Orzo With Roasted Vegetables

Orzo with roasted vegetables is a side dish that is so easy to prepare, packed with flavor and beautiful too. It’s great to meal prep and enjoy for several meals since it reheats well.

Orzo With Roasted Vegetables
(zucchini, peppers, tomatoes and onion)

Orzo with roasted vegetables is just the thing to enjoy when fresh vegetables are in abundance. The pasta is so pretty and dainty and when you add in a whole bunch of vibrant and colorful roasted vegetables, it just becomes a star.

Roasting vegetables intensifies their flavor, since they caramelize in the oven. All that great flavor is packed into the vegetables and isn’t washed away as it would if you had cooked it on the stove. There is so much more flavor than steaming too.

Roasting vegetables is so simple – it’s as easy as tossing them on a baking sheet with some olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs. Choose whichever vegetables you like, slide them into the oven and you’ll have dinner on the table in the amount of time that it takes to cook a pot of orzo. Serve this with some grilled chicken or shrimp kabobs and it becomes an easy main course.

Ingredients:

  • orzo
    • Orzo is pasta that is shaped like rice. It’s so dainty and elegant. Of course, you can substitute any other pasta that you like as well.
  • bell peppers
    • I usually use sweet bell peppers for this recipe, but you can use any peppers that you like and even add some hot peppers to the mix to give this orzo some heat.
  • tomatoes
  • zucchini
  • onion (I like red onion for this recipe, but you can use white or yellow onion too)
  • garlic
  • salt, ground black pepper
  • olive oil
  • fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro, thyme, rosemary, green onions, etc.)
Ingredients For Orzo With Roasted Vegetables (zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, and onion)

How to Make Orzo With Roasted Vegetables

Before you begin, place the pot of water to cook the orzo on the stove. This way, the water will come to a boil while you’re prepping the vegetables. If your water takes longer to boil than 10-15 minutes, put it on the stove earlier.

  • Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Place an extra large rimmed baking sheet to heat up while the oven is preheating.
  • Meanwhile, prep the vegetables. Seed the peppers and tomatoes and chop into 1/2 inch cubes. Chop the zucchini into 1/2 -3/4 inch cubes. Coarsely chop the onion and press the garlic through a garlic press or mince with a knife.
  • Toss all the vegetables in a large bowl with olive oil until evenly mixed, seasoning with salt and pepper.
  • Place the vegetables onto the hot baking sheet – you should hear the sizzle right away. Roast for 20-25 minutes, until the veggies are soft, broil for the last 5 minutes or so, just to get more color on the veggies and get a slight char.
  • Cook the orzo. When the vegetables are halfway cooked, the water should have boiled, cook the orzo according to package instructions. Drain.
  • Combine the cooked orzo with the roasted vegetables and the minced parsley. (You can also add some lemon juice and/or more olive oil to add some extra acidity and flavor to the orzo.)
How to make orzo with roasted vegetables step by step tutorial.

Helpful Tips

Preheat the baking sheet before adding the vegetables to it.

When the baking sheet is really hot, the food will start to sizzle as soon as it hits the baking sheet. It speeds up the cooking process and helps the ingredients get better browning. It’s kind of like heating up a skillet first before adding your ingredients to it.

Use an extra large baking sheet.

The more space for all the ingredients to spread out, the faster they will cook, and the more hot air will be able to circulate around them. Less steaming and more searing. The vegetables will get more roasted and get more color on them.

Substitution ideas for orzo:

Instead of orzo, you can use any other pasta, such as ditalini, another small shaped pasta, or any other shape that you like.
Gluten free pasta options will work for this recipe too.
You can also use rice instead of pasta. Cook the rice and then just add the roasted veggies at the end. Recipe for long grain white rice. Recipe for brown rice.

What other vegetables can be used?

This is such a versatile recipe. Here are some other options: broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery, brussels sprouts, corn, green beans, mushrooms, etc.

Meal Prep:

This recipe reheats really well, so it’s perfect to use as a lunch option the next day or reheat the leftovers for dinner. Store in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

Orzo with roasted vegetables (zucchini, bell peppers, tomatoes, onion and fresh herbs)

Serve With:

Print

Orzo With Roasted Veggies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 1 review

Orzo with roasted vegetables is a side dish that is so easy to prepare, packed with flavor and beautiful too. It’s great to meal prep and enjoy for several meals since it reheats well.

  • Author: Olga’s Flavor Factory
  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Cook Time: 25 mins
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 8 1x
  • Category: Sides

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 lb orzo
  • 2 bell peppers
  • 3 tomatoes
  • 2 large zucchini
  • 1 onion
  • 46 garlic cloves
  • salt, ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 12 Tablespoon fresh parsley, minced (or other fresh herbs)
  • optional, lemon juice

Instructions

  1. Place a large pot of water to cook the orzo on the stove. This way, the water will come to a boil while you’re prepping the vegetables. If your water takes longer to boil than 10-15 minutes, put it on the stove earlier.
  2. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Line an extra large rimmed baking sheet in the oven to heat up while the oven is preheating.
  3. Seed the peppers and tomatoes and chop into 1/2 inch cubes. Chop the zucchini into 1/2 – 3/4 inch cubes. Coarsely chop the onion and press the garlic through a garlic press or mince with a knife. Place all the vegetables on the prepared baking sheet and toss with the oil, salt, and pepper. Toss it all together to season evenly.
  4. Roast the vegetables in the preheated oven, on the hot baking sheet, for 2o-25 minutes. Broil for the last 5 minutes or so, just to get some extra color and a bit of char on the veggies.
  5. When the vegetables are halfway cooked, the water should have boiled, cook the orzo according to package instructions. Drain.
  6. Toss the orzo with the roasted vegetables and the minced parsley. If you want, you can add a bit more olive oil and also some fresh lemon juice to add a little acidity to the orzo.
  7. Serve hot. Store leftovers in the refrigerator, covered, for 3-5 days.

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can’t wait to see what you’ve made!

20 Comments

Leave a Comment

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.