Vegetable Stew with Orzo

For the full list of ingredients and comprehensive instructions, please see the recipe card at the end of this post. Before you scroll, there’s important stuff to know in the blurb!

Our slimming friendly Vegetable Stew with Orzo is a warming and hearty dish for a chilly day – perfect if you’re calorie counting or following Weight Watchers.

This delicious meal is a great example of where the trusty Instant Pot comes into its own! If you don’t have the time to slave over a stove for hours, this Vegetable Stew with Orzo recipe is for you.

The vegetables in this stew are completely adaptable to your preferences, so you can get creative. Start off with a pressure cook to make sure that all the veg is cooked, and then finish it off with a slow cook to make sure that all the flavours are at their very best.

You can always add a bit of meat into the mix too, just check for appropriate cooking times. Enjoy!

What diets is this Vegetable Stew with Orzo suitable for?

This Vegetable Stew with Orzo recipe is suitable for dairy free, vegetarian and vegan diets.

It can be made gluten free as long as you swap out the following ingredients for gluten free versions:

  • Orzo
  • Vegetable stock

Please make sure to double and triple check all of your ingredients if you’re cooking for people with allergies.

Do you need any special ingredients to make Vegetable Stew with Orzo?

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If you’ve never heard of the Instant Pot you really should go and check it out over on Amazon. Imagine the best Slow Cooker in the world, then times that by a hundred. There’s not much that it can’t do!

How many calories are in this Vegetable Stew with Orzo?

There are 445 calories per portion in this Vegetable Stew with Orzo, which means it falls into our Weekly Indulgence category.

To cut down the amount of calories even more, you can simply halve the portion size and serve with a healthy accompaniment.

This Vegetable Stew with Orzo is perfect if you’re following a calorie controlled diet, and fits well with any one of the major diet plans such as Weight Watchers.

As a guide, an average man needs around 2,500kcal (10,500kJ) a day to maintain a healthy body weight. For an average woman, that figure is around 2,000kcal (8,400kJ) a day. Obviously, if your goal is to lose weight then you might want to adjust these slightly! You can read more about these recommendations on the NHS website.

Vegetable Stew with Orzo

Our slimming friendly Vegetable Stew with Orzo is a warming and hearty dish for a chilly day – perfect if you’re calorie counting or following Weight Watchers.
  • Prep Time
    10 MINS
  • Cook Time
    1 HR 15
  • KCals 445
  • Carbs 97G
  • WW Points:
  • 13 Green
  • 13 Blue
  • 11 Purple

Ingredients

  • 1.5 l vegetable stock made up according to stock cube instructions
  • 250 g orzo
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 potatoes
  • 2-3 red onions
  • 2 small leeks
  • 1/2 head broccoli
  • 2 stalks celery
  • 3-4 leaves savoy cabbage
  • handful fresh thyme
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper

We use a fan assisted oven for all of our recipes. Check out our oven temperature conversion guide.

Please do not screenshot this. Recipes are updated often

Instructions

  1. Chop vegetables into even chunks.
  2. Add to the Instant Pot, along with the rest of the ingredients.
  3. Set to a manual high pressure cook for 15 minutes and let the pressure release naturally.
  4. Then set on a slow cook for around an hour or so, depending on your preference.
  5. Adjust seasoning, then plate up and enjoy!

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18 comments

See what others have to say

KATIE AKRIGGTuesday 27th April 2021

Hi, How could I do this in the slow cooker? I’ve looked on the conversion article, but that only states slow cooker to insta pot? Not the other way around? I want to make a big batch so I can pop in the freezer.
Many Thanks xx

Reply

Katie WSaturday 13th February 2021

Very tasty, made on the stove as I have no crock pot or anything. Added leek and onion first, then potato and carrot , a minute later the celery, then broccoli let simmer for a few minutes in half of the stock and then added the orzo. Topped up the stock when it started to be absorbed

Reply

    HollyMonday 15th February 2021

    Hey Katie, thanks so much for your message with tips on this recipe!

    Reply

sarah WintertonWednesday 26th August 2020

Hi there
Can this be batch and freeze ???

Reply

    HollyThursday 24th September 2020

    Hi Sarah, yes this is fine to freeze! Just remember to date and label when putting in the freezer and defrost overnight before reheating. Hope that helps!

    Reply

Christina CloseTuesday 18th August 2020

Hi, How would I make this if I don’t have an Instant Pot?

Thanks

Christina

Reply

    HollyWednesday 26th August 2020

    Hi Christina, we haven’t tried this recipe on the hob but you could try adding the ingredients to a pan and set on a medium heat, cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the vegetables are soft and the orzo is cooked through. Let us know how you get on!

    Reply

Karen McLeanTuesday 3rd December 2019

How long would I cook this in a slow cooker for please?

Reply

    HollyFriday 16th October 2020

    Hey Karen, We have recently published an article on slow cooker and instant pot conversions which you can find here if you scroll down there is a table that gives a rough guide for how to convert recipes. These times are just a rough guide only, so please make sure that everything is cooked through before serving. If not, just cook it for a bit longer. Hope that helps!

    Reply

Bernadette DaySaturday 10th August 2019

Why can I not see the recipes. I can only see the comments!!!

Reply

    Holly LevellFriday 15th May 2020

    Hi Bernadette, it sounds like you’ve scrolled all the way to the bottom of the page if you scroll up a bit you should find the recipe card

    Reply

Rita dinsdaleThursday 9th May 2019

What is oreo please

Reply

    CateSaturday 25th May 2019

    Orzo is a type of pasta that looks like rice, you can pick it up in most major supermarkets 🙂

    Reply

CatSaturday 26th January 2019

Hiya, if I were to add Chicken to this, how long should I cook it in the slow cooker for, and do I need to increase the amount of stock? Thank you 🙂

Reply

Kerry DonnellySaturday 23rd June 2018

Could frozen veg be used to make this?

Reply

D.JonesMonday 5th February 2018

How long in a standard slow cooker please?

Reply

CharlotteTuesday 27th December 2016

If using just a standard slow cooker how long would you cook for? What temperatures xx

Reply

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