This Greek Orzo with Lemon and Herbs makes the best side dish for fish, chicken, steak, lamb or shellfish. You can even serve this with roasted veg and keep it vegetarian.
It is quick to cook and packed with flavor. In under 15 minutes, you can have this fresh and delicious pasta side dish ready for the table.
You can serve it hot or cold and it tastes wonderful the next day, making it great for lunchboxes.
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Orzo Pasta
Orzo is a small shaped pasta. Its small size makes it perfect for serving as a side dish.
You can read more about Ozro over in my Meatball Orzo post.
How to make Greek Orzo
To give this the wonderful flavors of Greece, we start by frying onion and garlic in plenty of extra virgin olive oil. The orzo is added along with oregano, dill and lemon zest. This is cooked for a minute and then broth/stock is added. (I use chicken stock but you can easily use vegetable broth)
Once everything is cooked the finished orzo is dressed with a little more lemon zest, a spritz of lemon juice and a final drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Delicious, simple perfection!
What to serve with Greek Orzo
The beauty of this side dish is you can literally serve it with almost anything. Whilst it is Greek Inspired, the flavors work just as well with a steak as they do greek chicken breasts.
Some of our favorites to serve with it are:
- Greek Salmon
- Greek Chicken with Oregano
- Lemon Dill Chicken
- Greek Chicken Thighs
- Steak with Blue Cheese Butter
- Scallops with Lemon and Paprika
How to store leftovers
This Orzo pasta makes a great lunch the following day. To ensure the pasta is still perfect, you want to drizzle over about 1 tablespoon extra olive oil (I like extra virgin olive oil here). This stops the pasta from clumping together.
Place it in an airtight container and it will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
You can take it for lunch as it is, or add some poached chicken, smoked salmon, or leftover steak.
Enjoy x
For other great pasta side dishes why not try:
- Easy Creamy Four Cheese Pasta
- Easy Creamy Herb Pasta
- No Cream Italian Herb Pasta
- Tomato Orzo Salad
- Risoni with Spinach, Parmesan and Basil
- Creamy Lemon Basil Pasta
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Greek Orzo with Lemon and Herbs Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil - plus more to serve
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup orzo
- 1 lemon
- 2 ½ cups vegetable/chicken broth - see note 1
- Fresh dill - optional garnish
Instructions
- Finely chop the onion and garlic.
- Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the onion, garlic, and salt, then cook gently until softened (about 2-3 minutes)
- Add in the oregano, dill and black pepper. Then stir in the orzo until well coated in the oil and herbs.
- Add the zest of the lemon and then pour over the broth and bring to a simmer. Simmer the orzo for 10 minutes or until cooked through. (There should be very little liquid left once cooked - see note 1)
Notes
- The orzo is cooked in simmering stock. It should absorb all of the stock with maybe a little left at the end of cooking time. This can just be drained away. If you find your broth has evaporated your heat may be too high, but don't worry, just add extra broth or salted boiling water until the orzo is cooked.
John Z. says
I followed this recipe exactly as written today. While it was delicious, 2 1/2 cups of broth is too much. I had a lot of liquid and didn't want to lose all the herbs and flavor by pouring it off down the drain, so I turned off the heat and added some instant rice (Minute) to soak it up. Also, my instinct was to cover the pot while it cooked. When I realized the broth wasn't being absorbed enough, I took the cover off. I'd suggest cutting back on the liquid.
Claire McEwen says
Pleased you enjoyed the flavour John. I don't usually cover the pot while it cooks so that could be the difference.
I will update the recipe to make that clear.
Thanks for taking the time to come back and comment 🙂
Cx
Carla Hamann says
This is an absolutely wonderful dish as is but also great base to add in other vegetables and proteins. We loved it 's flavor and simplicity.
Mike Larkin says
Not nice I'm afraid. Cooked it for two and it made enough to build a small wall. Also very stodgy. I rinsed the final product with boiling water but it was stiff the consistency of day old porridge. A waste of 300 g of orzo unfortunately. I don't like to criticise but I wouldn't want to repeat cooking this. 4 tablespoons + of olive oil for 2.
Ernestine says
It was not only the perfect side dish for trout, but it was fast. I used the lemon for the fish. Thank you so much! I'll be preparing this again and again. fast
sam says
I MADE THIS AND WE LOVED IT!! ITS HARD TO FIND GOOD RECIPES ANYMORE WHEN YOU'VE CHANGED TO A HEALTHIER WAY OF EATING.
WE DONT DO PASTA ANYMORE, UT IS A GOOD TREAT! THANK YOU!!
Claire McEwen says
Oh I am so pleased you enjoyed dit Sam 😊
Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment
Cx
Amanda says
Do I need to cover the orzo during the simmering time?
Claire McEwen says
Hi Amanda, I don't cover the dish when I make it, but the broth/stock should be at a gentle simmer, so it doesn't evaporate too quickly.
Hope that helps 🙂
Cx
Amanda says
I made this tonight and it was so good and easy to make! Will definitely be making it again!
Liz says
Recipe says lemons but only asks for zest in directions? There is no lemon juice in the recipe?
Claire McEwen says
I just use the zest in the recipe as it gives so much flavour without adding any sourness!
Hope that helps 🙂
Cx
P.s I save them for a sneaky G&T 😉
AJ says
Delicious and thank you for the storage tips! I added more lemon juice after I reheated the dish.
Suzie Houghton says
I loved the flavor but after it sat for a while it became very starchy. Should I rinse the orzo beforehand like you do rice?
Claire McEwen says
Hi Suzie,
I have never rinsed the orzo before, but I guess each brand might be a little different. Rinsing it sounds like a good idea to try and remove some starch before you cook it.
Hope you try the recipe again 🙂
Cx
Mary says
Do you ever put the juice from the lemon in?
Claire McEwen says
You can squeeze the lemon juice over the pasta at the end, but I tend to cut the lemon into wedges and then let people add it to their portions at the table.
Hope that helps 🙂
Cx
Bethany Watkins says
This is my go-to side dish with pork souvlaki and Greek salad. Thank you for the simple, yet very tasty, recipe!
Claire McEwen says
Thank you so much Bethany, I love the simplicity of Orzo too 🙂
Pork Souvlaki sounds perfect!
Cx
Sarah says
I'm making this wonderful dish tonight to go with my Cilantro Lemon chicken. This is about the fourth time I'm using this Orzo recipe and my husband and myself love it. Thank you so much.
Claire McEwen says
Thank you Sarah! I am so pleased you enjoyed it!! I haven't tried it with cilantro lemon chicken, but I am going to as that sounds a great combo!!!
Honoured that you have cooked my recipe so many times 🙂
Cx
Chris says
I love that you can change the servings and it calculated it out! 😮 thank you! Can’t wait To try
Claire McEwen says
So pleased you like the feature, it is something I love too 🙂
Eileen Gunning says
Great recipe. Love that it’s done in one pot. It’s so easy. I served with grilled halibut, broccolini and fresh dill from the garden. I will be making this often with chicken souvlaki and green salad. Thank you
Claire McEwen says
Oh your menu sounds delicious!
So happy that you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Cx