Vegan Orzo Recipe - My Vegan Minimalist (2024)

Delicious vegan orzo recipe that’s super easy to make and topped off with homemade vegan parmesan. Beginner-friendly and can be made in bulk.

Why this recipe works

1. Includes a recipe for the best DIY vegan parmesan.
2. Filled with several portions of veg
3. Super good for you!
4. You can prepare it in advance and eat for days
5. Can be served as lunch, snack or dinner
6. Beginner-friendly

Now that we’ve established you definitely have to make this delicious recipe, let’s see what you’ll need.

What goes into this recipe

To make this easy vegan orzo recipe you will also need the following equipment:

• A deep oven dish
• Blender or food processor to make your parmesan (optional step)

Recipe STEP-BY-STEP

There’s not many steps to this recipe - in fact, it’s so easy and completely beginner-friendly. Having said that, it does require some attention. More about that below.

1. You’ll first make a delicious garlic oil marinade by combining crushed garlic, salt, brown sugar, oil and red chilli powder. Mix well.
2. Then it’s time to slice your peppers. I recommend slicing them lengthwise as this way all the pieces will be roughly the same size. Try to slice them thin. Then cover well with marinade and bake at 170°C / 338°F (fan oven) for 2 hours. You’ll want to set an alarm for every 20 minutes to stir and turn around the peppers well. In the meantime, make your vegan parmesan by blending cashews, chilli powder, onion powder, garlic powder, almonds and salt. Set aside for later.
3. Cook your orzo according to instructions on your packet. Drain and add the roasted peppers. Make sure you also add the liquid that remained at the bottom of your oven dish as that will be packed with flavour. Top off with basil. Mix very well.

Serve with your DIY vegan parmesan and enjoy!

Important: unlike the main orzo recipe, the measurements for our parmesan recipe are meant for many portions (approx. 12). Vegan parmesan is super versatile so this way you can only make it once and then serve it with various dishes. Keep it in an airtight jar for up to 2 weeks.

My Top Tips

Making this orzo recipe is all about paying attention to a couple of important things that can make all the difference.

Use a deep oven dish

Don’t simply roast yout peppers on a flat baking tray. The beauty of this recipe is that the roasted peppers will create a flavourful, peppery ‘sauce’ at the bottom of your dish.

This only happens if you’re using a deep oven dish (like the one shown on the photo numbered 2 above). If using a flat tray, the liquids will simply evaporate as the peppers won’t be able to trap the heat.

Stack your peppers

Don't forget to really stack your pepper slices on top of each other. This way they will roast better and, again, leave you with a delicious sauce left at the bottom of your pan.

Don’t forget to stir

Once you’ve added your orzo to a simmering pan of water, you’ll want to stir well. Otherwise you might be stuck with a big clump of orzo - not our goal!

FAQs

Possible Ingredient Substitutions

• PEPPERS – No need to use red peppers only. You can make this into a colourful pasta by mixing red, green, orange and yellow peppers.
• CASHEWS - Can be replaced with pine nuts or other nuts.
• CHILLI - There’s a hint of chilli in the parmesan. It’s not overpowering at all, but if preferred, can be omitted.

Missing any other ingredients? Get in touch via the comments below!

This wraps it up! If you liked this vegan orzo recipe, you might want to check out my vegan stew and dumplings, roasted red pepper pasta and pesto pasta salad recipes. Or, check out my mains section for more easy vegan recipes here.

If you liked this recipe, I would really appreciate it if you could leave a comment or review below.

🍴Recipe

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