Lime Orzo with Bell Peppers

This vegan lime orzo with sauteed bell peppers and onions makes for a simple, clean dinner or brown bag lunch. Mint, cayenne and lime add layers of flavor.

Gorging on all that sweet stuff around the holidays makes me really hungry for some good, clean, simple food. Like this Lime Orzo with Green Peppers which I put together in a few minutes one recent night.

Orzo is a popular pasta around our house, partly, I imagine, because it reminds the rice-loving Desi of his favorite grain. I almost always have some in the pantry. My only peeve is that I can never find a wholegrain version where I shop.

I took the inspiration for my lime orzo from this recipe because I loved the technique used to cook the orzo and also the addition of dried mint. But I wanted to make my dish healthier, so in went some sauteed onions and green bell peppers. You could add almost any veggie to this dish– zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower or even some greens would be great in here. Next time I will also add some cooked chickpeas or white beans to give the orzo a protein boost.

This is a really simple recipe but the mint and the lime and the peppers add layer upon layer of flavor, making it quite special.  Try it. You will be hooked.

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Lime Orzo with Bell Peppers

This vegan lime orzo with sauteed bell peppers and onions makes for a simple, clean dinner or brown bag lunch. Mint, cayenne and lime add layers of flavor. Nut-free, soy-free, can be made gluten-free with gf pasta.

Course Pasta

Cuisine Italian, Vegan

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 6 Servings

Calories 255 kcal

Author Vaishali

Ingredients

• 2 cups orzo
• 5 cups water
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tsp dried mint
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 3 green bell peppers, cut into a small dice
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Juice of half a lime. Add more if you like your orzo tangier.
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Heat the water along with 1 tsp of olive oil, cayenne, salt, black pepper, mint and orzo. Cook for about 15 minutes until the orzo is al dente and has absorbed almost all of the water.
2. While the orzo is cooking, heat a saucepan with the remaining olive oil. Add the onions and green peppers and saute until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and saute for a minute. Now add the cooked pasta and mix.
4. Stir in the lime juice and add salt and ground pepper if needed.
5. Serve hot.

Nutrition Facts

Lime Orzo with Bell Peppers

Amount Per Serving

Calories 255 Calories from Fat 25

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 2.8g 4%

Total Carbohydrates 48.5g 16%

Dietary Fiber 3.7g 15%

Sugars 6.3g

Protein 8g 16%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

**

More quick, easy and tasty pasta favorites:

Linguine with vegan olive oil pesto

Pasta with no-cook tomato sauce

Vegan lentil and pasta salad