Parmesan and Spinach Orzo Pasta recipe

Every Sunday on my Instagram @rachelquenzer I make a pasta dish. I call it #pastasunday and it’s the one day a week when I let myself fully indulge in carbs and make the kind of meals I wish I could eat the other six days of the week.

I’m usually cooking off the cuff with no recipe in mind, using what we have and completely following my tastebuds. It’s always fun for me to be able to cook in this way again. Sometimes having to keep track of every, little ingredient for the blog often feels cumbersome to me and reduces a bit of the fun in cooking.

I’m such a taster and sometimes a dish just needs a little bit more of this or a little bit extra of that. Those measurements can be hard to capture in a teaspoon or a cup.

However, about once a month there is a pasta dish that I make that EVERYONE sends me a DM about and wants the recipe for. This month, this Parmesan and Spinach Orzo Pasta recipe was the one.

With its creamy, cheese sauce and its beautiful flavors all mixing to create a bowl of pure comfort, it’s easy to see why everyone wanted it. This weekend, I decided to make it again so I could give everyone what they wanted (including myself and my family) – the Parmesan and Spinach Orzo Pasta recipe.

Creating the Parmesan and Spinach Orzo Pasta recipe

When I decide to make the Parmesan and Spinach Orzo Pasta, I was honestly wanting to make a Risotto dish. However, often here in West Michigan I have trouble finding some ingredients and Risotto happens to be one of them. Orzo was my back-up, but it was a very happy accident!

I used chicken broth instead of water throughout the creation of this to give it more flavor. For this recipe I would not substitute with water because the broth is such an important flavoring agent.

Orzo soaks up a lot of liquid as it cooks and I don’t drain it off. When it’s combined with the Parmesan it creates a beautiful, almost Earthy flavor that’s mild enough for kids to love but is also sophisticated enough for adults to crave. Packing the dish with spinach and fresh herbs also really sets it a part. My go-tos are fresh spinach, fresh curly parsley and thyme.

Serving with a protein

I made a delicious Butter Garlic Shrimp Scampi for us to eat with this dish. You can find the full recipe for that {HERE}. It is simmered in butter and wine with plenty of herbs, salt and pepper and goes beautifully with this dish. If you want to make a super simple shrimp with this, bake them at 400 degree for 8 minutes with olive oil, butter and salt and pepper. The Shrimp Scampi recipe just kicks this up a notch.

However, I realize some people don’t like seafood and fresh fish (which I always recommend) can be hard to find. It’s hard to find here. I have to go to a special market to find it.

If you want to make this with a grilled or seared chicken that would also be delicious. I also think it would be amazing with steak. Or, you can eat it alone too. It’s just as good solo.

Tips for making Parmesan and Spinach Orzo Pasta

• Make sure to use a good, quality parmesan cheese and grate it yourself. I know It can be easy to shortcut this part, but it really helps to make the dish.
• Use fresh spinach. For a lot of vegetables, I won’t be a stickler about fresh versus frozen. I’m a mom and sometimes frozen is easier. In this case, I think you’ll find that fresh is easier (no defrosting required) and it has a better flavor and texture in the Orzo pasta.
• Use all fresh herbs and make sure to top it off with some at the end. Again, this is not one thing I’m usually a big stickler on but when it comes to pasta dishes, fresh herbs always make a huge difference and adding them when plating ALWAYS adds a bright bit of extra flavor that will elevator your dish.
• Orzo soaks up A LOT of liquid. Don’t be alarmed in the beginning if you seem to have too much. The pasta will absorb it.

Cooking equipment

You don’t need much to make the Parmesan and Spinach Orzo Pasta. I always like to make mine in a Dutch Oven and I use this one {HERE}. It’s well worth it’s weight in gold since I use it for all my soups, pastas and all slow roasting of meats. I also tend to use wooden spoons when cooking this and these ones {HERE} are my favorite.

Reheating the Orzo pasta

Because I recommend making the whole box of Orzo here, you’re going to end up with a lot of pasta. You can save your leftovers in the refrigerator for about three days. You will have to rehydrate this in order to eat it again, which means you will want to heat it up with a little liquid. I recommend using ¼ cup of chicken broth whether you want to put it in the microwave or on the stove.

What I LOVE doing is using 1.5 cups of chicken broth and using the leftovers for a bowl of soup for lunch. I squeeze a little lemon in it, add a bit more salt and pepper, a sprinkle of fresh parmesan and a few more herbs if I have them handy.

Thank you so much for visiting today, friends! I hope you’ll come back to visit us again.

You can find the full, printable recipe below. Also, make sure to check out the recipe for the Butter Garlic Shrimp Scampi {HERE}. It can be made in less than 20 minutes and is easy to do while the pasta is soaking up all that broth! Also, if you’re looking for other cozy pasta dishes, click {HERE} to try my Lemon Carbonara Pasta.

Parmesan and Spinach Orzo Pasta

This Parmesan and Spinach Orzo Pasta is a big hit with my family and it's the perfect way to indulge in all your pasta cravings while making a fast meal.

5 from 13 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: dinner

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: Orzo pasta, orzo pasta recipe, Parmesan and spinach orzo pasta

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Author: Rachel

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 cup shallot, diced
• 1 Tbsp. fresh minced garlic or garlic puree
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 box orzo pasta (1 lb)
• 2 tsp. Kosher salt
• 1 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper
• 32 oz + 2 cups of chicken broth - Divided
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 3 cups fresh spinach
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley to garnish each plate
• 1/2 Tbsp. Fresh thyme to garnish each plate
• Additional salt and pepper to taste
• Additional Parmesan cheese to plate with.

Instructions

• Add the olive oil to a large pan or Dutch oven and heat through.
• Once warm, add in the onions and the shallots. You want to continually be stirring these so they don't burn and begin softening.
• Add in garlic and continue to stir everything for about 1 minute.
• Make sure heat is on medium and add in the butter. Stir it in as it melts. This will begin to caramelize the onions and shallots so make sure to continue stirring. You don't want the butter to burn.
• Once the butter has fully melted and onions and shallots are beginning to caramelize, add in the orzo pasta and then your salt and pepper. Stir to lightly toast the pasta for about three minutes.
• Add in half of the chicken broth and set heat to mow to medium. Continue to stir every now and then so that the orzo doesn't burn on the bottom. Cook for 5 minutes. This is a great time to prep any protein you might be using.
• Add in the heavy cream and continue to stir occasionally. Cook for another 5 minutes.
• Add in the rest of the broth and when to orzo begins to soak it up, add in the Parmesan and stir in until completely melted.
• Stir in the spinach and cook until it is limp.
• Serve immediately with your desired protein, the fresh thyme and parsley, extra Parmesan and additional salt and pepper.