One-Pan Orzo With Spinach and Feta Recipe (2024)

I am adding the spinach at the end, so it doesn't become overcooked.

Made this tonight, and it was delicious, quick comfort food. I roasted zucchini while prepping the rest to augment the veg, which added a nice juiciness too. Agree with adding the spinach at the end. Highly recommend the combo of parsley and mint instead of dill. For those wanting an vegan alternative, use EVOO instead of butter, and add navy beans for protein instead of feta. A few slivered sun-dried tomatoes would replace the zing of the feta.

Toast the orzo in butter until light golden brown, THEN add the liquid. It brings the complexity of this dish to a whole new level.

The Greeks use rice instead of orzo and call it spanakorizo.

WINNER! This is almost like eating spinach pie (Spanakopita) without nearly as much work. Didn't have orzo; used basmati rice (3/4 cup), so I actually made a version of Spanakorizo. I used a package Green Giant frozen (steam) spinach (I highly recomment this product). This made a large amount. We had it for dinner twice and there were still leftovers (lunch?). Other change-ups: a whole onion, chopped, mint and parsely in lieu of dill, 2 TB lemon juice.

That spinach will wilt in about thirty seconds, not five minutes, and if it is cooked for 10 to 14 minutes with the orzo, nothing will be left of it but green color and shreds. Add the baby spinach leaves at the end of cooking—the heat of the finished dish will wilt it quite adequately.

If you do not like feta consider maybe consider goat cheese or some ricotta cheese.

Loved this! Subbed farro for orzo, threw in half of a red onion aging in the fridge, omitted peas because I didn’t have them.Excellent and adaptable! Approved by three toddlers, no bribes. Thank you as always Melissa!

Also good swapping the peas for frozen edamame if you want your vegetarians to eat more protein. Good idea to do the spinach later rather than sooner.

Added a splash of lemon juice at the end. Delicious!

Mexican cheese Cotija also called Queso Añejo Mexicano is an excellent substitute for Feta

Wonderful and so quick. Added a can of white beans to make it more of a meal than a side dish.

Followed the recipe but substituted chard for the spinach, used half olive oil and half butter,and added a splash of fish sauce and a pinch of red chillies. Quite delicious and was surprisingly lucious for minimal butter. I did find that I needed more stock/water than the recipe calls for and had to add in small increments during the final cooking process. I'd definitely make this again!

Is there a good substitute for feta for those of us with feta-averse family members?

This dish has been in my family for generations. We use only EVOO, no butter and yes, it’s just as delicious without cheese. I also add a shallot with the scallions for more flavor and I highly recommend fresh dill over cilantro.

Tasty, easy, and fast! I would make this again. I mostly followed the recipe but only had 5oz baby spinach and I did include the optional frozen peas. I toasted the orzo before adding the spinach and ended up adding a little more veggie broth. I used parsley, not dill. I would recommend following the recipe and adding the spinach at the start. It breaks down into a saucy consistency with everything else.

This was so unbelievably good. Made w gluten free stelline bc didn’t have orzo. Added spinach at end like other suggested and it came out perfectly. Would love recommendations for more recipes like this!

Added pancetta(2oz) cubed to oil to fry up before other steps. Added edamame or baby Lima band cubed red bell instead of spinach near end of orzo step. Add a little more lemon zest to feta ( don’t skip this part!)

I really liked the bright flavors in this dish at first, but I tired of them quickly. I would serve not on its own but smaller with a side salad to break it up. Maybe a greek salad !!My only addition happened to be a spinach feta chicken sauage that serendipitously was on sale in the market that day. I boiled the (3) raw sausages 10 minutes, sliced them about 1/3 inch thick, and added them on the orzo step. I also made the sausage water into the chicken broth for extra flavor.

Great recipe and a lot of great suggestions in the notes. I cut the orzo in half, added one rinsed can of cannellini beans, doubled the peas, and chopped up some sundried tomatoes. Easy weeknight meal, but takes some time to chop everything.

Recipe is great! I added artichoke hearts and a drained and rinsed can of white beans. It was a very filling and easy vegetarian meal.

Luckily I looked at comments before I added spinach so I held off on it and glad I did. Otherwise I made according to recipe and added pine nuts just because. I loved the dish

Really really good and easy to make. I added a little bit of lemon juice before serving, as it missed a bit of tanginess

Another so great review! Doubled it and added the spinach at end as others have to prevent it from wilting into nothing. Otherwise followed exactly as recipe was written—flawless. Definitely a new staple. So yummy!

Try it as written! I don't know what kind of witchcraft is happening here where the spinach does not overcook when you put it in with the scallions, but it's delicious as is.

Tasty and simple prep. I toasted the orzo and then set it aside and followed the recipe basically as written. I cooked everything in olive oil but stirred in 1T butter and juice from half a lemon at the end. I added closer to 1c peas. Used parsley and mint because I had both. Like others, the cook time seemed too long for the spinach, so I added it with about 5 minutes to go. Definitely did not make 4 servings for my husband and me. I will add either chickpeas or shrimp in the future.

I substituted barley for the orzo. This required an extra pot, but it was really delicious -- cooked a cup of barley in 1 3/4 cups of stock until just about done and then stirred it into the spinach etc., added a little more stock, covered and cooked for about 5 more minutes -- 10 seemed much too long for the spinach. I've run across a lot of duds lately on this website -- this was great.

Obsessed with this dish. Have made it 4-5 times and make small adjustments/additions each time. Most recently I replaced green onion with minced yellow onion and cooked down about 1.5 cups of chopped baby Bella mushrooms before adding the spinach. Perfect dish to kick off spring!

I made this according to the recipe…used 2 blocks of frozen chopped spinach and added chopped parsley and used a whole bag of frozen baby peas to the mix. A delicious meatless meal. The lemon is a must! This morning heated some up and put two poached eggs on top. Perfect. Will make a new batch for Easter morning breakfast.

Made this last night and really enjoyed it, although I incorporated some minor adjustments. I used shallot for my allium component instead of scallions, as I had them available. I also used frozen spinach which I added at the recommend time, but definitely think fresh spinach would benefit from being added later in the cooking process.A very bright punchy dish, with loads of flavour!