Creamy Spinach Orzo (Vegan)
This delicious vegan creamy spinach orzo pasta with sundried tomatoes and butter beans is easy to make, hearty, filling and comforting.
Servings 4 people
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons oil from a jar of sundried tomatoes (or olive oil)
- 1 large onion peeled and finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
- 120 ml (½ cup) white wine
- 1 litre (4 cups) vegetable stock plus extra if needed
- 300 g (1 ½ cups) orzo pasta
- 125 g (4 ½ oz) sun dried tomatoes (in oil) drained and finely chopped
- 275 g (10 oz) frozen spinach
- ¾ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¾ teaspoon dried dill
- 1 400g (14 oz) tin of butter beans rinsed and drained
- 160 ml (⅔ cup) vegan cream
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 4-5 Tablespoons nutritional yeast (to taste)
- a good grinding of black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan or casserole pan over a low heat. Add the onion and fry until it is soft and translucent (about 10 minutes) then add the garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add the white wine and cook until it has mostly evaporated.
- Add the stock, orzo, sun dried tomatoes, frozen spinach, thyme and dill.
- Bring up to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring often, for 20-25 minutes until the orzo is soft but still has a slight bite to it. Add a little extra stock if needed.
- Add the butter beans, cream, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and plenty of black pepper.
- Cook for another couple of minutes until the butter beans are warmed through then serve.
Notes
- See post above for tips, details and step-by-step photos
- Make sure that you use a large enough pan! The orzo absorbs a lot of liquid as it cooks.
- Keep the heat low and stir often to prevent the orzo from catching and burning. Stirring regularly also helps to release some of the starches from the pasta, making the sauce creamier.
- You can use fresh spinach instead of frozen. Use about 200g of baby spinach and simply add it to the pan for the last minute or two of cooking.