This creamy spinach orzo is a one-pot delicious side dish ready in just 20 minutes and made without any heavy cream!
I'm not gonna lie, rice and potatoes are my go-to starches. I always have them and they are so easy and versatile.
However, I've been on an orzo kick recently and I'm not looking back.
And today's one-pot creamy spinach orzo is a favorite in my house!
It's so soft and flavorful and rich and creamy, but we don't even need heavy cream.
Instead, I'm using my favorite trick of stirring in cream cheese with broth to make a creamy sauce that coats every little piece.
(Also, to be clear, orzo is a pasta. It's shaped like rice, which is endlessly confusing to my children, but it is in fact a pasta.)
And because I'm a veggie lover through and through, we are wilting in some spinach to make this an all-in-one side dish of both veggies and carbs. Gotta love a dish that does double duty. 😉
Plus, it's ready in just 20 minutes! I can make this any night of the week. And oh, do I ever.
OK, let's get cooking!
Recipe Notes:
Broth: Feel free to use either chicken or vegetable broth. (Vegetable broth of course is necessary to keep this vegetarian if that's a need.) I use and recommend low-sodium so you can control the amount of sodium in the finished recipe. Technically, you can use all water but the broth adds a ton of background flavor in my opinion. Just keep an eye on it as it comes to a boil because it can boil over the pot.
Spinach: Giving a rough chop to the spinach helps it incorporate more evenly in the pasta dish, with no big wilted spinach pieces hanging out. I've also been lazy and skipped it before and it was fine.
Cream cheese: Use a block cream cheese, instead of a tub, because it will incorporate better into the sauce. Regular or ⅓ reduced fat are both fine. I don't recommend fat free cream cheese.
Consistency: You want this dish to be creamy but not too liquidy or loose and also not too thickened up. It should scoop well onto a fork, for instance.
Keeping warm: If you are letting this hang out over low heat while the rest of your meal is getting finished, just keep an eye on it add add additional pasta cooking liquid in splashes so it doesn't dry out or get too thick. The liquid gets absorbed pretty quickly.
Simple and so soft, creamy and comforting. It's a must make.
And if you need to round out your meal, try this baked lemon chicken or spice rubbed pork chops or balsamic pork tenderloin for a yummy main dish that pairs great. Dinner is gonna be so good!
Happy cooking and enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
P.S. Stay tuned because I have a mushroom version coming soon for my fellow mushroom lovers.
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Creamy Spinach Orzo
Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 2 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 ½ cups dry orzo
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium shallot, finely chopped (about ¼ cup)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (6 oz) bag fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
- 4 oz. plain cream cheese
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese (plus extra for serving)
- ½ lemon, juiced
Instructions
- In a large pot, bring the water and broth to a boil (but watch carefully because it can boil over quickly), add the orzo and cook according to package directions. Reserve 1 ½ cups of the cooking liquid then drain the cooked orzo and set aside.
- In the same pot, over medium heat, add the oil. Add the shallot and garlic and saute for about a minute, until softened and fragrant. Add the spinach in a couple of batches and stir until slightly wilted. Reduce heat to medium low.
- Add the cream cheese and ½ cup of the reserved pasta cooking liquid. Stir until the cream cheese is melted and a sauce has formed. Add extra sauce a few splashes at a time as needed to help make the sauce smooth.
- Return the cooked orzo to the pan and mix well into the sauce until it's well coated. Season with the salt and pepper then stir in the Parmesan cheese. Add additional reserved pasta water if needed to help the sauce coat everything. It should be creamy but not too thick and not too liquidy or loose.
- Finish with lemon juice and serve immediately.
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