This hearty one-pot orzo with white beans meal is bursting with flavor - from fresh greens to sun-dried tomatoes, this dish has it all! You'll love how the Mediterranean flavors combine for a cozy and delicious meal.
This recipe is surprisingly easy to make and is a filling and satiating vegetarian meal perfect for meatless Mondays!
With a few pantry ingredients and some fresh ingredients, you can have a flavorful, hearty meal ready in less than 40 minutes (15 minutes of which is hands-off time).
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Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make this delicious one-pot dinner.
- White Beans - You can use cannellini beans or great northern beans for this recipe (I used cannellini) - both are packed with fiber and protein!
- Orzo Pasta - a firm, small pasta shape that's easy to cook and fun to eat. You can swap out the orzo for other small pasta shapes, if necessary, like ditalini or pearl couscous.
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes - one of the largest flavor components of this dish, sundried tomatoes add a wonderful tang, sweetness, and tartness to this meal.
- Baby Spinach - fresh baby spinach adds a lovely pop of color and fresh flavor to this meal - it's added at the end so it's just wilted but not overcooked.
- Feta Cheese - you'll use crumbly feta to provide some lovely mellow cheese flavor to this meal.
- Shallots - fresh sliced shallots provide the aromatic base for this recipe. If you don't have shallots, you can swap for half a small red onion.
- Fresh Garlic - is a meal like this even possible without garlic? A few cloves of garlic add a lovely pungent flavor to this meal.
- Citrus - you'll use both lemon juice and lemon zest to flavor the sauce.
- Fresh Herbs - chopped fresh basil is added at the very end to garnish this dish, but you can use fresh parsley as well.
- Pine Nuts - toasted pine nuts provide a lovely buttery crunch to this dish!
- Seasonings - you'll combine sea salt, dried thyme, dried oregano, and ground black pepper to add seasoning to this meal.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, add the chopped onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Then add the garlic, salt, oregano, thyme, and pepper and cook for 30 seconds, stirring often.
Add the orzo and chopped sun-dried tomatoes to the pot and stir to toast the orzo for 1 minute.
Add the vegetable broth, beans, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Stir to combine and increase the heat to high. Bring to a low boil and reduce heat; cover the pot and allow to simmer for 15 minutes until the orzo is cooked.
Stir in the spinach (in batches if necessary) till it has wilted. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the feta, basil, and pine nuts.
Serve immediately.
Tips for Making this Recipe
Cooking Tips - Don't skip the step of toasting the orzo - it adds a delightful nuttiness to the pasta!
Recommended Tools - I highly recommend cooking this dish in a large skillet - the cast iron skillet I used is 15 inches in diameter. I recommend using an enameled pan or cast iron skillet at least 13 inches across.
Diet/Allergy Alternatives - If you'd like this dish to be dairy-free, leave off the feta cheese or substitute it for additional chopped fresh herbs or nuts.
Substitutions & Variations
- Pasta - you can substitute the orzo for other small pasta shapes, but make sure to check the cooking time on the box. If it's less (or more) than 15 minutes, adjust the simmer time accordingly.
- Greens - you can substitute the baby spinach for other types of greens like chard or kale. Since they are heartier than spinach, add them in halfway through the simmer time when you are cooking the orzo.
- Seasonings - if you'd like to add a little heat to this dish, I'd recommend adding ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes or ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper to the seasoning blend.
- Oil - the olive oil can be substituted for vegetable oil, avocado oil, or grapeseed oil.
Storage
The cooked orzo dish will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator when stored in an airtight container.
This meal reheats well and tastes even better the next day!
More One-Pot Recipes
Try some of our other favorite easy dinner recipes that require minimal cleanup!
If you try this skillet orzo and white bean recipe, let us know! Connect with us on Instagram and share your photos, or leave us a rating.
One Pot Orzo with White Beans
This hearty one-pot orzo with white beans meal is bursting with flavor. The combination of Mediterranean flavors makes for a cozy and delicious meal.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup orzo pasta
- 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 2 (15-ounce each) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 5 ounces baby spinach
- ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ½ cup chopped fresh basil
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, add the shallots and sauté for 3 minutes. Then add the garlic, salt, oregano, thyme, and pepper and cook for 30 seconds, stirring often.
- Add the orzo and chopped sun-dried tomatoes to the pot and stir to toast the orzo for 1 minute.
- Add the vegetable broth, beans, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Stir to combine and increase the heat to high. Bring to a low boil and reduce heat to low. Cover the pot and allow to simmer for 15 minutes till the orzo is cooked.
- Stir in the spinach (in batches if necessary) till it has wilted. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the feta, basil, and pine nuts.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 384Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 1383mgCarbohydrates: 52gFiber: 9gSugar: 10gProtein: 17g
