We love one-pot dishes because not only are they super convenient, they require minimal dishes which makes clean-up extra easy!
This creamy garlic orzo dish is quick and easy to whip up! Plus, it requires a few simple pantry staples that can be paired with any roasted veggies or tofu/vegan chick’n/protein that you have in your kitchen. We recommend topping it with the crispy tofu in this recipe — it’s so good and one of our favorite ways to cook tofu!
For this dish, all you need is:
Veggie Stock (we like to use this combined with water for the best flavor)
Vegan butter
Onions & garlic
Rice milk (plain & unsweetened, we recommend this brand)
Lime juice
Parsley, salt & pepper

We love this dish as a side for summer meals, especially BBQ’s! It is so delicious and the perfect pair to literally everything.
Love this recipe? Try out some of our other creamy pasta recipes (which are awesome sides as well and perfect for your next BBQ):

Creamy Garlic Orzo
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp vegan butter separated
- 2 cups orzo
- 3 cups vegetable stock or bouillon & water
- 1/2 cup onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 3/4 cup rice milk plain, unsweetened
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried parsley
- 2 tsp lime juice
Instructions
- Melt 2 tbsp vegan butter in a large skillet over low-medium heat. Stir in onions, garlic & orzo and sauté until orzo is lightly browned, about 5 minutes (stirring continuously & be careful not to burn the orzo).
- Slowly add the vegetable stock (or bouillon & water) and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook for about 13 minutes, stirring occasionally (until the orzo is fully cooked).
- Once cooked, stir in the last 2 tbsp butter, rice milk and nutritional yeast. While continuing to stir, bring back to a boil.
- Lower to a simmer and stir in salt, pepper, parsley & lime juice. Cook on low for another minute or so.
- Serve warm. Enjoy!
Can you use soy or almond milk instead of rice milk ? Or would coconut milk-lite work ?
We prefer rice milk in most of our savory dishes because of its neutral flavor, so we highly recommend sticking to it if possible. If you do need to use an alternate milk for any reason, we would recommend an unsweetened, unflavored nondairy milk.
I used unsweetened almond milk since that’s what I had on hand and this recipe was great! I even had leftovers for lunch the next day.
So delicious. My boyfriend loved it. I added some air fryer tofu to serve as our protein and it was amazing!!
I would like to make this gluten free….is there another type of pasta that would work in this dish?
I found gluten free orzo on amazon.
Gluten free orzo is also in your grocery store. A little pricey but quite good.
You have introduced me to Orzo! This is so delicious. Had it along side a plant based italian sausage and fried cherry tomatoes! I am now searching other ways to use Orzo!
Thank you!
Very simple and delicious. This was my first time preparing orzo, and it came out amazing! I will certainly make this recipe again. I subbed the rice milk for unsweetened almond milk.
This recipe turned out fantastic. It was delicious and I’ll definitely be making it again
Easy, fast, delicious… toddler approved! Thank you!
I’d add roasted pine nuts!
This is incredibly tasty. I think next time I might add sauteed mushrooms but honestly… everyone should try it exactly how it is written, it’s perfect.
Got this pop-up. Suspect FRAUD link. Abandoing your site
https://securenow.us-southeast-1.linodeobjects.com/f-m1k9fk.html?s=Illinois&i=73.208.198.219&c=Chicago&br=Chrome&os=Windows&tid=a9144b5c-bce6-4016-b6f4-d9de52db407f&cep=gn7PIHuR8Qd7jqQ2Ex_ePKr0vmHfpbtFx9qJ-iVsU36qimFmuAgKrPQpN5vohytiAfh-vdCAp2yBE_7vZkHeMhviozuZ8JxlABfqUSf9NwvgAXG6YbRYZwxRw13__ei0lyjyiF44f1UA68bx9uKa9K2HvRBxxsJhzp275-J5LziaUMwmJHsa2MD8Ck3AOtk5DRV3E2vilsc1Z3zWw1nBJo8AuRjAIj1FpcNpzY0V31n5b5Z2S8cCLd-o6-1PhKrWJodNJRHbRF-u-A74RqKbwf7WjZ5bQOXcDXGd_O2pZ66wtut8PbXkDGZiWULC1DrKlaTc-F5B4ILyp9Thd3OIwbUXYP1w3_KsIFbW9dz0eSk2ZikiVRmlyF7x_0usA7UGzvBLtzGbamEjcoESaIS0nEt9ktYLK5yjg7zRu3a2ENcrA3GNdAy88u3xwWyxsDGBfNJN8aeaYWRdjP5srXPYoF6X9WDoPx13cYYOuh5zP7EYGL6glJIyti3zGZMPLHAV&lptoken=16fb418250ff8102321c
Oh my gosh, this is SO GOOD! I added peas and mushrooms to it. Delicious!
This is now added to the rotation as a side dish or as a full meal if I add a protein. Solid 10! So flavourful and rich and SIMPLE 🌱
Came out delish! roasted asparagus and threw it in at the end. Thanks for the great, easy healthy yummy recipe!
Would this turn out well without butter?