This creamy pea and mushroom orzo is a cozy, comforting dish made with tender orzo pasta, savory mushrooms and sweet peas tossed in a deliciously creamy sauce. It’s an easy and flavorful recipe that’s perfect as a side dish or a satisfying meatless dinner!
Why We Love This Mushroom and Pea Orzo Recipe
This creamy mushroom and pea orzo is one of those simple recipes that also tastes like something you’d order out at a restaurant. The combination of sweet peas and savory mushrooms makes this orzo recipe comforting enough to stand alone, or on the side of your favorite steak dinner.
- The perfect flavor combination: Earthy mushrooms balance the flavor of the sweet green peas, giving this orzo tons of flavor in each bite.
- Creamy without being too heavy: The tender orzo pasta soaks up the cream sauce, giving it a rich and silky texture without feeling overly heavy.
- A delicious way to add veggies: Instead of just a side of steamed vegetables, this orzo dish wraps up mushrooms, onions and peas in a cozy bite that no one can resist!
How To Make Mushroom Orzo
Just a few steps go into getting this creamy mushroom orzo on the table, and it’s all done in less than 30 minutes!
- Cook sliced mushrooms in a dutch oven or a large skillet with butter until nicely browned. Add diced onions and cook for another 3-4 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add minced garlic, stir and cook for 1 minute longer. Add in orzo pasta and stir to combine. Toast the orzo until lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour in chicken broth and stir. Bring to a simmer, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 12-14 minutes until the orzo is tender and the liquid has absorbed.
- Pour in the cream, add the parmesan cheese and peas and stir to warm the peas through. Taste for seasonings, adjust if needed and serve.
What Kind Of Mushrooms Are Best For This Orzo Recipe?
We love using baby bella mushrooms (also called cremini mushrooms) for this creamy orzo recipe. They have a deeper, earthier flavor than white button mushrooms and hold up beautifully when sautéed. But if it’s all you have, white button mushrooms will also be just fine, or a combination of different mushrooms for more flavor!
Tips For Best Results
- Take the time to brown the mushrooms properly: browned mushrooms have a much richer, deeper, earthier flavor than a mushroom that hasn’t been browned. At first, the mushrooms will release water – but keep going, stir them a bit until the water starts to evaporate. Then once the liquid starts to dry up, let them sit in the pan without stirring. And then when you think the mushrooms are browned enough, give them another 1-2 minutes and they’ll be perfect.
- Simmer over low heat: When the orzo is simmering, make sure your heat is on low or the chicken broth will evaporate before the orzo is tender. You can stir the orzo once in between cooking to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Use good parmesan cheese: We can’t stress enough how important it is to use quality ingredients like grated parmesan cheese in this orzo recipe. A shelf-stable parmesan cheese isn’t going to give you the flavor that you’re craving in a comfort food recipe like this one.
What To Serve With Creamy Pea And Mushroom Orzo
This creamy orzo makes a delicious side dish for everything from easy weeknight chicken dinners to a perfectly cooked steak. Here are a few of our favorite main dishes to serve alongside it!
- Broiled Chicken Thighs: Juicy chicken with crispy, caramelized edges adds a delicious flavor and texture alongside of this creamy orzo pasta.
- Crispy Baked Pork Chops: The crunchy coating is the perfect contrast to the creamy, tender orzo.
- Air Fryer Flank Steak: This easy sliced steak paired with mushroom orzo makes a restaurant-worthy dinner.
- Turkey Cutlets: Thin and crispy, parmesan coated cutlets are perfect with a scoop of this creamy orzo.
More Orzo Recipes You’ll Love
- Chicken Meatballs with Mushroom Orzo
- Ground Beef and Spinach Orzo
- Cheesy Broccoli Orzo
- Parmesan Bacon Orzo
- One Pot Chicken and Orzo
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Creamy Mushroom and Pea Orzo Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeThis creamy mushroom and pea orzo is a comforting dish made with tender orzo pasta, savory mushrooms and sweet peas tossed in a parmesan cheese sauce. It’s an easy and flavorful recipe that’s perfect as a side dish or a satisfying meatless dinner!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1/3 cup diced yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 1/2 cups dried orzo pasta
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon kosher salt (start with 1/2 and season to taste at the end)
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 3 cups chicken broth (can swap out vegetable broth to make it vegetarian)
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup frozen peas, defrosted in hot water
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet or dutch oven. Once melted, add the mushrooms and stir to coat in the butter. Cook for 5-7 minutes until nicely browned. Don’t skip this step, it adds so much flavor to the dish!
- Add the onions and stir. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the onions are translucent, then add the garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Season with salt and pepper. Add the dry orzo and stir to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally until lightly toasted.
- Pour in the chicken broth and stir. Bring to a simmer and then lower the heat and cover. Cook for 12-14 minutes until the orzo is tender and the liquid is mostly absorbed. You can stir once in between the cooking time to make sure the orzo isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Drain the peas from the hot water and add them to the pot. Pour in the cream and add the parmesan cheese. Stir to combine and warm through, taste for seasonings and adjust if needed with more salt and pepper.
Recipe Notes
Make sure to simmer over low heat so the liquid doesn’t evaporate before the orzo is tender. If this does happen, just add more chicken broth to the pot.
Store: Let the orzo cool slightly, then transfer to an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: American
