One Pot Lemon Orzo with Sauteed Asparagus
This lemon orzo is served with sauteed asparagus and tofu, but more importantly it is easy to make and cooks in just one pan! A complete meal that you can make any night of the week and feel good about.
Why You’ll Love This Lemon Orzo
- One Pot. This orzo can be made in 30 minutes, but the best part is that everything cooks in just one pan, so there is minimal clean up needed afterwards.
- Dairy-free. But you still get a flavorful and umami-rich orzo.
- Balanced and satisfying. This meal is a complete meal served with protein-rich tofu and nutrient-rich asparagus that helps to compliment and make this meal a satisfying one.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
- Orzo: This cooks up quickly. If gluten-free, do make sure to swap for a gluten-free alternative.
- Broth: To keep this lower in sodium, use a good quality low-sodium vegetable broth. Alternatively, I like to dissolve my favorite vegan “chicken” bouillon cube in 3 cups of water and then use it in this recipe.
- Lemon: Fresh lemon as we need both the juice and zest.
- Tofu: Our main protein source. I recommend either using extra firm tofu that has been pressed or some super firm tofu for the best texture. Feel free to change up your protein to something you like, but do note cooking times will vary. I also love this with some chickpeas. You can stir it directly into the orzo when simmering or crisp it up in the oven to top over your dish when serving.
- Cornstarch: This helps get a nice coating on the tofu, but feel free to use potato starch or all-purpose flour as an alternative.
- Nutritional Yeast: This adds some extra umami flavor to our pasta since we are keeping this dairy-free.
- Asparagus: If you can, use thicker asparagus stems. Alternatively, this recipe will work wonderfully with seared zucchini, snap peas, and kale. If using kale, feel free to add this to the orzo in the last 5 minutes of cooking to help wilt it down before serving.
- Miso: I recommend a yellow or white miso that is lighter in flavor. Red miso is too robust in flavor and may over power the bright lemon flavors.
- Capers: This helps add a nice salty and tangy flavor to the orzo. This is optional, so feel free to leave this out and adjust with more salt to taste as needed.
How to Make Lemon Orzo with Sauteed Asparagus
Place your tofu on a cutting board on it’s side and cut it into 3 equal slabs. Optional, diagonally score the top surface of the tofu, scoring it about 1/3 of the way through the slab.
Place the tofu into a shallow dish and drizzle with the soy sauce and lemon juice to coat. In a separate shallow dish, combine the cornstarch, garlic and lemon pepper together. Dredge the tofu in the cornstarch mixture and set aside.
Heat a large non-stick skillet with your oil over medium heat. When hot, place the tofu slabs in the pan score side down and sear for 5 minutes. Flip the tofu and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until both sides are golden. Transfer the tofu to paper towels to drain.
To the same pan, add the asparagus along with a pinch of salt and sauté for 3-4 minutes until tender then remove from pan.
Now add the shallots and sauté again until softened. Stir in the capers, garlic and red pepper flakes and continue to sauté until the garlic is fragrant.
Add the miso paste and lightly mash it with the back of your spatula, then add the nutritional yeast and orzo. Stir the mixture to coat.
Pour in your vegetable broth and bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring frequently to prevent the orzo from sticking. Allow the orzo to cook for 8-10 minutes uncovered until the orzo is al dente.
Once the orzo has absorbed most of the liquid, stir in the parsley, asparagus and remaining lemon juice and remove from heat. Serve the orzo with the tofu and enjoy.
Expert Tips
- Stir the orzo frequently. This will help prevent the orzo from sticking to the bottom of the pan as it simmers in the broth.
- Instead of pan searing, feel free to bake your tofu. To do this, add a tablespoon of oil to the soy sauce mixture when coating the tofu. Once coated in cornstarch, place on a baking tray and spray the tofu cutlets with a little oil then bake in the oven at 425F for 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway.
- Add more protein. Drain and rinse off some chickpeas to stir into the orzo as it simmers. This will help add an additional 24.5 grams of protein to the whole meal.
- Make it cheesier. Nutritional yeast helps add both some extra vitamin B12 when fortified as well as some cheesy flavor. For more cheesy goodness, while still keeping it dairy-free, try grating your favorite vegan parmesan over top before serving.
- Add additional oil as needed while cooking. You may see the pan dry up in spots as you cook each component, so feel free to add a little more oil as needed to prevent things from sticking. As an alternative, you can also use veggie broth to deglaze the pan as you start to sauté up the vegetables and aromatics.
Frequently Asked Questions
Try making this recipe using gluten-free orzo. For a bump up in protein try the rice shaped pasta from Banza instead. Do note that pasta alternatives will have different cooking times, so adjust as needed to ensure the pasta cooks till al dente to avoid a gummy pasta mess. I tend to under cook my gluten-free pasta by 1 minute compared to package instructions, which helps prevent it from getting too soft. Lastly, instead of soy sauce use a wheat-free tamari or coconut aminos.
Allow the orzo to cool then transfer to an airtight container and place in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat, add the orzo to a microwave safe bowl with a splash of water and reheat for a minute or longer until warmed through. Alternatively, you can also reheat in a saucepan, just add a splash of water and stir the orzo until warmed through.
Yes! When storing the tofu, the outside crust will soften significantly. To bring it back to life, place the tofu in a toaster oven or air fryer and reheat at 350F for a few minutes to crisp up the outer coating and warm it through.
How to Serve
Serve your orzo with a squeeze of fresh lemon and top with the tofu cutlets. Between the asparagus, orzo and tofu, you get a complete meal that is high in protein, complex carbs, fiber, and iron!
For some additional protein, consider stirring in a can of drained and rinsed canned chickpeas or canned lentils while the orzo simmers.
More Vegan Pasta Recipes to Try
- Vegan Caramelized Onion Pasta
- Tahini Pasta
- 20 Minute Green Goddess Pasta Salad
- Spicy Miso Pasta
- Baked Hummus Pasta
One Pot Lemon Orzo with Sauteed Asparagus
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 3 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: One Pot
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This lemon orzo is served with sauteed asparagus and tofu, but more importantly it is easy to make and cooks in just one pan! A complete meal that you can make any night of the week and feel good about.
Ingredients
Lemon Pepper Seared Tofu
- 1, ~400g block extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
- 1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tbsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp lemon pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Lemon Orzo
- 2 tbsp avocado oil plus more if needed
- 10 asparagus spears, woody stems removed and cut on a bias
- 1 shallot, minced
- 2 tsp capers, minced (optional)
- 3 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
- 2 tsp yellow or white miso paste
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan
- 1 1/2 cups dry orzo
- 3 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place your tofu on a cutting board on it’s side and cut it into 3 equal slabs. Optional, diagonally score the top surface of the tofu, scoring it about 1/3 of the way through the slab.
- Place the tofu into a shallow dish and drizzle with the soy sauce and lemon juice to coat. In a separate shallow dish, combine the cornstarch, garlic and lemon pepper together. Dredge the tofu in the cornstarch mixture and set aside.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet with your oil over medium heat. When hot, place the tofu slabs in the pan score side down and sear for 5 minutes. Flip the tofu and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until both sides are golden. Transfer the tofu to paper towels to drain.
- To the same pan, add the asparagus along with a pinch of salt and sauté for 3-4 minutes until tender then remove from pan.
- Now add the shallots and sauté again until softened. Stir in the capers, garlic and red pepper flakes and continue to sauté until the garlic is fragrant.
- Add the miso paste and lightly mash it with the back of your spatula, then add the nutritional yeast and orzo. Stir the mixture to coat.
- Pour in your vegetable broth and bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring frequently to prevent the orzo from sticking. Allow the orzo to cook for 8-10 minutes uncovered until the orzo is al dente.
- Once the orzo has absorbed most of the liquid, stir in the parsley, asparagus and remaining lemon juice and remove from heat. Serve the orzo with the tofu and enjoy.
Notes
Stir the orzo frequently. This will help prevent the orzo from sticking to the bottom of the pan as it simmers in the broth.
Instead of pan searing, feel free to bake your tofu. To do this, add a tablespoon of oil to the soy sauce mixture when coating the tofu. Once coated in cornstarch, place on a baking tray and spray the tofu cutlets with a little oil then bake in the oven at 425F for 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway.
Add more protein. Drain and rinse off some chickpeas to stir into the orzo as it simmers. This will help add an additional 24.5 grams of protein to the whole meal.
Make it cheesier. Nutritional yeast helps add both some extra vitamin B12 when fortified as well as some cheesy flavor. For more cheesy goodness, while still keeping it dairy-free, try grating your favorite vegan parmesan over top before serving.
Add additional oil as needed while cooking. You may see the pan dry up in spots as you cook each component, so feel free to add a little more oil as needed to prevent things from sticking. As an alternative, you can also use veggie broth to deglaze the pan as you start to sauté up the vegetables and aromatics.
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★ Catherine
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This was absolutely delicious and flavorful! Me and my husband really enjoyed this and will definitely make it again! It was tangy and creamy. The tofu helps to balance it out all the flavors.