One Pot Orzo Recipe

A comforting one pot pasta dish is always a winner for me when I’m feeling something filling and tasty. This orzo dish features small pieces of broccoli for *health* and a creamy silken tofu sauce for a little protein boost. So it has all of the features of a cosy pasta dish but with a couple of hidden health benefits without compromising on the flavour. No need to pre cook the pasta- just throw it all in one pot and cook in the sauce.

This orzo dish is also super customisable so feel free to make this into a fridge raid meal. I’m thinking whatever greens you have in your fridge and maybe a smokey tofu or tempeh protein topping. You could even use a different pasta if you don’t have orzo.

So whip this one up when you’re having a cosy night in and enjoy!

One pot cheese and broccoli risoni ingredients and substitutes-

• Orzo- Orzo – sometimes known as Risoni-  is a short pasta grain that works really well in a thick sauce, I like to eat it with a spoon to get all of the goodness in one spoonful. You can use any pasta you like for this dish if you prefer.
• Broccoli- For this dish I cut the broccoli really small so it cooks fast and even and provides a little colour and subtle flavour- a great way to get some greens in with it not feeling like you’re eating a crunchy vegetable. Which is great if you’re in the mood for comfort food!
• Silken tofu- silken tofu is my go to for a creamy pasta sauce. I love it because it provides a lovely thick creamy texture without being really heavy and fatty and it takes on whatever flavour you give it. A bonus of using silken tofu for sauce is that it contains protein too! You can find silken tofu- sometimes called soft tofu- in most supermarkets or East Asian food stores.
• Nutritional yeast- Nutritional yeast flakes or ‘nooch’ as some of us name it are inactive yeast flakes that add a cheese like flavour to dishes. This gives the pasta sauce a cheesy and packs in a nutrient boost of vitamin B12 also. You can also use vegan parmesan if you like.

FAQ-

• Which protein would go well with this?- I would recommend a grilled vegan chicken or seitan to top this dish however the silken tofu in the sauce also packs a protein hit so feel free to enjoy on its own.
• Can I add other veg?- This dish is perfect for using up leftover green veg you have in the fridge. Just dice them up super small and chuck them in. I would use peas, asparagus, kale, spinach- any greens at all really!

Cheesy Broccoli Orzo

Creamy, cheesy orzo dish with broccoli a comforting fridge raid pasta recipe

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 2

Ingredients

  

• 150 g Orzo dry weight
• 300 ml Vegetable stock
• ½ A head of broccoli
• 1 tbsp Cooking oil
• 1 Onion

For the sauce-

• 300 g Silken tofu
• 8 tbsp Nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp Black pepper
• 3 tbsp Soy milk

Instructions

 

• Dice the onion. Fry until soft in some cooking oil until softened and set aside.
• Chop up the broccoli into small pieces and add to the pan with the onion.
• Next add the dry orzo. Followed by the vegetable stock.
• Cook until the stock has absorbed.
• Blend together the silken tofu, soy milk, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, salt & pepper.
• Add the sauce into a pan and simmer until the orzo is cooked.
• Taste for seasonings before serving up topped with nutritional yeast and fresh parsley.

Notes

Consistency- A creamy orzo dish in my opinion should have the same consistency as a good risotto. Some may call it an ‘orzotto’. So to achieve this it is important that you get the consistency of the sauce right at the exact same time of the orzo being cooked. So add water little and often being sure to taste the orzo as you go. The end result should be a perfectly cooked orzo and a creamy silky sauce.

Video

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If you love orzo you can find more orzo recipes below...

• Creamy Courgette Orzo
• Creamy Miso Mushroom Orzo
• Spicy Sausage and Sundried Tomato Orzo

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