This risotto pasta recipe is easy and delicious. It's loaded with vegetables, tender orzo pasta, simple spices, and grated Parmesan cheese. What more do you need? This is literally the perfect side dish.
If you love risotto and pasta, then this recipe is for you. Orzo pasta is prepared in a simplified manner from risotto in much less time but results in a flavorful side that's perfect with almost anything.
It makes a delicious side dish for all kinds of meals, but I really love it with oven baked beef ribs or smoked hamburger patties.
This easy side dish was inspired by a flavorful rice recipe on this site and pairs well with this amazing bone-in chicken breast recipe.
Ingredients in Pasta Risotto Recipe
This pasta risotto uses simple ingredients that you can easily find at your local grocery store. It's all about flavor, not fancy ingredients.
- Orzo pasta: This small, oval-shaped pasta cooks up deliciously creamy.
- Extra virgin olive oil: A healthy oil for simple lower heat for cooking the onions and garlic.
- White onion and garlic: Adds fresh aromatic flavor to the dish.
- Diced mushrooms: Fresh mushrooms add earthy umami flavor to the dish.
- Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice is best.
- Unsalted butter: Adds rich creamy flavor to the dish.
- Chopped parsley: For color and flavor.
- Grated parmesan cheese: Gives pasta risotto plenty of cheesy flavor.
- Chicken broth: Adds more flavor than cooking the pasta with just water.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full list and exact quantities of each ingredient.
Substitutions and Variations
Don't have the correct ingredients on hand or want to change something up? Here are some helpful tips for you to change this risotto pasta recipe.
- Orzo: If you don't have orzo, you can use any small pasta like ditalini, stellini, small elbow macaroni, or broken spaghetti.
- Chicken Broth: You can use vegetable broth if you don't have chicken broth or to make this dish vegetarian.
- Seasoning: Instead of parsley use chives, leeks, shallots, basil, oregano, rosemary, tarragon, dill, or marjoram to make pasta risotto.
- Vegetables: Swap the mushrooms with asparagus, peas, sun-dried tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, eggplant, snow peas, sugar snap peas, or green beans
- Parmesan: If you prefer use pecorino romano, asiago or grana padano.
- Spicy: Add a pinch or two of red pepper flakes for a spicy kick.
- Orzo: Quinoa, couscous, arborio rice, and brown rice will also work well but may change the cooking time.
- Lentils: Adding some cooked lentils towards the end of the cooking time, beefs up the protein in this dish and give it an earthy flavor that pairs well with the vegetables and broth.
How to Make Orzo Pasta Risotto
This is an easy, fast recipe that comes together quickly. You'll be in and out of the kitchen in no time.
Step 1: Cook the Vegetables
Add olive oil to a large, deep, frying pan over medium heat. When hot add minced garlic, minced onion, and diced mushrooms to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes.
Step 2: Add Pasta
Add the lemon juice, butter, salt, pepper, and orzo pasta. Stir occasionally and cook for 5 minutes.
Step 3: Add Broth
Pour the broth into the pan and add the chopped parsley. Then, stir, cover, and cook for 10 more minutes, stirring the orzo halfway through cooking.
Step 4: Add the Parmesan
Add the grated parmesan cheese, stir frequently, and cook for another 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley. Enjoy!
Hint: Don't overcook the vegetables. You want to sweat them, not cook them down.
If you love pasta recipes, you may also enjoy this tuna or salmon pasta casserole.
Storage
You can store leftover pasta risotto in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
To reheat, transfer the dish back to a skillet and heat over medium heat until hot. You may need to add a bit of water or chicken broth to the skillet to facilitate heating it up.
Expert Tips
Pasta risotto is an incredibly simple recipe, however, I do have some tips to help you make it the best that it can possibly be.
- Cook the vegetables on high heat for 5 minutes and not a minute longer. You're sweating them, not cooking them down.
- Don't stir your orzo too much or you risk making it too mushy or sticky.
- Serve up as a side dish or turn it into a main dish with or without adding a protein.
FAQ
Do you have questions about risotto pasta? Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about this risotto pasta recipe
Orzo is pasta. Risotto is a dish usually made with rice and refers to a method of cooking rice whereby the liquid is added a little at a time until the rice absorbs it all and becomes soft and sort of coated in the liquid. Orzo is pasta that happens to be well suited for cooking similar to risotto.
Orzo is pasta, although you'd be forgiven for thinking it's rice. It has a similar shape to rice, but in reality, it's just tiny pasta.
No. It's made from semolina flour like any other pasta, so it tastes like pasta even though it looks like rice.
Absolutely. All pasta should be cooked to al dente no matter the shape or size. To cook orzo to al dente, boil it in salted water for 8 to 10 minutes.
You overcooked it. All pasta should be cooked to al dente, but orzo is the prime example of why. When you overcook it, it becomes overly soft.
Video
More Pasta Recipes
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Risotto Pasta
Ready to get cooking? Remember that you can print this recipe if you would like.
Risotto Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups orzo pasta
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup white onion minced
- ½ cup mushrooms diced
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon black Pepper
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 3 tablespoon parsley chopped
- ¾ cup grated Parmesan
- 3 cups chicken broth
- Fresh parsley as garnish
Instructions
- Get out and measure your ingredients.
- Preheat a deep frying pan over medium heat.
- Once the pan is hot, add the olive oil and swirl to coat the bottom.
- Add the minced garlic, minced onion, and diced mushrooms.
- Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Next, add the butter, salt and pepper.
- Add orzo pasta.
- Stir until blended.
- Next, add the lemon juice, Stir and cook for 5 minutes.
- Pour the broth into the pan and add the chopped parsley. Stir, then cover.
- Cook for 10 minutes.
- Stir the orzo halfway through.
- Uncover and add the grated parmesan. Stir and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Garnish with fresh parsley.
- Serve.
- Enjoy every bite.
Notes
- Cook the vegetables on high heat for 5 minutes and not a minute longer. You're sweating them, not cooking them down.
- Don't stir your orzo too much or you risk making it too mushy or sticky.
- Serve up as a side dish or turn it into a main dish with or without adding a protein.
Gail
Thank you for this. I am not a fan of risotto because I find it mucky. This is so much better. It has all the great flavor of a risotto but it's so much better because it's pasta! So good 👍
Karin and Ken
I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe! We love it too. Hopefully you find some other recipes on this site that you enjoy just as much. All the best. Karin
Samantha
I’ve made this twice already Second time used more garlic and cheese as well as onion and mushrooms. Everyone loved it and gobbled it all up Thx for sharing this recipe We will be definitely making it again. Thx KD
Karin and Ken
This recipe is delicious and we make it regularly too. Next time I’m adding more mushrooms just to see how much better the recipe tastes. I love mushrooms so I am always careful to try to not use too many. Thanks for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed this recipe. You made my day. All the best. Karin
Kyla
WOW was this ever delicious. Added extra garlic because I love it and more parmesan because I love cheese.Next time I’m making a double batch because we would have loved eating more Thx for sharing this amazing recipe. ❤️
Karin and Ken
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Add as much garlic and cheese as you like! My husband always adds more too. Thank you for taking the time to let me know. All the best. Karin