Orzo with Zucchini and Tomato is the best orzo side dish!! So versatile, that goes great with shrimp, chicken, pork chops, or double the portion and enjoy it as a main dish.
Orzo with Zucchini and Tomato
This healthy orzo recipe would make the perfect side for any protein. You could serve it with chicken, steak, or salmon. It would also be great with grilled chicken or shrimp if you did want to add in some protein to make it a complete meal. Some other easy orzo recipes are Shrimp Scampi with Broccoli Orzo and Broccoli and Orzo.
I whipped up this quick orzo side dish the other night to serve with my air fryer chicken tenders for a really quick and easy meal. I showed the dish on my Instagram Stories and got so many requests for the recipe, so here it is.
This is such an easy side dish, the longest step is cooking the pasta. But once the orzo is done, the rest of the dish comes together in under 10 minutes.
Variations:
- Swap orzo for another small pasta like ditalini or pearl couscous.
- Substitute zucchini for yellow squash or add in other vegetables if you prefer.
- Add in chicken or shrimp for protein to make this orzo side dish a complete meal.
More Easy Side Dishes You’ll Love:
- Baby Pasta Shells with Asparagus and Marinara Sauce
- Instant Pot Black Beans
- Greek Pasta Salad
- Lemon-Parsley Potato Foil Packets
- Low-Carb Mashed Cauliflower
Orzo with Zucchini and Tomato
Ingredients
- 5 oz uncooked orzo pasta
- 1/2 large zucchini, 1/4-inch dice (5 ounces total)
- 1 small plum or Campari tomato, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan or Pecorino
Instructions
- Cook pasta in large pot of salted water as directed for al dente.
- Reserve about 1/2 cup liquid before draining. Drain orzo in a colander and add the oil to the pot.
- Saute garlic 1 minute, until fragrant, add the zucchini and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and mix well. Cook until tender, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the cooked orzo and stir to combine all. Add some of the reserved liquid as needed so pasta isn't dry.
- Add freshly grated cheese and stir.
Made this with one of the first zucchini from our garden. Delicious ! Can’t wait until our tomatoes come in. This is definitely on rotation for the summer
Absolutely delicious! I made just one serving for lunch for myself, but now I wish I had made more. So simple and so good.
Easiest and tastiest pasta dish you can throw together. I always add extra tomatoes and zucchini. Ran out of garlic so I used shallots. It was divine.
So tasty! I made it tonight and was by far one of the best side dishes I have done.
Quick and easy and oh so delicious. I added onions, fresh basil, spinach, red bell pepper, extra garlic, little BTB, and sprinkled on some oregano. So good.
Great side dish for my baked chicken. I used some of the water from the cooked pasta and added a bit more garlic and some fresh thyme, parsley and basil from my herb garden. Will definitely be making this again!!
The zucchini and tomatoes made the orzo very pretty! As a side dish, it would work well with a simple main course.
Fabulous! I added more garlic and a splash of lemon juice, and some lemon pepper after reading some of the other reviews. I wish I would have thought of the onion beforehand, but I will definitely be making this often. I had some zoodles in my freezer that I thawed and chopped up and ended up using a can of diced fire-roasted garlic tomatoes. This will make a great summer pasta salad served cold as well. I meal prepped this for my dinner side dish for the week because I made the lasagna soup for my lunches (another keeper of a recipe that I make often).
Oooooh, fire roasted garlic tomatoes would be so good in this! Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll try that next time. I used multi-colored cherry tomatoes my first time and they were really good.
One of my favorite weeknight recipes!! Easy, comforting, and absolutely delicious—a family favorite that’s perfect for any time of the year!
This recipe is delicious and so easy too! It’s a big hit with my grandsons ages 7 and
10. Thumbs up from the whole family.
Perfect!
This is maybe the 10th recipe from Skinnytaste that I’ve made. It’s another winner! It was fast and easy. I can’t wait to make it when company comes over.
So good! I’ve made this multiple times and it never disappoints. It’s incredibly easy too.
Everyone loved it. Making it a second time today!
This has become one of my favorite ‘go to’s for weeknights—especially in the summer when I’m trying to jazz up ways to use our garden veggies.
Delicious! Easy side dish to some grilled salmon or chicken. I used chopped grape tomatoes as they’re plentiful this summer
Quick and easy to bring to girlfriends luncheon
So tasty and very easy. Next time I will be more generous with black pepper
So easy and very tasty. Next time I will be more generous with the black pepper
Easy, healthy, and flavorful! 3 year old and 8 year old approved and they used to say they liked neither. I added some grated Parmesan cheese.
Love kid approval!
I made this tonight to have with the pesto grilled shrimp (amazing!). I used a yellow squash instead with homegrown tomatoes. Yummy!
This is 1 of my new favorites easy to make And very tasty
This is yummy — we actually doubled the amount of veggies.
My family absolutely loves this recipe!!! it is soooo good! Easily one of my favorites 😍
Used left over rice Basmati from another recipe instead of orzo, but similar. I added as others did some onion, and some herbs parsley basil…and I had a pepper that needed to be used so added that. I think could add most any veggie. I did a bit of lemon juice at the end too as some suggested. Great side dish.
I love this recipe! So yummy! Was loved by all!
I’ve made this twice now, the first time I followed the recipe exactly, this time I modified a little bit for some more flavor. It is absolutely delicious, thanks for sharing!!
Love making this for work meals! It is quick and easy to fix during the week. Makes me feel like I’m eating clean and healthy. I marinate some chicken in Greek salad dressing and grill it to complete the meal. Thanks!
This is the most delicious and easiest side dish ever! Paired it with grilled turkey burgers because that was the only protein I had but definitely will make again with shrimp or chicken.
Made this and even meat and potato hubby liked it. It’s even tasty cold the next day! Will def put it in the rotation to mix things up.
Gina, I just made this and it is delicious. Thank you very much again..
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great recipe. Flavors are so good together, but not a heavy side dish. My husband loved it!
My husband and I love this recipe. It’s so light and tasty. I doubled up the recipe so we can have leftovers.
Perfect!
How long can I keep in frig?
3-5 days.
I have made this several times…the last time i added fresh corn cut off the cob…a GREAT addition! This is a great side dish…hot OR cold as leftovers!
I have made this many times and it’s always delicious!
Easy recipe and a perfect compliment to a store bought rotisserie chicken.
Easy recipe and a perfect compliment for a store bought rotisserie chicken.
I am looking for healthy recipes that can be made in an air fryer.
I have a ton, go to my air fryer recipe link
This is the easiest and best recipe! It’s a family favorite and perfect side main dish! i sometimes even add spinach!
Does this freeze well?
I dont think so
This is so good, it’s part of our regular rotation now!
i thought that this pasta was delicious! I also sautéed onion with the zucchini and added the tomato and garlic at the end. My husband is not a fan of Orzo but I will definitely make this again when he is not home!
This was so great and easy! I did sauté some onion first before I added the garlic. I threw in some of my favorite zesty Italian spice. I also added feta at the end and it made a nice creamy sauce! Topped with Parmesan.
My husband and I loved this recipe. I added some lemon juice and sautéed shrimp, it was delicious!
This is awesome. I added lemon juice after I read some reviews and no regrets! So delicious and a great way to use up some zucchini. I added some salmon as well and I can’t wait to use this recipe again! Very flexible and yummy.
Love this salad. I added some cooked shrimp and lemon juice which added extra flavor to ingredients.
This was a perfect accompaniment to GIna’s Basil Parmesan Salmon. We added some red pepper flakes and sauteed onion as well.
Great!!
I used my last zucchini from my garden and doubled he recipe to make for lunches last week with some grilled chicken.
Very tasty and filling!
So good and so easy to make! My 4 year old even loved every bite.
Perfect!!
Fun to make and really colorful, too! I added some frozen corn and threw in some pre-cooked frozen shrimp at the end. Totally yummy and leftovers I look forward to eating. Thank YOU!
Should this be served warm or cold?
So easy, addicting and delicious.
Super easy and quick. Loved the mild flavor. I had it with a cod fillet, perfect combination.
Thats my plan for today (father’s day). Marinating the teriyaki cod fillets now and and this orzo dish will be ready in no time. Going to add some squash. Im hungry for it now. Sounds delicious.
Well isn’t this the best pasta salad I’ve ever eaten!? Simple ingredients. Easy to make. Ultra tasty! I made this as written, with the exception of adding my tomato raw instead of sautéing it (I prefer the bright freshness). This will go into weekly rotation for sure. Thank you yet again for another winning recipe 🙏🏻❤️
Favourite side dish, it’s a staple in our house!
This is so simple but so delicious.
Have not used Orzo very much, but that will change now.
we really enjoyed this with fresh zucchini from the garden . Will be trying other
combinations as well.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Add the Weber Zesty Lemon seasoning to it (a healthy dose!) – you will not regret it!! This was delish!!
I made this with garden-fresh veggies. Instead of using the pasta water, I actually let it all cool down and used Italian dressing, turning it into a cold-serve salad. It was amazing!!
Super easy & tasty! Served with maple dijon pork chops. Will make again for sure!
This is so good! I added blackened chicken strips chopped up. My mom and I loved it!
So yummy! Put Salmon and a few shrimp on top. I would order this at a restaurant but doubtful it would be as good as mine!
Yum, sounds good!
This is so flavorful. Who said that food can’t taste this good.
YUM! Served hot or chilled- this is a winner. Light, fresh, and great flavor. I sprinkle a little fresh Parmesan on top right before serving. SO GOOD!
Delicious!!
This is such a great summer side dish! I made this yesterday and paired it with baked pork chops. So easy and quick to make!
We made this for Father’s Day and everyone loved it!
I made this tonight and served with a simple grilled chicken. It was wonderful … so light and tasty. It would be great with fish, with shrimp, scallops, whatever. This ones a keeper!
Delicious!
We added shrimp. It was absolutely delicious!
This was so easy and DELICIOUS! I used ditalini pasta and added grilled chicken and fresh asparagus from the garden! The fresh grated Parmesan was the perfect touch to top it off! One serving was filling and we had leftovers too.
This is so good! I love your site! I have made this twice now. Last time I just added broccoli. Simple and quick lunch, light dinner or side dish.
This was such a delicious and healthy side dish – so simple to make, too! I was about 1 oz. short on orzo so I broke up spaghetti into small pieces to make up the difference. We didn’t even notice.
I am so excited to try this recipe! How many does it serve?
This was so easy to make and tasted fantastic! I sautéd some minced onion with my garlic and then realized that onion wasn’t in the recipe! Oops! I made with zucchini and tomatoes as written but could probably throw in just about any veg you have on hand.
I ate with some simple grilled chicken breast. This was a flavorful side that I’ll make over and over again!
All your recipes are so good. Tonight I made scallops in the sous vide with this as the side dish. Delicious and low calorie. Thanks for all your recipes. I am a huge fan.
Yum!!
This is such a delicious, quick, and simple little dish. My kids both asked for seconds, which is always the mark of a great recipe in our house. We all agreed we’ll be making it again soon.
Oh! My! Goodness!!! Gina, you have knocked it out of the ballpark with this one!! I made this and added some chopped baby bella mushrooms. I was expecting good, but I got great!! Served it with the AF chicken tenders, which were great in their own right! But, I’m craving pasta and could have easily eaten a double portion of the orzo!! Thank you so much! Keep up this wonderful job that you do for us!!
Great with grilled pork tenderloin and my family loved it! SO easy to make and no leftovers!
My 3 year old and 18 month old LOVED this! They devoured it and the whole family enjoyed it. Thank you!!
This was such an easy fresh tasting side…thanks!
This is an amazing recipe! I used Feta instead of Parmesan (that’s what I had at home), a squirt of lemon juice, and added some fresh chopped cilantro. It added a little kick to it. Extremely easy to make too! Had it as a side with pork chops.
Saw it in my email, made it tonight for dinner with chimichurri bone-in pork chops. Since Orzo is one of my favorite pastas, i could not ignore. The dish came together so super fast. Great side, especially now that it gets warmer.
Yes, I agree with previous post. I entered each ingredient in the “create recipe “ function on WW app. On green plan, for 4 servings, it’s 6 points. Having said that, it’s great! I served it as a side with grilled lobster tails. Perfect!!
I calculate 5 points on green, 6 if u add the cheese
That’s what I calculated. I counted it as 6 and enjoyed. It’s very delicious
Can you make this ahead of time and heat up for dinner or even serve it cold?
Karen, I made it and had leftovers the following night and it was just as good reheated.
This was a great side dish. I love anything orzo! I cooked the orzo in chicken broth because it adds more flavor and used cherry tomatoes because that’s what I had- plus they have great flavor. Really good and very easy!
Does this recipe use regular orzo Or whole wheat orzo?
Either!
I’d add some chopped scallions and grated lemon zest (or a squirt of fresh lemon juice) for some brightness and fresh basil and parley (Italian also). This is a great “do as you please” side/salad/main dish. I bet some feta would also be fantastic. Ooohhhh….toss in some garbanzo beans!
Great with feta and added chick peas!!
How much dry orzo equals v 5 oz?
3/4 cup
I saw this recipe today and happened to have everything on hand. What an easy and delicious recipe! We grilled a flank steak and had this as a side dish. It was delicious! Next time I may add some mushrooms and onions.
Perfect timing, I had both zucchini and cherry tomatoes that I needed to use up! I added shrimp and crushed red pepper. Delicious!
How fortuitous that this recipe fell right onto my lap! I did not even know I needed this. Looking for a nice side dish to go with my slow cooker chicken and voila this appears. I did not have orzo but had pearl couscous and tons of zucchini and tomatoes that I did not know what to do with! Perfect dish and nice to eat on a sunny spring day! Thanks! Plus I love your recipes and have your 1st cookbook. This is my go to site for all great dishes!