Creamy Tomato Orzo

Name: Creamy Tomato Orzo
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: European, Italian, Mediterranean
Ingredients: 56g orzo; 1 cup chicken broth (can be subbed for chicken stock or vegetable broth/stock); 100g grilled chicken (can be subbed for tofu or tempeh, or nothing at all); 1/2 tsp olive oil; 0.5 small onion (diced); 2.5 cloves garlic (minced); 46g broccoli florets, chopped; 1/2 orange bell pepper; 80g cherry tomatoes; 2 tsp tomato paste; 1 tsp smoked paprika; 1 tsp black pepper; 73g cottage cheese, blended (can be subbed for 0.5 cup milk or heavy cream); parmesan (optional, can be subbed for nutritional yeast); salt (to taste)

14 steps

Prep:10minCook:25min

I'm a sucker for anything rice and anything pasta, and orzo just happens to be a lovely man-in-the-middle. This is a super easy, creamy dish and it comes together in about a half hour. This was my first time making this dish and it certainly won't be my last - that's how much I loved it. This recipe currently serves 1. To make more, feel free to double, triple, etc. the ingredient measurements below. It's worth noting: this recipe is a little higher calorically, but certain ingredients can definitely be removed/substituted to better fit your needs! I'll add any potential substitutions down below.

Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 11:35:11 GMT

Nutrition balance score

Great

Glycemic Index

Low

Glycemic Load

High

Nutrition per serving

Calories518.1 kcal (26%)

Total Fat20.1 g (29%)

Carbs55.1 g (21%)

Sugars12.1 g (13%)

Protein32.7 g (65%)

Sodium2029.3 mg (101%)

Fiber10.9 g (39%)

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Ingredients

1 servings

56gorzo

1 cupchicken broth

can be subbed for chicken stock or vegetable broth/stock

100gchicken

grilled, can be subbed for tofu or tempeh, or nothing at all

½ tspolive oil

0.5onion

small, diced

2.5 clovesgarlic

minced

46gbroccoli florets

chopped

0.5orange bell pepper

80gcherry tomatoes

2 tsptomato paste

1 tspsmoked paprika

1 tspblack pepper

73gcottage cheese

blended, can be subbed for 0.5 cup milk or heavy cream

parmesan

optional, can be subbed for nutritional yeast

salt

to taste

Instructions

Vegetable Prep

Step 1

Dice half of a small onion, and finely chop the garlic

Step 2

Using half the orange bell pepper, cut into ~1 inch strips (cut lengthwise, bunch the strips together, and cut in half again)

Step 3

Roughly chop any larger broccoli florets until all florets are the same size

Step 4

Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and set aside

For the Orzo

Step 5

In a medium-sized pot, add olive oil and diced onions and bring to medium heat. Sautee until onions start to color (~ 5 minutes)

Step 6

Add the garlic cloves and sautee for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.

Step 7

Once there’s some color on the onions and garlic, add the broccoli and bell pepper strips. Sautee consistently for ~5 minutes or until you see bits of onion or garlic start sticking to the pan.

Step 8

Add the cherry tomatoes and allow the juices to ‘deglaze’ the pan a bit. Let sit until the tomatoes start to break down/wrinkle.

Step 9

Add the orzo and tomato paste to the pan and sautee with the vegetables for a minute or so to toast the pasta. Then add the chicken broth. Make sure to stir after adding the broth to better incorporate the tomato paste and so nothing is stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Step 10

Add in smoked paprika, black pepper, and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir, and bring to a boil.

Step 11

Once boiling, lower the heat to medium-low (or bring to a simmer) and cover with a lid. Let sit on heat for ~13 min.

Step 12

In the meantime, add the cottage cheese to a blender with 1/4 cup of water (I use small curd cottage cheese). You can also use an emulsion blender. This, when added to the pasta, will add the ‘creaminess’.

Step 13

Once most of the chicken broth has been absorbed, added the grilled chicken (I used precooked chicken strips from Costco for time) and add the cottage cheese blend. Stir in and let sit until the pasta reaches the desired consistency.

Step 14

Add salt to taste, top with parmesan, and enjoy!