Lemon Orzo with Pine Nuts

This is Lemon orzo with Pine Nuts is one of my favorite side dishes.  It’s quick and easy, healthy and goes with just about any entree.   This flavorful side dish is light and so simple to make, yet it looks pretty fancy. 

 

My kids don’t love it too lemony, so sometimes I only zest one lemon. Personally for me, the more lemon the better.

Sometimes I will cut it in half and make it less lemony for my kids. And of course I add more Parmesan to mine.

The toasted pine nuts add a great crunchy texture, and you can use whatever nots you’d like for this recipe. If I make this and don’t have pine nuts on hand I have used sliced almonds and even pistachios before and they were delicious.

But don’t get me wrong, I will always choose my pine nuts first. They are sooooo good.

I do typically have pine nuts in my house because I frequently make my homemade pesto. My family could eat homemade pesto every day and be very, very happy.

Jeez, whenever I make this I always remember how much I LOVE pine nuts.  Especially toasted pine nuts.  

I always like to make simple side dishes for my family to mix it up a bit. Let’s be honest, my kids would probably eat buttered noodles or macaroni and cheese every night if I let them.

That’s not going to happen in my house. But they do eat buttered noodles and macaroni and cheese A LOT, just keeping it real.

No judgment here fellow parents. You do what you ave to do to get through dinner time, I get it.

Oh and feel free to leave out the parsley if you have a kid that doesn’t like green things in their foods. I totally get that too.

The struggles we go through with our little kids, right?

 

Ok, now on to the recipe.  Check out how EASY this is….

Lemon Orzo

Ingredients

1 box of orzo

1 tablespoon avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil

2 lemons, zested

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/4 cup of fresh parsley

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts or other chopped nut of choice

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Cook orzo in salted water according to package.
2. Drain well. Do not run under water.
3. In a small bowl, mix lemon juice and grapeseed oil.
4. Transfer orzo to serving bowl, add garlic, drizzle with oil and lemon juice and season with salt & pepper.
5. Add lemon zest, pine nuts and parsley and toss.  Top with parmesan cheese if desired.  Makes 6 servings.

 

 

Nutritional Information

Serving Size 1 cup
Amount Per Serving
Calories 211    Calories from Fat 39
Total Fat 4.4g
Cholesterol 1mg
Sodium 14mg
Total Carbohydrates 35.8g
Dietary Fiber 1.9g
Sugars 2.6g
Protein 6.5g

*Nutritional information provided by www.caloriecount.com, not 100% guaranteed accurate

If you make this Lemon Orzo with Pine Nuts or any of the other recipes I have shared with you, please some back and let me know. You guys know that I love to hear from you!

I hope you enjoy this! Thank you for stopping by and please come back soon!