Garlic parmesan orzo is packed full of flavor. This orzo is coated with a creamy, garlicky parmesan sauce that is luscious and creamy. An adult spin on the kid’s favorite mac and cheese. This is the ultimate comfort dish and it comes together in about 30 minutes.
Typically risotto is the side that is thought of when you want a creamy dish, but let’s face it. Sometimes we just don’t have the time to whip up a batch of risotto. The rice takes quite a bit of time to cook, then there’s the process of pouring ladle after ladle of warm broth into the rice to produce a luscious, creamy rice dish.
I LOVE risotto, but let’s face it, time is not one of those things that I have an abundance of, especially on the weeknights.
Enter Orzo!
What is orzo?
Well, in short, it’s pasta. Orzo is also called risoni, which means large grains of rice. Orzo is a short cut pasta that is shaped like rice.
Since it’s pasta, it actually has a shorter cooking time that rice! It has the shape of rice, but plumps up like a pasta. It’s delicious, it’s become one of my go to sides and my entire family LOVES it.
How do you cook it?
Well, there are a variety of ways it can be made. The basic way is to just bring some water to a boil, salt it and add the orzo. To amp up the flavor you could use broth instead of water, which I highly recommend! Toasting the orzo in a touch of oil until golden brown and then adding liquid is another option. This technique adds a bit of a nutty flavor to your orzo.
Orzo can be used in a variety of ways.
First and foremost, it can be served by itself in all it’s fluffy goodness. It’s also terrific in salads, soups or various pasta dishes.
My current obsession.
I’m currently obsessing over this creamy parmesan orzo. It’s everything you want from a big bowl of risotto but comes together in about half the time. Seriously, from start to finish, it’s ready in about 20 minutes tops!
The cooked orzo is combined with a creamy sauce that is loaded with copious amounts of garlic, onion and cheese. It comes together to form an extremely delicious, flavorful and decadent dish.
This is perfection on it’s own. It could even be served as your main course, or all by itself. It’d be delicious with the addition of some shredded rotisserie chicken too. However, we enjoyed this as a side with some delicious lemon garlic shrimp (recipe coming tomorrow!) crunchy bread and a Caesar salad. It was absolutely amazing!
This orzo is so simple that it’s great for a weeknight meal, but so impressive and elegant that it’s perfect for entertaining or for a special meal.
What can be served with this garlic parmesan orzo?
- It can definitely be enjoyed by itself!
- Bruschetta baked chicken
- Flat roasted chicken
- Pork roast
- {Slow cooker} lemon garlic chicken
- Sriracha glazed pork skewers
Garlic Parmesan Orzo
Parmesan orzo is loaded with cheesy garlicky goodness. It comes together in under 30 minutes and is packed with big, bold flavor. This will be your new favorite side!
Ingredients
- 1 Cup orzo, uncooked
- 1 Shallot, minced
- 2 Cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 1 1/2 Cups milk
- 1/2 Cup freshly grated Parmigiana Reggiano*
- 1 Tbsp parsley
- 1/4 Tsp salt
- 1/4 Tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook orzo according to package instructrions.
- Place butter in a skillet over low heat. Once butter is melted, add the shallot and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional 45 seconds to 1 minute, until garlic begins to turn golden.
- Add the flour, stir to coat the garlic and shallot. Cook for 1 minute, being to sure stir continuously.
- Slowly pour in the milk while whisking continuously to incorporate thoroughly. Cook for about 5 minutes, until mixture has thickened but still creamy
- Stir in the cheese and allow to melt.
- Add the orzo, stir to combine and cook for an additional 2 minutes, until heated through.
- Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
*If you can't find a shallot, a mild flavor onion will work perfectly. Just use about a 1/4 cup of the onion.
*If you can't find Parmigiana Reggiano, parmesan cheese will work perfectly. I do recommend grating or shredding your own as it will melt better and the orzo will be smoother and creamier.
*If the mixture seems too thick, add more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved.
*Fresh basil can be substituted for parsley.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 313Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 358mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 12g
Nutrition is gathered and calculated based on the ingredients used by Nutritionix. Nutrition can vary for a recipe based on numerous factors such as precision of the measurements, brands of products, freshness of ingredients or the source of the nutritional data.
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