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Orzo with Mushrooms, Scallions and Parmesan is a delicious pasta dish made with orzo and mushrooms in a light sauce flavored with chicken stock, marjoram, scallions, and Parmesan cheese.
This recipe for Orzo with Mushrooms, Scallions and Parmesan has been in my recipe collection for years. It has also been shared with several of my family members, and it’s so good, it shows up on the menu for many of our family gatherings.
This Orzo with Mushrooms, Scallions and Parmesan is super easy to make. It’s a delicious combination of tender orzo pasta and plump sautéed mushrooms. Although the ingredients are simple, this pasta dish packs a lot of flavor because the orzo is cooked in chicken stock. (Use homemade chicken stock if you can, or a good-quality canned stock for convenience.)
Then the remaining stock (leftover from cooking the pasta) is used as a light sauté sauce that is flavored with marjoram and chopped fresh scallions. Those delicious flavors absorb into the mushrooms as they cook – further intensifying the savoriness of the dish.
Finally, the cooked orzo and mushrooms are finished off with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese – which adds additional creaminess plus more flavor to the orzo and mushrooms.
This Orzo with Mushrooms, Scallions and Parmesan can be served as a side dish, but it also makes a delicious, meatless main course as well. And, if you’d like to make this as a vegetarian dish, feel free to swap the chicken stock for vegetable broth.
Our recipe today was adapted from this recipe I originally clipped out of Better Homes & Gardens magazine several years ago.
This recipe originally appeared on A Family Feast in February 2013. We’ve updated the photos and text.
You may also like these other recipes made with orzo pasta:
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Orzo with Mushrooms, Scallions and Parmesan
Ingredients
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock (plus more as needed)
- 3/4 cup orzo pasta
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 ounces white button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried marjoram
- 1 bunch scallions, diced (include both white and green parts)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Add orzo to the stock and cook until al dente – approximately 10 minutes. (Add more chicken stock to the saucepan if necessary if the pasta absorbs all of the liquid during the cooking process.)
- While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add quartered mushrooms and sauté, stirring frequently, until just slightly tender. Add marjoram and scallions to the skillet and cook, stirring for about 1 minute.
- Drain the orzo in a colander that has been placed in a large bowl – you want to collect any remaining chicken stock leftover from the cooking process to use for the sauce.
- Add the cooked orzo to the skillet with the mushroom mixture, along with 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the reserved chicken stock from cooking the pasta. Over medium high heat, simmer until most of the liquid is evaporated. Remove from heat. Season with salt and grated parmesan – toss to combine and serve immediately.
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Can you make this dish ahead of time and reheat?
Hi Joann – Yes, you can definitely make this ahead of time and reheat (in the microwave). If necessary, add a little chicken stock to moisten and also more parmesan cheese on top.
I made a huge batch and froze individual servings for work. Was still great when I reheated.
This is my current obsession recipe!
Thanks Jet!
Soooo good! Loved this one. I used truffle olive oil and added a tablespoon of butte. Yum!
Thanks Nancy! I LOVE the idea of adding truffle oil to this recipe! Great suggestion!
Absolutely LOVE this recipe! Made it tonight for a friend and we couldn’t get over how savory it was. I thought I was eating something from a fine dining restaurant it was so good. The only changes I made was to add more mushrooms so about 12 oz total, just under a cup of orzo, 3/4 cup of real parmigian cheese, and a sprinkle of dehydrated minced garlic, will define making this again and it was really quite easy. Thanks for the great recipe.
You’re very welcome Tracy – glad you enjoyed it!
Hello Marthat and Jack! I did finally make this the other night when my son stopped by as he usually does once a week. I can tell you one thing—I will be making this A LOT! I did use half baby bella’s and half white mushrooms and two cloves of garlic ( can’t seem to let go of that ) Funny that I had trouble locating marjoram but knowing that its a cousin of oregano I used Italian seasoning which the major component is marjoram. So… how was it? My son ate two servings and took the rest home with the roast chicken half. It is a totally easy dish to prepare and yes, if you crave meatless for a change, this is perfect. Thanks for another keeper. I now have to start another looseleaf binder featuring the fab recipes from your blog. Thanks a bunch!
🙂 You’re very welcome Doris! Glad you both enjoyed the recipe – and I’m going to give the garlic and Italian seasoning a try the next time we make this! Have a great weekend!
Dear Martha: Just saw your reply to me… hope you don’t think I am trying to hijack your recipe. I am going to share this with my brother, Tony… he does all the cooking (my sis in law hates to cook—what? ) Sometimes he calls me for advice but I need to alert him to your web site. They both would love this orzo and I bet he would add garlic!! Happy Valentine’s Day to you and hubs.
Hi Doris – No worries at all! We love hearing about ways that our readers change up our recipes…it helps other readers too! Thanks for spreading the word…have a great rest of the weekend!
Hi Martha! You know I love your recipes.. what, no garlic? LOL! I just got home with a fresh box of Orzo and shrooms. I will be making this weekend with a roast chicken . I am drooling thinking of this! I would think baby bellas would also be good… your thoughts? Awesome recipe and thank you.
LOL – I know…when was the last time we shared a recipe without garlic? 😉 You could definitely add it, but the scallions add plenty of onion-y flavor to the recipe. Baby bellas would be a great choice! Hope you enjoy it!
Have you tried using leeks instead of scallions, it gives a much better taste.
We haven’t Nigel – but leeks would be delicious too! Thanks for the suggestion!
Looks like another keeper! Thank you. – again.
You’re very welcome – hope you enjoy the recipe!
What a great dish for a Meatless Monday dinner! The flavours would pair so well together and I can’t stop drooling over those photos. Thanks for sharing!
-Shannon
Thanks for stopping by Shannon!
One question: do you use fresh marjoram or dried?
Hi Barbara – We used dried marjoram! I will update the recipe to make sure it’s more clear…thanks for visiting! Martha