Lemon Orzo

A wooden spoon stirring lemon butter orzo

4.50 from 2

Ready in just 20 minutes, this delicious and light Lemon Orzo recipe is a quick and easy side dish that completes any weeknight dinner. Pairs well with chicken, steak, salmon, or any other protein of choice.

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Total Time20

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: lemon orzo, lemon orzo pasta, lemon orzo recipe

Servings: servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic , minced
1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
2 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

Instructions

Melt your butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add your garlic and orzo to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes until the garlic turns golden brown.
Stir in the vegetable broth, salt, pepper, and onion powder. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer for 10-15 minutes until the orzo is tender.
Stir in the lemon juice and parsley.

Notes

Use chicken broth. Don't need it to be vegetarian? Simply swap the veggie broth with chicken broth.

Add some cheese. A sprinkle of freshly grated parmesan or romano cheese adds an extra level of flavor to this dish.

Switch up the flavor. Feel free to play around with the flavor by adding other herbs, such as basil, or seasonings like extra freshly cracked pepper.

Add more broth if needed. If the orzo appears to soak up all of the broth before it's finished cooking, feel free to add a splash more to prevent it from burning to the bottom of the pan.

Don't overcook the orzo. Orzo cooks quickly due to its small size so keep an eye on it to ensure it doesn't overcook.

Nutrition