Creamy Vegan Truffle Orzo (One-Pan)
A creamy, one-pan vegan truffle orzo that tastes like risotto without the stirring or dairy. Rice-shaped orzo simmers with King Oyster mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and truffle oil, finished silky with vegan cream. Ready in about 20 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups orzo
- 10 oz mushrooms I recommend King Oyster mushrooms as they have a similar texture to truffles
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 3 Tbsp truffle oil
- 1 cup vegan liquid cream you can use regular cream as well if you don't want to make the vegan version; I use Alpro rice cream
- 6 sun-dried tomatoes finely cut
- 1 tsp dry rosemary
- 1 tsp dry thyme
- 1 tsp dry dill
- 3 Tbsp mushroom protein powder optional; you can replace with 2 Tbsp corn starch - I use Formula 1 from Herbalife which I discovered during a campaign. I wrote more about how I use it here
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the truffle oil in a large pan. Add the sliced mushrooms, chopped onion, and crushed garlic. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes, until the onion turns translucent and the mushrooms begin to soften.
- Add 500ml of water and the orzo, then stir in the dried herbs (rosemary, thyme, dill) and the sun-dried tomatoes.
- Keep an eye on the pan, because the orzo absorbs the water quickly and can stick to the bottom. Stir from time to time so it cooks evenly.
- After about 10 minutes, add the liquid cream and the protein powder or corn starch (for the non-vegan version you can use Pecorino Romano or grated Parmesan instead). Stir well to combine.
- Taste a grain of orzo. If it is tender, turn off the heat. If it is still firm, add a little more water if needed and keep stirring and cooking until done.
- The orzo is ready when its consistency is like pasta al dente - soft but still holding its shape.
- Serve hot, with fresh thyme or oregano on top.
Notes
Truffle flavor here comes from truffle oil, not fresh truffles. For the mushrooms, King Oyster are ideal because their texture mimics truffles, but any mushrooms work. You can swap the 3 Tbsp mushroom protein powder for 2 Tbsp corn starch as a thickener. For a non-vegan version, use regular cream instead of vegan cream and finish with Pecorino Romano or grated Parmesan in place of the protein powder. I use Alpro rice cream for the vegan cream.