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
More risoni / orzo recipes
-
One Pot Italian Chicken Orzo / Risoni Pasta – cosy, saucy one pot chicken and risoni dinner
-
Orzo / Risoni Bolognaise – one pot bolognese pasta dish!
-
Greek Lemon Orzo Salad – a bright fresh pasta salad loaded with Greek flavours
-
Creamy Salmon Risoni / Orzo (15 Minute Meal) – tastes like risotto, except MUCH faster to make!
-
Baked Greek Chicken Orzo (Risoni) – Greek chicken AND orzo made in one pot!
-
One Pot Creamy Chicken, Vegetable & Parmesan Orzo (Risoni) – creamy chicken and vegetable orzo, a quick 20 minute meal
-
Pea, Zucchini and Pesto Orzo / Risoni – a wonderful quick side dish
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Creamy Mushroom and Spinach Orzo (Risoni) (One Pot)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1.2 lb / 600g mushrooms , sliced (I used button mushrooms)
Orzo / Risoni
- 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
Garnish (optional)
- Extra parmesan cheese
- Finely chopped parsley
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large non stick pan over high heat (if you aren't using non stick, use more oil).
- Add the mushrooms and cook until softened (around 3 minutes). Remove from the pan and set aside.
- 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.
- Add the flour, stir it in and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the milk and chicken broth and use a whisk to mix the butter flour mixture into the liquid.
- 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).
- While the orzo is cooking, break up the spinach into little pieces with your fingers.
- Remove the pan from the stove. Stir through the parmesan, spinach and cooked mushrooms. Check if more salt or pepper is required.
- Serve immediately, garnished with more parmesan and fresh finely chopped parsley, if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
I admit it: I’m a glutton. I used heavy cream with just a bit of water.
I wilted down one bunch of fresh spinach (that’s all I had) and let it drain. I didn’t have enough mushrooms or spinach, but by the time it was done, all I can say is . . . oh. my. goodness! One of the most tasty pastas I’ve eaten, let alone made, in a long time. Just decadent!
Nagi, do you have any suggestions on how to do this recipe with the sauce and pasta separate? I was thinking of cutting the milk and chicken broth by 1/2 and keeping everything else the same. My reason for wanting to do this is so I could save some for lunch the next day, and I think it would hold up better if I could just add the sauce to the pasta.
Thank you so much for a delectable recipe!
So good! I didn’t have enough mushrooms so I subbed in some green capsicum for bulk, used fresh spinach and left out the parmesan.
Really enjoyed this one. Creamy, cheese, hearty, and with plenty of vegetables, might even try adding a bit of chicken next time !
Hello from London! Just made this for weekday dinners and had to comment how much my bf and I loved it. We topped it with sliced crispy fried ‘shroomdogs’ (vegetarian chorizo sausages) and a tiny squeeze of lemon juice and it was just delicious. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
Hi your recipie does not say how much or type of chicken
Hi Jude, that’s because there is no chicken in this Mushroom and Spinach Orzo! N x
Omg, some comments are so funny!
Made for dinner tonight, definitely will be making again! Pretty simple for such good flavor. Paired very nicely with the salmon I prepared!
I made this and it is absolutely delicious! I also used a bag of fresh baby spinach. I used low-sodium chicken broth to reduce the amount of salt. It’s my new comfort food!
Milk is not cream. Milk and cream are both dairy but not the same thing exactly. Most creamy sauces are made with a lot of cream and as such are high in fat, creamy sauce with skim milk is different. So I think the NO cream is still valid. This was also quite a rude way to bring it up. There are plenty of alternative milks if you want non dairy, but as it has cheese (also from milk!) It shouldn’t be a big issue really.
I can’t tell you how overwhelmingly positive the reactions were to this!!! I did use fresh, chopped, baby spinach because I had it. And it worked fine but could have used a little more. I made it with pan-seared sea scallops and couldn’t have worked out better! Thank you! Thank you!!! It will be on my regular rotation.
Great recipe , I used almond milk and it was delicious, also added fresh basil, kale and chestnut mushrooms.
YUM! Sounds fantastic! N x
I just made this and it is absolutely delicious. Even my husband likes it and I didn’t expect him to like it at all. 🎩 off to you Nagi!
That’s the BEST compliment Layla!! N x
Thanks so much Heather! N x
This tasted wonderful, and we enjoyed it, but the cooking time was way too short, and it was still a little soupy instead of creamy. There may be a couple of reasons for this:
1. I doubled the recipe (I had exactly twice as many mushrooms as this called for).
2. I added a little bit extra milk (just to empty the container). Less than 1/4 cup more. I didn’t think it would make it that soupy.
3. I used fresh spinach, not frozen. That actually seemed to help.
I had to simmer it for about 25 minutes instead of 8-10. But, I will probably be making this again
The cooking time is not “way too short” if you’ve altered the recipe, i.e., doubling it.
Does this freeze and reheat okay?
Hi Caytlin, I find this tends to go a bit dry and gluggy if frozen unfortunately – N x
Nagi, you are the Queen of recipes!
Whatever recipe I make of yours comes out so delicious and gets raves from family and friends. Thank you so much for all your wonderful recipes!
Dunia
Thank you so much Dunia, that’s lovely to hear!
Absolutely delicious
Thanks so much Cidalia!
This was so good! Made it exactly as directed and everyone loved it. Saved to make again!
This recipe says “NO cream”, what do you call milk? Isn’t that cream? I was so excited to see the No cream but when I read the recipe it calls for milk! So sad…..
Cream is derived from milk – it’s the fat that rises to the top of milk before it’s processed and bottled into what we buy (It’s skimmed off the surface). So no, cream isn’t the same thing as milk, it’s a different product. Cream also has a much higher fat content than milk 🙂
You’re rude. I never understand why people feel the need to be disrespectful on someone’s blog.
I agree, Lily. I don’t understand it either.
If @Fe can’t be grateful for a recipe, then move along. Absolutely no need to leave a rude comment.
Use a milk substitute, look almond milk
Absolutely delicious! Each and full of flavour. Huge hit with my teenage kids. Definitely a keeper!
is very good and easy to make I cut the recipe in half as only feeding three people and one that dosent eat much and it was more than plenty yummy
That’s great Brenda, I’m so happy you love it!