One Pot Chorizo Orzo (Easy 30 Minute Dinner)
Looking for a quick and easy one pot dinner for busy weeknights? This tasty chorizo orzo is packed with healthy vegetables, ready in 30 minutes and made in one pot. Bonus – it also makes perfect leftovers. It really ticks all the boxes for the perfect midweek meal!
I love a one pan meal. Limited washing up and no juggling multiple cooking methods or appliances. This easy one pot chorizo orzo is such a great meal for those evenings when you just can’t be bothered. Toss everything in a pan, stir in some stock and let it bubble away.
Quick Recipe Summary
🩷 Why You’ll Love this Chorizo Orzo
Ingredient Notes
The full list is in the recipe card below, but here are a few helpful hints about key ingredients to help you make the best Chorizo Orzo.
- Chorizo – use mild or spicy chorizo depending on your personal tastes. You need the cured kind sold in a ring, not slices.
- Orzo – A small pasta shape which looks almost like large grains of rice. You can also use small pastina shapes like ditalini or mini shells.
- Stock – or broth. Chicken or vegetable stock both work well.
- Vegetables – In this recipe I use frozen peas and corn, bell pepper and red onion, but you can easily switch the veg up. For best results you want all the ingredients to be a similar size to the cooked orzo, so chop larger vegetables accordingly.
- To Garnish – Fresh chopped parsley or basil, and plenty of grated parmesan cheese.
I make my one-pot Chorizo Orzo in my trusty Always Pan.
Carrie’s Top Tips
-Orzo loves to stick to the bottom of the pan so stir regularly and make sure to scrape everything off the bottom as you do.
-You may feel it needs more water as it cooks so have some hot water, stock or broth ready to add during cooking.
What To Serve with Chorizo Orzo
Chorizo Orzo is designed to be a complete meal and doesn’t need any sides, but a green salad or some garlic bread wouldn’t go amiss.
Swaps and Substitutes
The beauty of this dish is its so easy to switch up. Use this recipe as a base and customise it depending on your own tastes or what you have to hand. Stir in any leftover meat you have or whatever veggies need used up – almost like the orzo version of fried rice.
Here are a few ideas for variations:
- Bacon or Pancetta make a great swap for the chorizo.
- Add cooked chicken, prawns or sausage.
- Swap peas or sweetcorn for frozen edamame or broad beans
- Use a bag of mixed frozen vegetables
- Use whatever vegetables you have in the fridge, just make sure to chop everything into small bite-sized pieces.
Variations
- to make chicken and chorizo orzo simply stir in extra cooked chicken (leftover roast works really well) or use slices of breast or thigh and brown in the pan before continuing with the recipe as stated. (or I have a separate recipe for one pot chicken and chorizo orzo)
- make a spicy chorizo orzo by adding some diced chillies with the vegetables and using a hot chorizo sausage
- for a creamy chorizo orzo stir in cream cheese or creme fraiche at the end
- make it vegetarian orzo by swapping chorizo for chickpeas and smoked paprika
Got Leftovers?
Keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freeze for up to 3 months. This dish is best served freshly cooked as freezing can affect the texture. However if you reheat carefully then frozen leftovers can still be tasty and convenient. Make sure to defrost thoroughly before reheating.
Reheat slowly on the stove or in the microwave with a splash of water, stirring regularly.
One Pot Chorizo Orzo FAQs
I hope you like this recipe as much as I do!
Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment if you make it.
Your feedback is really important and helps me keep making recipes you love!
More Quick and Easy Pasta Dishes:
- Prawn and Chorizo Pasta
- Salmon and Pea Pasta
- Gochujang Vodka Pasta
- 15 Minute Bacon and Pea Pasta
- Baked Boursin Tomato Pasta
Chorizo Orzo with Peas and Sweetcorn
Equipment
- 1 large pan or skillet
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 200 grams (7 oz) chorizo sliced
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 1 red onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic diced
- 145 grams (1 cup) frozen peas
- 145 grams (1 cup) frozen sweetcorn kernels
- 200 grams (1 cup) orzo
- 1 tbsp tomato puree/paste
- 500 ml (2 cups) chicken stock or broth
- ½ lemon, juiced
- bunch chopped parsley
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet or pan over a medium heat and add the chorizo, diced pepper and onion.1 tbsp olive oil , 200 grams chorizo , 1 bell pepper, 1 red onion
- Fry for 4-5 minutes until the chorizo starts to release its oils and the onions are just softening, then add the peas, sweetcorn and garlic with a pinch of salt. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant.2 cloves garlic, 145 grams frozen peas, 145 grams frozen sweetcorn kernels
- Stir in the orzo, making sure to mix well so that it gets a coating of all the cooking juices.200 grams orzo
- Mix a tablespoon of tomato puree with 350ml of hot chicken stock then pour over the pasta and vegetables. Stir well.1 tbsp tomato puree/paste, 500 ml chicken stock or broth
- Simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirringly regularly (or the orzo will stick to the pan) until the orzo is tender and the stock has reduced. You can add a dash more water if needed or if you like it saucy. Stir in the lemon juice and add salt to taste if needed.½ lemon, juiced
- Garnish with chopped parsley to serve.bunch chopped parsley
Notes
