This Risotto-Style Mushroom Orzo is wrapped in a creamy sauce and is all made in one pot!
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Orzo Mushroom Risotto
One of the awesome things about this recipe is its minimal fuss. You get the same gorgeous flavours and texture of a risotto, without having to slave over the stove slowly adding liquid. Orzo is essentially tiny bits of pasta, and like many other pastas, you can get away with cooking it straight in the liquid without spoiling the texture.
One Pot Orzo
Just like a risotto, everything here is cooked in one pot. No need to boil and drain the orzo, the starch will actually help create a thick and creamy sauce.
White Wine
Also similar to a risotto, one of the key ingredients here is white wine. This will help cut through the richness of the creamy, starchy and buttery sauce. It also adds a really gorgeous background flavour to the dish. You’ll simmer it until it’s almost all evaporated, so it’s not overpowering at all, but still makes a world of difference.
Process shots: add mushrooms (photo 1), fry until brown then remove (photo 2), melt butter and fry onion (photo 3), add garlic and reduce down wine (photo 4), add in mushrooms and orzo (photo 5), pour in stock and cream, then add thyme and parsley (photo 6).
Mushroom Orzo
The obvious star of the show here is the mushrooms, and as such it’s important to try and get the most out of them. For this recipe you’ll want to fry the mushrooms in 2 batches. Alongside this, here’s another couple of points to consider when frying mushrooms:
- Overcrowding the pan – putting too many mushrooms in the pan at once will cause the mushrooms to steam instead of fry.
- Don’t annoy them – don’t shake them about every 2 seconds. Plonk them in, spread them out and leave them to brown on one side. Then give them a stir to brown the other side.
- Salt – adding salt to the mushrooms will draw out moisture, so do it after they’ve browned. Adding before will again steam instead of fry the mushrooms.
What mushrooms to use?
Here I use chestnut mushrooms. I love their ‘meaty’ texture and flavour. But you can use any variety of mushroom you fancy, just ensure they’re all sliced to even sizes so they cook at the same rate.
How to serve Creamy Mushroom Orzo
The consistency might be a little loose at the start, but it will thicken up very quickly as you serve it. On the contrary, if it’s looking a little dry, you can very easily adjust by stirring through another splash of stock (or even water).
From there, I top with a sprinkling of fresh parsley and a good helping of parmesan.
Can I store/reheat leftovers?
Yep! Tightly cover in the fridge or freezer, then reheat on a low heat on the stove with a splash of liquid to loosen out the sauce (stock, milk or cream).
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this creamy mushroom orzo shall we?!
How to make Mushroom Orzo (Full Recipe & Video)
Creamy Mushroom Orzo
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Large Pot & Wooden Spoon
- Fine Cheese Grater
- Jug (for stock)
Ingredients
- Olive Oil, as needed
- 1lb / 500g Mushrooms, sliced (here I use Chestnut Mushrooms)
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 1 medium Onion finely diced
- 2 fat cloves of Garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup / 120ml Dry White Wine (see notes)
- 2 cups / 400g Uncooked Orzo
- 3 1/2 cups / 875ml Chicken Stock, or as needed
- 1 cup / 250ml Heavy/Double Cream at room temp
- 1 tbsp finely diced Fresh Parsley (plus a pinch more to garish)
- 2 tsp finely diced Fresh Thyme (can sub 1/2-3/4tsp dried thyme)
- 1/2 cup / 40g freshly grated Parmesan (plus more to serve)
- Salt & Black Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium-high heat, add a drizzle of olive oil, then place in half the mushrooms. Leave to brown on one side, flip them over, then season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Continue frying until nicely browned, then remove to a side bowl and repeat with the second batch, adding more oil as needed. Remove again once done. It's important not to cram in the mushrooms, or they'll steam and lose flavour. Also important to not move them about too much, or they won't brown.
- Melt 1 tbsp butter, then add the onion. Fry until it begins to brown/soften, then add in the garlic. Continue frying for another 30 seconds or so, then pour in white wine. Allow the wine to simmer and reduce for a good 5mins, until it's almost all evaporated, deglazing the pan as necessary. It's important to ensure you reduce the wine or it'll be too strong in the sauce.
- Pour in the orzo and add back in the mushrooms. Pour in stock and cream, then sprinkle in parsley and thyme. Give it a good stir, then bring it to a simmer. Lower the heat slightly, then continue stirring somewhat frequently until the orzo is al dente and the sauce has thickened.
- Remove from heat and stir through the parmesan and 2nd tbsp of butter. If you over reduce the sauce and it looks a little dry, just add a splash more hot stock or water. Season to taste (generously if needed), then serve with extra parmesan/parsley!
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
For another similar recipe check out my Sausage Mushroom Pasta!
Looking for more similar recipes? Check out these beauties:
Delicious Orzo Recipes
- Lemon Chicken Orzo
- Baked Chicken Meatballs & Orzo
- Garlic Parmesan Sausage Orzo
- Spanish Chicken Orzo
- Tomato Spinach Bacon Orzo
- Garlic Butter Prawn Orzo
Creamy Mushroom Recipes
- Creamy Mushroom Pasta
- Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta
- Creamy Mushrooms on Toast
- Creamy Mushroom Sauce for Steak
- Creamy One Pot Pasta with Asparagus and Mushrooms
This was the perfect balance of creamy but not too cheesy! We loved it. Will make again
Great to hear this went down well, Jordan! Thanks so much for the review 🙂 C.
Chris, this recipe was amazing! It tasted even better the next day. I add chopped cooked rotisserie chicken and a couple of handfuls of baby spinach! So yummy!
Oooo sounds lovely with the chicken and spinach! So happy to hear this went down well 🙂 C.
Love this recipe. Makes a nice side dish for my grilled chicken and simple to make with ingredients you have on hand.
Thanks or the review, Sandy! I hadn’t thought of having this as a side dish for chicken. I’ll deffo give it a go myself
Didn’t use the wine and substitute the creams for Philadelphia but it was really really good + taught me how to properly fry mushroom
Great to hear this went down well, Jamie! Will have to try it with cream cheese myself – sounds delish! C.
Can I make it ahead of time and warm it up
Hi Mary, this is best served fresh, just to keep that gorgeous creamy texture. It’s never quite replicated when warmed up, but it can still be done. Just warm up on the stove over a low heat with a splash of milk, water or cream to loosen up the sauce again. C x
This looks absolutely delightful!
Thanks Erica!
Yummy! This was so delicious and tasty! My family loved this recipe! I can’t wait to make this again soon!
Awesome to hear!! 🙂
This orzo is SO amazing!! Thanks for the recipe! My family loved it!
Yay! So glad it went down well 🙂
Your Mushroom Orzo looks delicious and so creamy, my mouth is watering! I love how you haven’t got to drain the pasta and the starch helps create the thick and creamy sauce.
Thank you so much! Yup, always handy and less washing up 🙂
I swear orzo is the most underrated pasta ever! This is so delicious that even my mushroom hating husband enjoyed it!
It really is! So glad it went down well 🙂