Recipe: $3.94 | Per Serving: $0.99 | Yield: 4
If you haven't tried a one-pot pasta dish yet, I assume you're still making standard pasta with one pot for the pasta and another pan or pot for the vegetables/meat, and possibly a third for sauce, if you're fancy. Honestly, pasta is one of the easiest dishes on the planet, so although I super love one-pot pasta with sausage or mushrooms or spinach & Parmesan, I understand if you don't feel the need to jump on the one-pot wagon. I get it...it's fiiiine.
Except that, you're kind of missing out. It's so cool to put all the things in a pot together. I don't have a normal-sized colander so that makes it even cooler, because draining a box of pasta takes an extra step and an extra bowl in this house (lame).
Plus, when you get get relatively creamy and flavorful results without making a separate sauce, you're doing life right. I'm glad we're finally at the end of the weirdest winter ever, but I have no intention of walking away from my favorite creamy one-pot pastas, especially when they're so crazy simple and delicious.
I recommend whole wheat orzo (look for Delallo) and fresh spinach (or thawed from frozen).
Paleo: Not even a little bit. Sorry!
Vegetarian: Yes, totally!

One-Pot Parmesan Orzo & Spinach
Ingredients
- ½ Tablespoon butter
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 cups whole wheat orzo
- 2 cups whole milk
- ¾ cup water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 5-6 ounces fresh spinach
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- splash milk or more, if desired
- optional: red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a large pot, melt the butter and saute the minced garlic for about 30-60 seconds.
- Add the orzo, milk, water, and salt and stir together, then bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for about 7 minutes, stirring once or twice to break the orzo apart.
- Add the Parmesan cheese and stir well, then add the spinach and cook just until wilted, about 1-2 minutes.
- If it looks a little dry, add a splash of milk to make it creamy, then top with black pepper, red pepper flakes, and more Parmesan cheese. Serve!
Notes
You can use frozen spinach also, but you MUST thaw it first. I've found that tossing freezer-cold spinach into the mix makes the sauce kind of seize up and have a less-creamy-more-grainy texture. It's not the absolute worst thing, but it's not my favorite either.
Nutrition
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