Name: Cheesy Italian Herb Orzo
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1 shallot (minced); 2 cloves garlic (minced); 1 cup orzo pasta (uncooked (not the whole box)); 2 cups chicken stock (reduced sodium); 1 cup half and half; 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (freshly grated); 1 tablespoon fresh basil (chopped); 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary (chopped ); 1 tablespoon fresh flat leaf Italian parsley (chopped ); salt and pepper to taste

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One of our favorite easy side dishes is this Cheesy Italian Herb Orzo.

We made the most cheesy Italian herb orzo the other night to go with a rotisserie chicken for a super simple dinner, and it was so good. The recipe for this sidedish comes from the cookbook: The Simple Kitchen.

What is Orzo?

Have you ever made orzo? It’s basically small rice shaped pasta that can be flavored so many different ways. It can be a side dish or served as a main dish. For this recipe you toast the orzo before you add the liquid. I love the added flavor when you toast (or sautee it first). What’s your favorite way to serve up orzo? You’ll have to give this recipe a try!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 shallot minced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 cup orzo pasta uncooked (not the whole box)
2 cups chicken stock reduced sodium
1 cup half and half
1/2 cup parmesan cheese freshly gated
1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary chopped
1 tablespoon fresh flat leaf Italian parsley chopped
salt and pepper to taste

How to make Cheesy Italian Orzo:

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the shallot and cook until it becomes translucent, about 2 minutes. Then add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
Add the orzo to the skillet. Cook until orzo is lightly toasted and golden brown, 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the chicken stock and half and half. Stir, cover and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to a simmer and cook until the liquid is mostly absorbed, 8-9 minutes
Sprinkle the cheese over the pasta and stir until the cheese is melted.
Add the fresh herbs and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cheesy Italian Herb Orzo

Rice shaped pasta, called orzo is toasted in butter and then topped in a rich and creamy parmesan cheese sauce with fresh herbs sprinkled in to add amazing Italian flavor.

Course Side

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Orzotto

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Author Kami | NoBiggie.net

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 shallot minced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 cup orzo pasta uncooked (not the whole box)
2 cups chicken stock reduced sodium
1 cup half and half
1/2 cup parmesan cheese freshly grated
1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary chopped
1 tablespoon fresh flat leaf Italian parsley chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the shallot and cook until it becomes translucent, about 2 minutes. Then add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
Add the orzo to the skillet. Cook until orzo is lightly toasted and golden brown, 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the chicken stock and half and half. Stir, cover and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to a simmer and cook until the liquid is mostly absorbed, 8-9 minutes.
Sprinkle the cheese over the pasta and stir until the cheese is melted.
Add the fresh herbs and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Making This Recipe? Tag us on Instagram: @NoBiggie using the hashtag #NoBiggieRecipes, so we can see what you are making in the kitchen!

Variations:

There are a lot of ways to make this recipe your own and up the nutrition making it a one pot meal.

Add protein of choice: chicken, shrimp or steak, would all be great options.
Add steamed chopped vegetables: broccoli, shaved Brussels sprouts, carrots or spinach.
Change up the spices: try smoked paprika, add more or less garlic, or lemon juice/lemon zest.

Tips and Tricks:

Use a microplane zester to mince garlic perfectly every time: take peeled clove of garlic and rub over microplane to zest.
We also love to use our microplane zester to finely grate Parmesan cheese.
Careful not to overcook as Orzo can become mushy when overcooked.

Can you freeze Orzo?

Because Orzo is a small pasta it doesn’t freeze well. We don’t recommend freezing it.

An added bonus I loved about this new cookbook from Donna are simple kitchen tips with a few of the recipes…for example: Do you know the best way to store flat leaf parsley in your fridge? You store it in a mason jar with the stems in water and a plastic bag loosely covering the top. I loved this tip! I have since tried this and my parsley is lasting so much longer in the fridge! In the book Donna shares this and so many other great kitchen helping tips.

If you have family and friends who LOVE to cook, you’ve got to get them this cookbook… The Simple Kitchen. It will make such a great gift…they will love it!

This recipe is from a cookbook from my friend Donna and her husband Chad of The Slow Roasted Italian. In this family cookbook, they share MORE than 80 delicious recipes. Simple easy recipes the whole family will love. I can’t to try more recipes from her new book, because this creamy cheesy Italian herb orzo was so delicious!