Here you go! I’ve made dinner easy for you – a Mushroom and Spinach Orzo all made in one pot, packed full of nutrition (A grade nutrition rating) with plenty of creamy sauce but without a single drop of cream!
What’s your position on fresh vs frozen spinach?
I love using fresh spinach in salads. But for dishes like this, when the spinach is cooked down and stirred into things, it just doesn’t make sense to me to use fresh spinach. You’d need at least 5 bunches (probably more!) of fresh spinach to make this. OR 1 box of frozen spinach.
So for cost and efficiency reasons, I use frozen spinach in this. 🙂
Besides, don’t you totally buy into the whole “snap frozen” thing? I know I do!!
So with a box of frozen spinach, mushrooms and a handful of pantry staples, you can get dinner on the table in just over 20 minutes. Seriously! It’s that easy.
Did I mention this Mushroom and Spinach Orzo is all made in one pan? Here it is, straight off the stove.
Oh wait, all those mushrooms are in the way so you can’t see how CREAMY it is! Here, I’ve shoved them out of the way for you so you can see how lovely and saucy it is!
Psst reminder: no cream! No cream!
As with all pastas, the sauce does get sucked into the orzo/risoni pretty quickly. So when it’s ready, holler for your family to get to the table asap so they can eat it while it’s nice and fresh and saucy. (That’s how the Italian mama’s operate. Follow their lead!)
You will be surprised at the nutrition in this. With an entire box of spinach and 600g/20 oz of mushrooms, this has an A- nutrition grade rating (see below for more information). I’ve also provided some tips below for how to pack even more vegetables into this!
Dinner’s up! – Nagi
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1.2 lb / 600g mushrooms , sliced (I used button mushrooms)
- 3 tbsp butter, unsalted
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 small onion , finely diced
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1 1/2 cups / 375 ml milk (I used low fat)
- 3 cups / 750 ml chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups orzo / risoni, uncooked (Note 1)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Black pepper
- 3/4 cup parmesan cheese , grated
- 8 oz / 250g frozen spinach (1 box), thawed, excess water squeezed out
- Extra parmesan cheese
- Finely chopped parsley
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Heat the olive oil in a large non stick pan over high heat (if you aren't using non stick, use more oil).
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Add the mushrooms and cook until softened (around 3 minutes). Remove from the pan and set aside.
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Lower the heat to medium and melt the butter in the pan. Add garlic and onion, and sauté until the onion becomes translucent - around 3 minutes.
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Add the flour, stir it in and cook for 1 minute.
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Add the milk and chicken broth and use a whisk to mix the butter flour mixture into the liquid.
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Increase heat to medium high. Add the orzo/risoni, salt and pepper, stir once, then put a lid on (Note 2). Bring it to a simmer, then leave it to cook for around 8 to 10 minutes or until the orzo/risoni is cooked but still slightly firm, and it is still quite saucy. Note: If you have a strong stove, turn it down slightly so it just simmers).
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While the orzo is cooking, break up the spinach into little pieces with your fingers.
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Remove the pan from the stove. Stir through the parmesan, spinach and cooked mushrooms. Check if more salt or pepper is required.
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Serve immediately, garnished with more parmesan and fresh finely chopped parsley, if desired.
1. Orzo / risoni is a pasta that is in the shape of rice and can be found in the pasta section of supermarkets. It costs around the same as ordinary pasta.
2. If you don't have a lid for your fry pan (which I don't), use the lid of a pot larger than the pan or a large baking tray.
3. Nutrition per serving, assuming 4 servings. Tip: The calories can be reduced by increasing the amount of vegetables in this. Either add more mushrooms, or other vegetables (even the frozen bags of chopped vegetables - heated through - will work). That will fill this out so it will serve more people. 1 1/2 cups of extra cooked mushrooms / spinach will stretch this out to serve 5 and will reduce the calories by about 100 calories per serving down to around 440 calories per serving.
I love this dish and was wanting to make it for a thanksgiving pot luck. But I will need to keep it warm from 7am-noon at the office. Will it be safe in a crock pot? Wondering if it would be too mushy or possibly burn to the pot itself. I was thinking about making it the night before and just keeping it on ‘warm’ the next day, but it would be on the warm setting for 4 hours.
Hi Danielle! Sorry to say this one isn’t ideal for keeping it wam that long. Because it’s a pasta, they tend to suck up liquid when kept for that length of time. If you love mushroom, try the Mushroom Rice! That one will be perfect for keeping warm for that [email protected]! 🙂 N x
Thanks for the suggestion!
I really love this recipe and it’s simplicity. So often I seem to get in that “what’s for dinner ” dilemma and I love a great meal that I can whip up and everyone loves it. This one fits that description perfectly.
That’s wonderful to hear Carol! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂 N x
This recipe was delicious, easy, and filling! It was definitely a bit soupy the first night (I used raw spinach and don’t think I put quite enough in?) but actually that made it reheat wonderfully the next day. Loved having the creamy taste without the cream (which tends to be hard on my stomach!) Will be keeping this recipe for sure 🙂
Had this tonight, it was great! Used a little less stock and added fresh spinach. Thank you so much for the recipe ☺️
Glad you enjoyed it Brittany! Thanks for letting me know – N x
This was VERY tasty!
I added cooked mixture of browned ground beef/pork.
I will def make this again.
Thanks
Did you pre-cook the orzo before adding it to the liquid? The recipe states that the orzo should be cooked in the broth/milk mixture. I only realized this after I pre-cooked the orzo, and then it dawned on my why the recipe called for
3 cups of broth, so I’m thinking you did the same thing.
Sooo I’m currently trying to boil off some of the broth before I toss most of down the drain. My bad, but it looks like it’ll be delicious. I knew I should have pre-read the directions!
Hi Elena! Nope, raw orzo 🙂 it cooks in the pot!
Hi Nagi, as I always do, the name of your dish sounded yummy, so I went through the list of ingredients, then read the directions, and scrolled down to the Nutrition information. The daily percentage of sodium says 49%. This dish shouldn’t be that high. You are only using 1/2 tsp. of salt, 3 tbsp. of butter and 3 cups of chicken stock. Where does all the sodium come from? Most people these days use unsalted butter and low sodium chicken broth. Sodium is something most people are watching for so many health reasons. Perhaps that was an error? Please check… Thank you
Hi Merrill! I agree, the sodium seems very high but I checked again and that is what it is. It’s not salty but this recipe can take a lot of salt. A lot of the sodium comes from the parmesan. To reduce the sodium, please use low sodium broth and reduce the parmesan cheese 🙂 N x
Just made this and it turned out wonderfully! Thank you for the recipe. Full of flavor and easily modified to be vegan using cashew milk and skipping on the Parm. Used fresh spinach (three giant chopped handfuls) so it feels like a healthy meal as well as being stick-to-your-bones filling. I will remember this recipe for when time is short for making a hot meal. Again, thank you!
I’m interested in making this vegan with cashew milk and vegetable broth. Did you use the same measurement as the recipe calls for? Thanks!
That’s terrific to hear Jen!! So pleased you enjoyed this – N x
Hi I want to make this but diary free and gluten free would coconut milk still be ok with it and obviously gluten free orzo?
Based on the post from people who say too much liquid I definitely would pre-cook the mushrooms. Also frozen spinach is full of water and you really need to drain and squeeze out the water before adding to the recipie
Oh I didn’t think of that! The ingredients say to squeeze the excess liquid out but maybe they did not see it! N x
It was AWESOME!! I added shrimp and peas to it and it turned out great!
I am not the greatest of cooks, but when I saw this recipe on Pinterest my mouth started to water! I decided to give it a try and WOW was it good! Really simple and so creamy and comforting. I served it with asparagus and crusty bread. I’ll be making this one again-maybe even for company!
That’s great Kathy-Ann! So pleased to hear that, thanks for letting me know! N xx
Maybe I did something wrong, but I re-read the recipe and it seems I followed it. This came out more like a creamy soup with orzo than a pasta dish. The orzo is just swimming in liquid, and it definitely needs a bowl and spoon. I think I would be happy if this was what I was expecting.
I’m sorry to hear that! If you keep it on the stove for long the liquid should cook out 🙂 N x
Oh my. I just made it too,,.and mine is like soup…what did I do wrong? I have less mushrooms than I should ( didn’t have enough)…but that shouldn’t make that much of a difference? Mine looks nothing,Ike yours. Tastes good..but omg this is enough for 8 people it’s so liquidy.
Hi Taz, I’m sorry to hear that 🙁 Are you sure you measured everything correctly?? N x
Yeah I checked it over and over. I’ll Try it again….it tastes yummy but it’s more like eating porridge ! I’m thinking the mushrooms should have cooked longer at the first step and maybe they released more water later ? Except it was already very liquidy by the time I added all the ingredients at the end I will not be defeated ! Your recipes have never let me down…it has to be something I am doing wrong ?
Hi Taz! In all honesty, quite a few people have tried and reported back great success with this so all I can think is that maybe you accidentally mismeasred the liquid?? Happens to the best of us! N xx
This was too good!! I had some heavy cream left over from baking this weekend and used that instead of milk (naughty I know !) Definitely adding this to my weeknight rotation. Thank you so much!
That’s so wonderful to hear!! Thanks for letting me know Meka – N x ❤️
I have never cooked with orzo, but had some in my pantry and all of the other ingredients, so I decided to give this recipe a whirl. So glad I did – this is DELICIOUS. And very forgiving – I was a bit short on mushrooms so I added extra spinach and it came out great. I can see adding in some frozen cauliflower to add bulk, but honestly it was plenty as is. Thank you for posting this recipe! I will definitely be making this again.
That’s fantastic to hear Mica! Thanks for leaving a review! N x ❤️
This dish was soooooo good and easy to make!!!
I’m so thrilled to hear you enjoyed this Kelli! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave your feedback – N xx
I made this last week and it was totally yum! I added chicken for protein. It made heaps and had leftovers for lunch and dinner the following day. Not that we minded!
That’s so great to hear Jen! Thank you for taking the time to let me know – N x