This creamy mushroom spinach orzo is a fast, one-pot recipe for busy nights! It’s plant-based and features cashew cream in place of dairy. Spinach and mushrooms add texture and nutrition to the recipe.
I made this creamy mushroom spinach orzo a couple of weekends ago, and I fell in love with the recipe right away. It was a welcome reprieve from my cooking slump!
The recipe is greatly inspired by Sheela Prakash’s one-pot mushroom and spinach orzo for The Kitchn. Prakash is an awesome recipe developer with a knack for Mediterranean flavors. She’s also got a talent for one-pot meals.
One-pot recipes are what I need and crave often these days. This orzo fits the bill. You sauté mushrooms until they’re tender and reduced in size, stir in orzo and liquid, and allow everything to cook. You’ll need to stir the orzo a couple of times: think of the mixture as being like a risotto (orzotto?).
Once the orzo has cooked through, it’s a creamy, satisfying dish that can be either a side or a main. To make it a more filling main, you can pair stir in some some chickpeas or white white beans. As a side dish, it’s lovely with baked tofu or balsamic tempeh.
No matter what, I can vouch for a generous sprinkle of cashew parmesan on top.
Prakash’s orzo recipe calls for milk as a simmering liquid. What makes this vegan mushroom spinach orzo creamy is the use of cashew cream.
I know that I probably overuse cashew cream in my recipes, but I just can’t help it. Nothing creates more luxurious texture or is as mildly flavored as cashew cream. Non-dairy milks are great, but they’re not always creamy enough for pasta or soup. Coconut milk is very creamy, but it’s a flavor that I only like in small doses. And from a nutrition standpoint, I like that cashew cream has less saturated fat than coconut milk or cream.
You can make cashew cream with either a food processor or a powerful blender.
If you don’t have cashew cream, or if you have a nut allergy, I recommend a vegan creamer for this recipe. There are a lot of creamer options available these days, made from different bases. Choose one that’s unsweetened, so that the savoriness of the mushroom spinach orzo will shine through.
You can also use an equivalent amount of full-fat coconut milk or silken tofu “cream” (just silken tofu that’s been blended or processed till creamy).
Orzo is the star of this recipe, of course. You can use whatever orzo is accessible and appropriate for you. If you avoid gluten, there are gluten-free orzo options available.
One thing to keep in mind is that orzo can vary in size and thickness. I like a traditional kritharaki that I buy locally. You can also find a spelt kritharaki online. These versions are a little smaller in shape than some of the Italian orzo I’ve used in the past, so they cook more quickly.
So as you simmer the orzo for this recipe, keep in mind that cooking times might vary. Keep tasting the orzo once you think it’s ready for the appropriate doneness. You’re aiming for al dente, but tender.
I generally use sliced white or button mushrooms in my cooking, though I also love shiitakes. You can use white mushrooms, shiitakes, chopped portobello mushroom caps, or baby bella mushrooms in the recipe.
I love the way shallots taste, especially in pasta. I chop up and use two for the mushroom spinach orzo. A small, diced onion would be a perfectly good substitute!
For garlic, feel free to substitute garlic powder if you’ve run out of heads of garlic. And, as with most of my recipes, you can feel free to add more garlic if you like (I tend to be conservative with it).
I usually stock up on baby spinach in my grocery hauls, so that I can use it in both salad and hot recipes. But regular, chopped spinach will also work well.
In place of spinach, feel free to use another leafy green that you have. Chard and kale would both work really nicely in the recipe. So would broccoli rabe, which is one of my favorite dark, leafy greens.
I keep both vegetable broth and vegan no-chicken broth in my pantry. I prefer the no-chicken broth for this recipe. Lately, I’ve been substituting Yondu for broth, especially when I run out of the latter. I love its umami-rich flavor, and it would be a good substitute for the broth in this creamy recipe.
The creaminess of the creamy mushroom spinach orzo! All-purpose cashew cream is my go-to.
As I mentioned above, chickpeas and white beans would be good means of adding plant-protein to the mushroom spinach orzo. Diced, smoked tofu would also be nice, and so would a big scoop of cooked lentils.
I’d love to try this recipe with chopped, sun-dried tomatoes, crumbled cashew cheese, tofu feta, and pitted olives. It would also be fun to stir in additional veggies, like green beans or zucchini.
The leftovers of the mushroom spinach orzo keep very nicely, but they tend to get a little gluey as they sit in the fridge. To loosen the orzo up before serving, simply place your portion in a pot, add a splash of broth (and a little extra cashew cream, if you like) and stir over low heat until the orzo is warm.
You can also freeze leftovers of the orzo for up to four weeks.
After I made this recipe, and as I was enjoying the leftovers, it occurred to me that I have a weakness for creamy, one-pot meals. Here’s a handful of favorites:
It’s no secret by now that I’m getting my bearings with cooking, after months of feeling at odds with it. I have no idea how long that process will take.
What I do know is that I made this orzo without thinking too much about it—I’d seen the recipe on The Kitchn at some point in the last few weeks and made a mental note to try something similar, veganized—and it surprised me with how simple and delicious it was. My mom was happily surprised by it, too.
Maybe it’s a sign of more easeful meals to come. I hope so, but I’ll be gentle with myself if not. And I’ll keep making orzo 🙂
xo
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Yummy. Made this tonight using miso broth because I actually ran out of veggie broth. I also toasted the orzo for a few minutes before adding broth. Doubled up on the garlic, added chile peppers and kale. What a comforting delicious vegan dinner. Definitely having seconds. Thanks for the recipe.
Great modifications, thank you for sharing, Deb! I’m glad you liked the recipe.
The sauce and mushrooms are delicious. I used chickpea orzo and it was overcooked. Any suggestions using a non-wheat orzo?
This is absolutely delicious. A recipe we’ll have often. I made the Super Versatile All-Purpose Cashew Cream recipe which came out perfect. I will try it with the silken tofu as well at some point. We also had the Balsamic Mustard Baked Tempeh recipe along with it. So good! Thanks for a great dinner.
This is on the menu for tonight. Is the 6 servings that your cashew cream recipe makes enough for the amount needed here? Also, if I were to use the silken tofu would the 12 oz. shelf stable box be enough? Thanks. Can’t wait to try this.
Hello Shellie! The cashew cream recipe makes just over a cup, so it will definitely be enough! So will 12 oz silken ๐
I cant even explain how delicious this is. This is the first cashew based creamy vegan recipe I made that actually tastes good. It tastes so amazingly creamy. Total comfort food that doesn’t leave you feeling the least big gross afterward. I didn’t have vegetable broth so I mixed my 3 cups of water with a couple tablespoons of tomato paste, some salt, garlic powder and nutritional yeast. I also topped this with Gena’s cookbook recipe for smokey tempeh chorizo and oh my. Just outstanding. Thank you!
I’m so glad that the orzo was a hit, Sarah!
Had this for dinner today. It was lovely, I used frozen kale instead of spinach and soya cream. Thank you for the recipe. I will be making it again โบ๏ธ
I’m so glad that you enjoyed it!
Made this tonight for dinner and my husband and I loved it! Had some mushrooms to use up and wanted to make stroganoff but didn’t have all the ingredients. Found this recipe and happened to have orzo. I bought it months ago after having an orzo salad that I liked and then didn’t use it. I was a little short on cashews so usedhalf cashews and half sunflower seeds. Also used peas instead of spinach. My husband asked for seconds .
Glad to hear it turned out well, Dawn!
Very flavorful (we used the savory method). Half or 2/3 the cashews would likely still be tasty, and better for the waistline.
As we love mushrooms we tripled the amount
I made this last night and it was *so* easy and delicious! I doubled everything (to avoid having to cook again for a couple of days), sautรฉed the veg in broth instead of oil, used diced-up portobello caps, and added a drained/rinsed can of cannellini beans with the spinach. This will definitely be making the regular rotation list in my house!
Love hearing this, Sarah!! And thanks for sharing your modifications, too.
It really was so good and so easy! I’ve actually been thinking all morning about how to use this recipe as a jumping off point for a slightly different take: swapping out the cashew cream for some blended (cooked) butternut squash…and then adding some fresh sage at some point. Maybe just boil the squash cubes separately and then blend it with a bit of the cooking water for adding at the same point as the cashew cream? It would kill the “one pot” idea, unfortunately, but we love that flavor combo from our time spent in Italy. If you have any thoughts about how to accomplish that, please let me know…
I think you could add cooked squash to a blender with cooking water and cashew cream, blend it all up, and add with sage!
When would you suggest adding the beans during cooking? Thanks!
You can stir them in when you add the lemon juice, at the end! Use cooked beans (I’d say a cup or a cup and a half). I hope that you enjoy ๐