One Pan Creamy Lemon Feta Zucchini Orzo
All my favorite Greek flavors in one unique and simple dish.
Zucchini season is finally upon us and I couldn’t be more excited. This one pan orzo dish is the perfect way to use up that zucchini in your kitchen – its so easy to make in under 20 minutes. All of the ingredients are very basic but the come together to form an incredible dish.
You can serve this with grilled fish or chicken. Or you can meal prep this for the week’s lunches. I eat it cold right out of the fridge and LOVE IT. I highly recommend the extra drizzle of a good olive oil when you serve this – it really makes the dish!
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Creamy Lemon Feta Zucchini Orzo
Ingredients
- 3 tbs olive oil
- 1/2 sweet onion, diced (large shallot)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb orzo pasta uncooked
- 2 medium zucchini, grated
- 1 large lemon, zested + juiced
- 1 tsp Italian herb seasoning
- salt and peppe to taste
- 3½ cups low sodium chicken broth (or veggie broth)
- 1 cup milk
- 5 oz feta cheese, crumbled
- 2 tbs fresh dill, chopped
Optional Garnish: olive oil, lemon juice, chili flakes + dill
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat your olive oil on medium. Add in the onion and saute for 2 minutes. Add in the garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add in the orzo and stir for one minute to coat. Toss in the zucchini shreds and stir for 2 minutes. Mix in the lemon juice, lemon zest, Italian herb seasoning, salt and pepper to taste, chicken broth and milk. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 10-12 minutes or until the pasta is tender. If it needs more liquid, add some broth in to keep the texture creamy, not dry.
- When the pan is off the heat, stir in your crumbled feta and dill.
- To serve, top with a nice drizzle of olive oil, chili flakes and enjoy!
Nutrition
Calories: 360kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 254mg | Potassium: 450mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 233IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 159mg | Iron: 1mg
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We are currently devouring this. One of my favorite recipes of yours that I’ve made so far. 😊
I made this for dinner tonight. I used goat cheese for an extra creamy texture, and I added roasted chicken that I shredded. It was delicious!
HI Mariann, sounds delicious with your substitutions! Thanks for sharing!
Looks amazing
How many cups in 1lb orzo?
It looks like a lot of orzo… is that correct?
Thanks!
HI Taital, yes its a lot of orzo, about 2 cups dry!
Love this!! Added sumac for some extra flavor and it’s super good!
HI Jen, love the sumac here!
That was absolutely amazing! Will be cooking this again for sure. And it is so easy to make even for a rookie like me 🙂
Thank you for this recipe.
Hi Maja, glad you enjoyed the dish and thanks for the kind message!
Lovely authentic Greek favours to this recipe. Made it today and was a hit
Hi Andreea, thank you for the kind message and i’m so glad it was enjoyed!!
I loved the taste, but the consistency was too thick for me – I used exactly the same quantities and a dutch oven pot for it. it looked more like risotto, and less like what I saw on the Instagram video 🙁 what did I do wrong?
I just made this for lunch and it is a great dish. I upped the herbs, and used Greek yogurt to make it creamy, and added chopped chicken to make it a lunch dish. Yum! Don’t skip the lemon, it gives it a brightness that is needed with these ingredients.
Next time I think I will add more zucchini, to make the ratio between zucchini and pasta a little lower, but other than that I can see this becoming a favorite!
HI Izzy, love your suggestions! thank you! Happy you liked the dish!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious.
Hi D, thanks for trying it out!! Glad it was enjoyed!
I made this in combination with the lemon garlic parmesan chicken and it was delicious! Also, thank you for including the conversion to the metric system for us Europeans because I always struggle with the quantities in American recipes. 😅 We’ll be having the leftovers with shrimp tomorrow. Thanks for sharing, will definitely try more of your recipes!
Hi Ulrike, Perfect with shrimp! Thanks for trying out the dish and the kind review!
This was brilliant! Used what I had on hand & swapped the orzo for risotto & the feta for parmesan. Stuck it in the instant pot & in 10 minutes dinner was ready!
Hi Jessica, sounds perfect with those subs! Glad you liked it!
Just a question – can I save the extras and reheat the next day?
Hi Esther – absolutely! I enjoyed mine for many days after!!
Turned out excellent. I had smaller lemons so I zested and juiced 2 of them.
Hi Krista, glad you enjoyed the dish! And I appreciate you taking the time to rate it too!
I used my frozen zucchini and was afraid it would be too watery. Nope, it was perfect. This recipe is fantastic and will be a keeper. Thanks for sharing!
Very tasty! I’ll be making this over and over again! Thank you! We loved it!
I only had half and half and it came out extra creamy and delicious. I served it with some sautéed shrimp. great recipe.
Hi Ryan, glad you enjoyed the dish with some shrimp – sounds delicious with the half and half too! Thanks for the rating!