One-Pot Veggie Orzo

This one-pot veggie orzo with butter beans and homemade pesto is the perfect easy dinner recipe with minimal effort. The dish comes together in one pot with a variety of colourful vegetables, then the orzo is added in and cooking with a bouillon cube for extra flavour. Serve with a drizzle of homemade pesto (and optionally add some roasted portobello mushrooms on the side!), then enjoy!

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil (see notes for oil-free)
• 1/2 red onion
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• 15-20 cherry tomatoes
• 1 tbsp Italian spice blend
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/4 cups dried orzo (gluten-free if needed)
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 veggie bouillon cube, dissolved in 3 cups boiling water (or 3 cups of veggie broth)
• 1 small bunch of asparagus, chopped
• 1 can of butter beans (400mL), drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Homemade Pesto

• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Large handful of fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

Equipment

• Large pot

Instructions

1. Finely slice the onion and mince garlic cloves.
2. In a large pot over medium heat, sauté the onions in olive oil, stirring often, adding the minced garlic after a few minutes.
3. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in your kettle, then add to a measuring glass and dissolve a bouillon cube in it.
4. Once the onions have cooked down, add cherry tomatoes, spices, dried orzo, frozen peas and the veggie stock.
5. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low, stirring every few minutes.
6. Chop asparagus into 1 1/2 inch pieces and rinse the can of butter beans.
7. After 8-10 mins, add the asparagus, butter beans and nutritional yeast. Stir then cover for another couple minutes, until the orzo has absorbed all the liquid.
8. If serving with fresh pesto, mix together olive oil, minced garlic and chopped basil and serve on top!

Notes

*I love serving this orzo with some roasted portobello mushrooms (optional, but delicious!).

*For an oil-free version, sauté the onions and garlic in water or veggie stock and serve with freshly chopped basil instead of pesto.

*You can also use 3 cups of veggie broth instead of the bouillon cube, although I usually find that bouillon cubes have more flavour!