Orzo Pasta With Tomatoes And Feta (30-Minute One Pot Dinner)

Simple ingredients, incredible flavor

I had the concept of this orzo pasta with tomatoes and feta in my head for a while. I wanted it to taste as delicious as this similar (but different!) pan-fried gnocchi with cherry tomatoes, and for it to be as simple, too. Usually, it would take me a few ‘makes’ to get a new recipe how I imagine it to be, but this was just as I imagined it right away!

Made on the stovetop, in one pot, and with just cherry tomatoes, garlic, orzo (rice-shaped pasta), fresh basil, feta cheese, and a few other pantry ingredients, this is a tasty dinner to have in your back pocket for busy weeknights. You can sell it to the kids as cheesy pasta, but I think the flavors are complex enough for the grownups, too. The cherry tomatoes and garlic are cooked slowly for 10 minutes first which intensifies the flavors and creates a sweet, almost ‘jammy’ base. You then pour in vegetable broth and canned tomatoes for the orzo to cook in for just 7 to 10 minutes, or until the pasta is ‘just’ tender.

Don’t skip stirring in plenty of fragrant fresh basil, and then topping each plateful with a generous scattering of tangy feta cheese. Yum. This is truly delicious enjoyed either by itself or on the side with meat or fish.

About the ingredients

You’ll find a full list of ingredients with amounts in the recipe card below. But here’s a summary of what you need to know.

• Olive oil: You might think there’s a lot of olive oil in this dish, but don’t be afraid! Use a good quality extra virgin olive oil and you’ll see how it adds to the flavor and texture of the dish!
• Cherry tomatoes: This is a fantastic recipe to make in the summer when tomatoes are in season, or other times when they’re on sale. You can use any kind of small tomatoes. They will become beautifully sweet and almost sticky when cooked down together with the garlic!
• Garlic: I suggest 3 to 4 large cloves of garlic, making this ingredient an important one that you don’t want to skip! I don’t find it ‘too much’ since you’ll cook it down slowly with the tomatoes, giving it a milder, sweeter flavor in the dish.
• Canned tomatoes: Just half a can of chopped tomatoes is all you need to let the rest of the ingredients shine.
• Vegetable broth (stock): Adds extra flavor while keeping the dish vegetarian. If you like, replace with chicken broth.
• Salt and pepper: It’s important to season the dish well since there are so few ingredients. You can always taste and add more at the end.
• Chili flakes: Just a pinch adds a mild level of spiciness that goes really well in this dish. By all means however if you’re serving this to kids, just skip it! On the other hand, you can add an extra large pinch if you’d like the spice to be more of a feature of the dish.
• Honey: I like to add some honey to help balance out the acidity of the tomatoes. You can substitute with sugar if you don’t have any honey.
• Balsamic vinegar: Just half a tablespoon adds a pleasant depth of flavor.
• Fresh basil: This adds delicious fresh, fragrant flavor and green color at the end.
• Feta cheese: This is to crumble over each dish of orzo to serve. It’s delicious – don’t skip it! If you don’t have or like feta, you can easily use parmesan cheese instead.

How to make tomato orzo

It’s very easy to make this tomato orzo with feta in a few simple steps.

Firstly, heat the olive oil on a medium heat in a large heavy pot or pan. Add the cherry tomatoes and then the crushed garlic. Turn the heat down to medium low and cook slowly for around 10 minutes until almost sticky. Stir every now and again. You don’t want the garlic to burn.

Then push the tomato mixture to the side and add the dry orzo. Stir a little to ‘toast’.

Then stir the orzo, tomatoes and garlic together.

After this, it’s time to add the canned tomatoes and broth (stock). You can also add the salt and pepper and chili at this point.

Stir well, then simmer until the orzo is ‘just’ tender (around 10 minutes). Stir every now and again.

Then stir through the fresh basil until wilted. You can also add the balsamic vinegar and honey at this point.

Sprinkle with a generous amount of feta cheese! Serve immediately into bowls. Enjoy!

Serving suggestions

I have been surprised how tasty this is enjoyed by itself for lunch or dinner – no side dishes necessary!

If you’d prefer to serve it as a side dish, I think it would go very well with any meat or fish. Here are some suggestions from Scrummy Lane:

• air fryer chicken thighs or air fryer chicken legs
• Greek chicken meatballs
• Greek lamb chops
• baked chicken kabobs

If you’d like some extra green on the plate, consider pairing with:

• a traditional Greek salad (skip the feta on the orzo!)
• a Greek lettuce salad (very simple!)

Tip: I’ve even eaten the leftovers cold. They’re suprisingly good!