese on top.
Orzo Pasta is a simple dish that goes well with things like Parmesan Crusted Chicken or Grilled Basil and Garlic Pork Chops.
Easy pasta recipes like this one are essential to have because they go with so many weeknight dinners! It has subtle flavors that complement so many things, just like my Garlic Herb Rice Pilaf.
Orzo Pasta Recipe
This easy pasta side dish is ready in under 20 minutes! Orzo pasta has a small, rice like shape and adds a unique texture. The lemon, a little butter, parmesan, and parsley really help this little pasta dish shine!
Ingredients Needed
Here’s the basic list of ingredients you’ll need to make Easy Orzo Pasta. As always, you can find the full ingredient list in the printable recipe card below.
- Orzo Pasta – uncooked
- Butter – salted is best
- Lemon – fresh is best
- Parmesan Cheese – fresh grated is best to avoid the anti-caking additives that can cause it to taste grainy when melted.
- Parsley – fresh
- Black Pepper – fresh cracked makes the flavor really pop!
- Salt – used to flavor the pasta as it cooks in the water.
How To Make Easy Orzo Pasta
It’s super simple to whip up orzo pasta! I’ll walk you through the step by step process.
Boil Pasta
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 2 teaspoons of salt. Cook the orzo pasta in the salted water until it’s al dente, about 12-15 minutes.
PRO TIP: Cooking the pasta in salted water helps add effortless flavor to the pasta, it’s not too much salt. Trust me!
Drain Pasta
Drain the pasta and return it to the hot pan. Immediately stir in the butter and lemon juice, until incorporated.
Add Parmesan
To the pasta, add in the parmesan cheese, parsley and black pepper and stir. Taste and season with more slat if desired. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips and Substitutions
It’s so easy to customize this dish to fit your needs. Here are a few suggestions:
- Add more lemon juice and zest to really make it lemon flavored.
- Instead of parmesan, try pecorino romano or a nice asiago cheese for a little different flavor.
- Add a dash of heavy cream to add a little creaminess.
- Swap out parsley for fresh basil for a different flavor profile.
Make Ahead and Storage
You can easily make this orzo recipe ahead of time!
Refrigerate: Once cooked and cooled, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Reheat in a pan and add a little butter as needed to refresh.
To Freeze: Once cooled, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw completely before reheating to avoid curdling.
Common Questions
It’s about 1 cup of orzo pasta to 2 cups of water when cooking so that it cooks evenly.
Orzo is best served fresh, and this recipe doesn’t have a lot of liquid in it to make it mushy. Make sure you don’t overcook it and just cook it to al dente.
About 2 cups of cooked pasta.
No, it doesn’t need to be rinsed. Although it looks kind of like rice, it is a pasta which does not need rinsing.
More Delicious Pasta Recipes
We LOVE pasta over here, I have a few pasta recipes for you try that we make all the time. Make sure to try at least one!
I hope you love this super easy orzo pasta recipe as much as our family does! Let me know how you like it in the comments below.
Easy Orzo Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz orzo pasta, uncooked
- 2 tsp salt
- ¼ cup butter, salted
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, grated
- ¼ cup parsley, freshly chopped
- ½ tsp black pepper, freshly cracked
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 2 tsp of salt. Cook the orzo pasta in the salted water until it's al dente, about 12 to 15 minutes.
- Drain the orzo pasta and return it to the hot pan. Immediately stir in the butter and lemon juice, until incorporated.
- Stir in the parmesan cheese, parsley and black pepper. Taste and season with more salt if desired. Enjoy!
I made this as a side dish with steak. It was super simple to make and tasty. I stuck to the recipe. It has a very subtle flavor which we liked. I can see how any of the alternatives would be really good too. I will try some of the variations next time.