16 Orzo Recipes To Fill Your Table

When it comes to pasta, everyone has their own favorite shape. However, there’s one shape that cooks quicker than the rest and is usually easier to mix into salads, soups or casseroles: orzo! Much like rice, orzo is a quick-cooking and versatile pasta that makes for an easy and adaptable side dish for a wide variety of mains. Whether you serve it with hearty, braised short ribs or simple baked fish, this easy pasta is always welcome at the table. It tastes great when hot or room temperature, but it can even be served cold as a pasta salad with fresh ingredients like tomatoes, cucumbers, or fresh basil.

If you’re looking for a hearty side dish or healthy lunch you can prepare in advance, read on for our favorite orzo recipes.

If you have picky eaters at home, this cheesy, easy-to-scoop dish might be just the thing to pull you out of a cooking rut. Kids of all ages will love how easy it is to chew the little pastas and a few sprinkles of cheese make everything just a bit more tasty. Ready in just 25 minutes, it’s a kid-friendly dish that parents will love too.

This fresh and bright salad is so easy, it takes just 20 minutes to come together. Pasta cooks until al dente in boiling water, then gets tossed in a pot with melted butter and creamy feta until perfectly coated. Finally, tomatoes and parsley gets added to the mix before serving with a few cracks of fresh pepper.

Creamy casseroles are a great way to cut down on dirty dishes. This one-pot side dish is super creamy thanks to the addition of Havarti, which (when added to sour cream and milk) makes a fantastic base for the flavorful orzo casserole. Be sure to add panko on top for extra crunch.

Orzo pasta salad is a fantastic side dish, but this recipe turns it into a complete meal by adding some lemony grilled chicken. Mixed with grape tomatoes, cucumbers, flat leaf parsley and crumbled feta cheese, the flavorful orzo salad gets topped off with toasted breadcrumbs for extra crunch.