With this recipe, you can close your eyes and pretend you're on a beautiful island. Make this mediterranean orzo pasta with delicious fresh vegetables and lean back, relax, and enjoy the flavors of the Med.
Pasta is perfect for any season, any time of day, and day of the week, especially when it's a one pot dinner.
As with all my pasta recipes, like my creamy spinach pasta (recipe), or my easy vegetable pasta bake (recipe), they're full of flavor, easy to prepare and make ahead of time. Trust me when I say, this garlic parmesan pasta version is one of the books.
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What are the ingredients for this recipe?
My favorite reason for making this dish is due to the fact that this dish doesn't require a crazy amount of ingredients or unnecessary items. All it takes is some orzo, veggies, and oil. Oh, and feta cheese because it wouldn't be a Mediterranean-style dish without it!
- Whole Wheat Orzo - you can also use regular orzo, or other pastas such as ditalini, pastina, or small shells.
- Zucchini
- Frozen peas - canned works too!
- Frozen corn - fresh works too!
- Fresh baby spinach - you can also use frozen
- Grape tomatoes
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Garlic powder
- Oregano
- Salt
- Pepper
- Feta
See the recipe card below for specific quantities.
How do I make this recipe?
You're just a few steps away from devouring this delicious pasta recipe. Here's how we make it:
You'll start by boiling a large pot of water and cook the orzo until al dente. Strain, pour back into the pot, and set aside. Meanwhile, sauté the baby spinach is the tablespoon of butter. Once the spinach has wilted, add in the frozen corn, peas, zucchini and tomatoes. Sprinkle the garlic powder and toss to combine. Let sit for a few minutes on a low flame, approximately 5-6 minutes or until zucchini is tender and soft.
Once the vegetables have become soft and tender, add the vegetables to the orzo. Drizzle the olive oil, oregano, and salt and pepper into the pot. Stir to combine. Plate and add fresh feta crumbles and serve.
HINT: Cooking the pasta to al dente means "to the tooth," meaning the pasta has a bite to it. You don't want to overcook the pasta, so be sure to follow the directions carefully or cook the pasta a minute shorter than the packaging suggests.
Pasta Swaps and Substitutions
I would be remiss if I didn't offer you some substitution and swap options for this recipe, so that you can fully enjoy it, regardless of any dietary needs.
- Pasta -swap out the whole wheat orzo for another type of shorter pasta like ditalini, pastina, or small shells.
- Cheese - swap the regular feta for dairy-free.
- Veggies - you can opt to use a variety of vegetables in this dish such as eggplant, bell pepper, and onions.
Recipe Variations
One of the benefits of making a pasta recipe is that there are a bunch of ways to vary how you serve and make this dish. Here's a few ideas:
- Spicy - add chili pepper flakes to the pasta as you mix in the ricotta and marinara.
- Veggies - add some spinach, broccoli, or peas if you want to make this a veggie-friendly recipe.
- Meat - you can add in some grilled shrimp, salmon, or seasoned chicken to this dish for some added protein.
Kitchen Equipment and Tools
For this recipe, we'll need pretty standard tools and kitchen equipment when it comes to making the pasta and baking it. One of the tools I highly recommend using is a spider skimmer or spatula. This spatula is circular, and has tiny holes in it. I find it's a lot easier to make pasta recipes when it calls for straining and baking pasta to just use the spider spatula and move the pasta from the water and pot directly to the dish. Less mess and less things to dirty.
Otherwise, here's other common tools you'll need:
- Strainer - if you're not using the spider skimmer/spatula
- Medium Frying Pan - to saute the vegetables.
- Large pot
- Wooden spoon or spatula
How do I store this recipe? Can I freeze it?
All leftovers can be placed in a tightly sealed tupperware and placed directly in the fridge. This recipe is also freeze friendly, so if you want to make this dish for another day, simply prep the veggies and pasta, place into a tupperware and into the freezer it goes. When ready, you can defrost the pasta, top with the cheese and bake according to instructions.
PRO TIP:
Don't be afraid to drizzle more olive oil atop the orzo pasta salad once it's assembled, this will give more rich and robust flavor.
Hungry for more?
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Mediterranean Orzo Pasta
Equipment
- 1 large pot
- 1 medium frying pan
- 1 wooden spoon
- 1 strainer
- 1 medium serving bowl
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat orzo
- 1 zucchini diced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1 cup grape tomatoes halved
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoon dried oregano
- ½ cup feta crumbles
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Boil a large pot of water and cook the orzo is al dente, then strain, pour back into the pot, and set aside.
- Meanwhile, sauté the baby spinach is the tablespoon of butter. Once the spinach has wilted, add in the frozen corn, peas, zucchini and tomatoes.
- Sprinkle the garlic powder and toss to combine. Let sit for a few minutes on a low flame, approximately 5-6 minutes or until zucchini is tender and soft.
- Once the vegetables have become soft and tender, add the vegetables to the orzo.
- Drizzle the olive oil, oregano, and salt and pepper into the pot. Stir to combine.
- Plate and add fresh feta crumbles and serve.
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