This quick and easy parmesan spinach orzo has a light, creamy sauce and plenty of fresh spinach. Perfect with veggies, salad, chicken, fish, or sausage!
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If we pitted our favorite side dishes against each other March Madness-style, I’d put serious money on this creamy parmesan orzo.
It’s quick! Simple! Versatile! Easy to customize!
(Also, there’s cheese. You know how we do.)
This spinach orzo pasta recipe is almost like an orzo alfredo: there’s plenty of garlic and parmesan in a light, creamy sauce.
For having so few ingredients, this alfredo orzo also packs an impressive amount of flavor – just make sure you’re using quality parmesan cheese for best results!
How to riff on this spinach orzo:
This creamy orzo is an amazing blank-canvas recipe – it’s easy to tweak, so use whatever you have! Some of our favorite additions and substitutions:
- Cheese: Add feta, goat cheese, white cheddar, fontina, havarti, or brie in place of (or in addition to!) the parmesan.
- Greens: We love making this orzo with spinach, but you can swap the greens here! Use kale or arugula in place of spinach if you like. Fresh or frozen spinach is fine!
- Veggies: Make this orzo pasta even heartier by adding peas, corn, steamed or roasted broccoli, roasted brussels sprouts or parsnips, or bell peppers.
- Protein: Stir in cooked chopped or shredded chicken, Italian sausage, or top with sautéed shrimp for extra protein. This is also good with butter beans or cannellini beans mixed in!
- If you don’t have orzo on hand, use any kind of pasta you like! For larger pastas (like rigatoni or cavatappi) you may want to use extra milk or cream to stretch the sauce a bit farther.
What to serve with this creamy orzo:
This easy, creamy orzo recipe goes with just about everything! Some of our favorite recipes to serve with it:
- Easy Lemon Garlic Butter Salmon or Steelhead
- Quick Arugula Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
- Lemon Parmesan Roasted Broccoli
- Easy Crusty Artisan Bread
VIDEO: HOW TO MAKE PARMESAN SPINACH ORZO
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Parmesan Spinach Orzo
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4–6 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
An easy, creamy parmesan spinach orzo recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked orzo pasta
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 green onions, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- 1 3/4 cup milk
- 2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook orzo in very salty water until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat.
- Add green onion and garlic to oil. Sauté, stirring once or twice, for about a minute until onions have softened and garlic is fragrant.
- Add salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Add flour to pot and stir to combine. Let cook for 30 seconds or so to cook out any raw flour taste.
- Add milk to the pot a little at a time, whisking constantly to work out any lumps. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened and reached a low simmer, about 5-8 minutes.
- Add chopped spinach to sauce and stir to combine.
- Add parmesan cheese. Stir until cheese has melted and you have a smooth sauce.
- Return cooked orzo to sauce and toss to coat. Turn off the heat and serve immediately.
Notes
Additions and Substitutions. Use feta, goat cheese, white cheddar, fontina, brie, or havarti in place of (or in addition to!) the parmesan here. Swap kale or arugula for the spinach if you prefer, or use frozen spinach. Add chicken, shrimp, sausage, sautéed mushrooms, broccoli, or any other veggies you have on hand to this orzo to make it a little heartier. (For more swaps and substitutions, be sure to read the post above!)
If the sauce is too thin, let it cook for a few extra minutes. Too thick? Add a splash of milk to thin it out.
Use shallots, yellow onions, or white onions in place of the green onions if you like.
No orzo? Use any pasta you like! If you’re using a larger pasta like rigatoni or cavatappi, you may want to use extra milk or add a dash of cream to stretch the sauce a bit more.
Strict vegetarians should look for parmesan cheese made without rennet.
This recipe was updated in April 2020.
Keywords: alfredo, cream sauce, pasta
This was really good, and super easy. I even used frozen spinach as I had no fresh (and we’re in lockdown!). I also added a cooked egg on top, but a hard boiled egg would work too. It brought a little more protein to the meal, which I was looking for, but it could also be well accompanied by a grilled fish or chicken fillet. Yum!
★★★★
Thank you for sharing Leona.
My husband and I loved it.. only used half the Orzo though.. Never had Orzo before, will definitely be making this again.. Thank you for the recipe 🤗
★★★★★
Hi Pamela – thank you!
I’m gonna have to try this bc it sounds similar but not exact to a recipe I have using orzo and it is delicious, but bc my recipe is so much more fattening, I only make it once in a great while..so if I can find a healthier alternative that comes close to it, I’m all for it. Thanks 🙂
Would absolutely love to try this recipe, but unfortunately (as someone else commented) the only ingredient showing is the orzo (3 times!). Can you fix the recipe please? Something must have happened to the ingredient list. Would love to try making it.
There was a glitch with my recipe plugin, but I reloaded it and it should be working now! Thanks for letting me know – I hope you enjoy the orzo!
The only ingredient listed is the orzo (twice). I would really love to make this for dinner tomorrow. Can you send me the recipe?
I reloaded the recipe and it should be working now!
Just made this for dinner! Super yummy! My husband and 2 year old absolutely loved it!! Thanks for sharing!
I’m glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out!
Oh no looks like this recipe got messed up! The ingredient list just lists the orzo 3 times.
It looks like my recipe plugin decided to misbehave! I reloaded it from my end and it should be working fine now – thanks for letting me know it wasn’t working!
This was fabulous! I didn’t use all the orzo I cooked cause I didn’t want it to be too pasta heavy and I added chicken. Also realized I was out of milk so I substituted light Alfredo sauce I had. Sooo good!
I’m happy to hear that you liked it! I love adding chicken to this orzo – thanks for letting me know how it turned out!
Looks fantastic + easy.
Great recipe – my husband & I loved it!
(we did double the spinach & parmesan)
*It may be helped to specify “cooked” or “un-cooked” orzo. We decided to go with 2 1/2 cups COOKED orzo & that seemed to be a good ratio of pasta to sauce, but I think specifying either way would be helpful for people following your recipe. Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback! I’m glad you liked the orzo!