Greek Baked Orzo
This Greek baked orzo with Kalamata olives and vegan feta is the perfect comfort food. This dish is packed with Mediterranean flavors and it's also a real hit with kids! And the recipe is super easy - 30 minutes is all you need.
Servings 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups orzo
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika powder
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 package vegan ground beef crumbles (about 7 oz, but it could also be a bit more or less)
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup kalamata olives or black olives
- 5 oz vegan feta, crumbled
- 1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley, to serve
Instructions
- Finely chop the garlic and the red onion.
- Heat some oil in a large pot and sauté the onion for 2-3 minutes or until translucent. Then add the garlic and cook for another minute. Then add the spices and the tomato paste. Stir well and cook for another minute until fragrant.
- Then add the orzo, the vegetable broth, and the canned diced tomatoes.
- Bring to a boil. Then cook on low heat for about 6 minutes until the orzo has soaked up all of the liquid and is tender. Stir very often, so the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom of your pot. If needed add a bit more vegetable broth.
- Dice the bell peppers. Preheat your oven to 425 °F.
- In a large pan, heat some olive oil and pan-fry the vegan ground beef crumbles until crispy. Or follow the instructions on the package. Add the bell peppers when you start frying the vegan ground beef.
- Once the orzo is tender, pour it into a casserole dish and add the cooked vegan beef crumbles and bell pepper. Also add the olives and stir well. Crumble the vegan feta with your hands and sprinkle it over the pasta.
- Place the casserole in the oven and turn on the grill function or broil setting. Let the vegan feta melt for a few minutes and let it get a few golden spots. But make sure to pay close attention, so it doesn't get too dark.
Notes
- I used store-bought vegan feta for this recipe. If you can't get ahold of it, you could also use homemade vegan feta made out of tofu. It won't melt, but it will still be super delicious. You could either crumble it over the top or add cubes.
- If you're not a fan of vegan meat alternatives, you could add canned lentils or kidney beans instead of the vegan ground beef crumbles. I actually like to add cooked brown lentils when feeding this to our kids for extra protein.