Lemon Orzo Recipe

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 20

Serves 4

This lemon orzo pasta is a quick and easy one-pot dinner or side dish! Perfect for weeknights, it's lightly creamy and full of bright lemon flavor. Feel free to add your favorite protein or veggies!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon unsalted butter or extra-virgin olive oil
1½ cups orzo pasta
3 to 4 cups vegetable broth
2 garlic cloves, grated
½ teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
½ cup frozen peas
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
Zest of 1 lemon
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, basil, and/or dill

Instructions

Melt the butter in a large saucepan or medium Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the orzo and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes to toast it.
Add 3 cups of the broth, the garlic, salt, and several grinds of pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until the broth is absorbed. Add the peas and cook for another 2 minutes, or until heated through.
Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and zest, Parmesan, and half the herbs, stirring until the cheese is melted. Season to taste, stirring in more broth as needed to keep the orzo lightly creamy.
Serve topped with the remaining herbs and more cheese, if desired.

Notes

*Nutrition facts calculated for 1/4 recipe. Actual sodium content will vary depending on what brand of vegetable broth you use.

Find it online at https://strong-nights.today/lemon-orzo/%3C/em%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-92636":{"type":"food","name":"Lemon Orzo Recipe","slug":"wprm-lemon-orzo-recipe","image_url":"https:\/\/cdn.loveandlemons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/lemon-orzo.jpg","rating":{"count":1,"total":5,"average":5,"type":{"comment":1,"no_comment":0,"user":0},"user":0},"ingredients":[{"uid":0,"amount":"1","unit":"tablespoon","name":"unsalted butter or extra-virgin olive oil","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4692,"id":6751,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"tablespoon","unitParsed":"tablespoon"}}},{"uid":1,"amount":"1\u00bd","unit":"cups","name":"orzo pasta","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4669,"id":3714,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\u00bd","unit":"cups","unitParsed":"cups"}}},{"uid":2,"amount":"3 to 4","unit":"cups","name":"vegetable broth","notes":"","link":{"url":"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/365-Everyday-Value-Organic-Vegetable\/dp\/B074VDHXHB?&linkCode=sl1&tag=loveandlemobl-20&linkId=aed19db3717e5f73e58e4bc8b4fdd81e&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl","nofollow":"nofollow"},"unit_id":4669,"id":1126,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"3 to 4","unit":"cups","unitParsed":"cups"}}},{"uid":3,"amount":"2","unit":"","name":"garlic cloves","notes":"grated","link":{"url":"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/365-Everyday-Value-Organic-Garlic\/dp\/B07NR3LF35?&linkCode=ll1&tag=loveandlemobl-at-rc-ingli-20&linkId=f3310820ef59a21009aafde5d188109c&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl","nofollow":"nofollow"},"id":1039,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":4,"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"teaspoon","name":"sea salt","notes":"","link":{"url":"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/365-Everyday-Value-Salt-Fine\/dp\/B074J7X1DW?&linkCode=sl1&tag=loveandlemobl-at-rc-ingli-20&linkId=8f6a13f00ff77c4b50139a7ddcd95527&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl","nofollow":"nofollow"},"unit_id":4678,"id":1055,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"uid":5,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"Freshly ground black pepper","notes":"","link":{"url":"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Frontier-Pepper-Medium-1-8-Ounce-Bottle\/dp\/B0001M113C?&linkCode=sl1&tag=loveandlemobl-at-rc-ingli-20&linkId=425920749191bb00c5b44bbe7fb5cb9f&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl","nofollow":"nofollow"},"id":1069,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":6,"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","name":"frozen peas","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4675,"id":1527,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":7,"amount":"2","unit":"tablespoons","name":"fresh lemon juice","notes":"plus more to taste","link":{"url":"https:\/\/www.target.com\/p\/lemon-each\/-\/A-15013629?aflt=cse","nofollow":"follow"},"unit_id":4677,"id":1190,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"tablespoons","unitParsed":"tablespoons"}}},{"uid":8,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"Zest of 1 lemon","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"id":1298,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":9,"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","name":"grated Parmesan cheese","notes":"plus more for serving","link":{"url":"https:\/\/www.target.com\/p\/belgioioso-shredded-parmesan-cheese-5oz\/-\/A-50802797?aflt=cse","nofollow":"nofollow"},"unit_id":4675,"id":1313,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":10,"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"cup","name":"chopped fresh parsley","notes":"basil, and\/or dill","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4675,"id":1469,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}}],"originalServings":"4","originalServingsParsed":4,"currentServings":"4","currentServingsParsed":4,"currentServingsFormatted":"4","currentServingsMultiplier":1,"originalSystem":1,"currentSystem":1,"unitSystems":[1],"originalAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"currentAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0}}}