Parmesan Orzo – An easy parmesan orzo recipe that is creamy, full of butter, garlic, parmesan, and herbs. It’s easy to make in under 15 minutes.
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Why I love This Parmesan Orzo Recipe
- It’s a vegetarian orzo recipe (if you swap the chicken broth for vegetable broth) so it is easy to tailor to a meatless meal.
- It’s super flavorful with fresh herbs and garlic.
- It pairs really well with chicken, shrimp, and fish.
- It’s a really easy orzo recipe! It comes together in less than 15 minutes.
Parmesan Orzo Ingredients
- unsalted butter
- garlic
- orzo
- Kosher salt & ground black pepper
- chicken broth (vegetable broth if making it vegetarian)
- milk (I use 2%)
- fresh oregano, basil, and thyme
- grated parmesan
How to cook Orzo Parmesan
Detailed instructions and measurements for Parmesan Orzo are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
- Add your butter to a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Melt the butter.
- Once butter is melted, add the garlic, orzo, salt, and pepper. Toast the orzo, stirring frequently, just until it starts to brown, about 2 minutes.
- Pour in your broth. Stir to combine.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn down the heat and allow it to simmer. Stir occasionally while the orzo simmers. Let it simmer until almost all the liquid has absorbed.
- Pour in the milk. Stir to combine.
- Add the fresh oregano, fresh basil, and fresh thyme. Stir to combine.
- Add in the grated parmesan cheese. Mix to combine until all the parmesan has melted. Serve with extra herbs and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top.
Orzo Parmesan Recipe Tips
Be sure not to burn your garlic and orzo during the toasting process. It’s important to stir frequently to prevent burning.
The fresh herbs add amazing flavor to this dish. If you don’t have access to fresh herbs, dried works well too. You may need to adjust quantities.
Possible Variations
how to lower calories or WW points
- You can use a lower calorie/lower point butter substitute to toast the orzo with the garlic.
- Whole wheat orzo is slightly lower in calories than regular orzo.
- Use a nonfat or plant based alternative milk.
- Reduced fat parmesan could be used in place of full fat parmesan.
Serving Suggestions
Orzo pairs really well with:
- Shrimp Scampi
- Grilled or Baked Chicken
- Salmon
- Grilled Flank Steak
Storing Creamy Parmesan Orzo
Leftover orzo can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. To reheat, microwave for 1 minute at a time adding broth as needed to keep it from drying out.
Garlic Parmesan Orzo FAQs
Orzo is a rice shaped pasta.
I only rinse orzo if it’s going to be used in a cold salad recipe to remove some of the starch. Otherwise, the starch helps it remain creamy when cooking. I do not rinse it in any instance where it is served warm.
Yes. You can substitute water for the chicken broth 1:1. You will want to taste for salt since you won’t have the salt from the broth.
Some great additions to Parmesan Orzo include chicken breast, broccoli, asparagus, peas, spinach, and kale.
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Orzo Parmesan Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup orzo
- Kosher salt & ground black pepper to taste
- 2 cups chicken broth vegetable broth if making vegetarian
- 2 tablespoons milk I use 2%
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- ¼ cup grated parmesan
Instructions
- Add your butter to a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Melt the butter.
- Once butter is melted, add the garlic, orzo, salt and pepper. Toast the orzo, stirring frequently, just until it starts to brown, about 2 minutes.
- Pour in your chicken broth. Stir to combine.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn down the heat and allow it to simmer. Stir occasionally while the orzo simmers. Let it simmer until almost all the liquid has absorbed.
- Pour in the milk. Stir to combine.
- Add the fresh oregano, fresh basil, and fresh thyme. Stir to combine.
- Add in the grated parmesan cheese. Mix to combine until all the parmesan has melted. Serve with extra herbs and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is my holy grail orzo recipe and one of the best things to ever grace my TikTok For You Page. It’s in my dinner rotation and I love pairing it with a veggie and protein for a filling, balances meal. Thanks for the recipe!
I think this is the sweetest & nicest comment I’ve ever gotten!! Thank you so much!!
This orzo is absolutely amazing. I paired it with chicken and a veggie. It has so much flavor and is really easy to make.
Thank you, Emily! I really appreciate you taking the time to leave a review!
Saw this on TikTok as well and it sounded delicious so I gave it a try! I doubled the recipe and it turned out great! So delicious and heated up well the next day. I put some spinach on it but I think next time I might add some mushrooms and maybe some chicken breast as well! Thank you! 🙂
I’m so glad you liked it! Your additions sound delicious. Especially the chicken and mushrooms!
I really liked this! I found orzo in the supermarket and bought it on a whim. Very good, and you don’t have to be a particularly fantastic cook to follow this recipe; super beginner friendly.
Thank you, Madelaine! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I really appreciate you taking the time to leave a review.
I saw your recipe on tiktok and had all the ingredients on hand for this and the Greek bowls. I really enjoyed this and have it prepped for the coming week. Thanks!
Thank you, Torrie! That was so nice of you to say. I’m so glad you’re here!