
30 Minute Brown Butter Goat Cheese Grilled Veggie Orzo
Delicious 30 minute grilled vegetable orzo with rich brown butter and creamy goat cheese. This easy and flavorful veggie orzo recipe is the perfect way to use up fresh summer produce! Enjoy as-is or with your favorite proteins for a wonderful weeknight dinner or lunch.
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AK Zucchini Week is HERE! I’m so excited to share 5 brand new, incredible zucchini recipes with you this week. If you haven’t yet, be sure to sign up here to get our FREE printable Zucchini E-Book with 10 of my very best zucchini recipes!
We’re kicking the week off with something savory that I know you’re going to love. This 30 minute grilled veggie orzo is filled with flavor from sweet & grilled vegetables, tangy goat cheese and warm toasty, nutty brown butter and garden fresh basil. It’s a little bit of a hybrid between my incredible Brown Butter Pistachio Pesto Pasta and my Spinach Garlic Parmesan Orzo but with a summer veggie twist!
It’s a wonderful pasta dish that’s packed with veggies and perfect for adding your favorite proteins (omg could you imagine this with chicken or shrimp?). Sidney gobbled it up when I made it for dinner and Tony and I even enjoyed it cold the next day (still incredible). Get this delicious grilled veggie orzo on your dinner menu this week.
Fall in love with orzo
If you haven’t cooked or eaten orzo, get ready to fall in love with this little grain. Although orzo looks like a form of rice, it’s actually a rice-shaped pasta! You can actually cook it like you do traditional pasta, or you can cook it the same way you would rice. I find that orzo recipes like this healthy grilled veggie orzo are delicious both hot and cold, so they’re the perfect weekday lunch or dinner.
Everything you’ll need to make this grilled veggie orzo
Summer veggies, rich brown butter, delicious pasta and plenty of goat cheese. What more could you ask for?! This vegetarian grilled vegetable orzo is seriously bursting with flavor but so simple to make. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Veggies: we’re using red and orange bell peppers, sweet yellow onion and of course, a zucchini!
- Seasonings: you’ll need some garlic powder, salt & pepper.
- Pasta: it’s an orzo party, baby! I love the texture of orzo in this dish, but you can feel free to use any pasta you’d like, even gluten free.
- Butter: the secret ingredient that makes this grilled veggie orzo truly magical is beautiful brown butter. YUM.
- Goat cheese: delicious goat cheese crumbles get all nice and creamy when mixed into the orzo.
- Herbs: add plenty of basil leaves for the perfect freshness in every bite.
Add a boost of protein
We love serving this grilled veggie orzo with chickpeas or white beans to keep it vegetarian, or grilled chicken, salmon, or shrimp! Seriously I think some grilled shrimp would be INCREDIBLE.
Keep it gluten free
Feel free to simply use your favorite gluten free pasta! I like Banza pasta.
Perfectly grilled veggies: 2 different ways
The grilled vegetables add such a wonderful flavor with the delicious char they get when grilled. Here are two ways to do it (and get all of our tips & tricks for grilling vegetables here!)
- Use a grill basket. Preheat your grill to 400 degrees F, season your chopped veggies and add them to a grill basket. Grill them for 10-15 minutes until they’re tender and have a slight char, and be sure to flip them halfway through.
- Use a foil pack. The foil pack method is another super easy way to grill your vegetables. Place your chopped veggies onto a large piece of foil, then add another large piece of foil on top. Seal the edges and use a fork or knife to poke a hole at the top of the foil to allow some steam to escape. Grill the whole foil pack for approximately 10-15 minutes or until veggies are just fork tender.
No grill? No problem!
If you don’t have a grill or would rather roast your veggies for this grilled vegetable orzo, you absolutely can. Simply roast the veggies with olive oil on a parchment lined baking sheet at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until veggies are tender — be sure to flip halfway through, too!
How to brown butter
The brown butter is essential for creating a nutty, savory, delicious flavor in this orzo recipe.
- Heat the butter. Add your butter to a large saucepan or skillet and place over medium heat. The butter will begin to crackle, and then eventually foam. Make sure you whisk constantly during this process.
- Whisk it well. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown and turn a nice golden amber color on the bottom of the saucepan. Continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma.
- Cool it. Immediately remove from heat and set aside.
Storing tips
Store any leftovers in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days. To reheat simply do so in a microwave safe dish with a splash of milk or water. You can also reheat on the stovetop with a splash of milk/water.
More zucchini recipes to make this week
- Buffalo Zucchini Chicken Burgers
- Zucchini Mac and Cheese
- Pesto Chicken Stuffed Zucchini Boats
- Fluffy Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread Pancakes
- Heart Healthy Olive Oil Salted Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
Get all of our zucchini recipes here.
I hope you love this 30 minute grilled veggie orzo recipe! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
30 Minute Brown Butter Goat Cheese Grilled Veggie Orzo

Delicious 30 minute grilled vegetable orzo with rich brown butter and creamy goat cheese. This easy and flavorful veggie orzo recipe is the perfect way to use up fresh summer produce! Enjoy as-is or with your favorite proteins for a wonderful weeknight dinner or lunch.
Ingredients
- For the grilled veggies:
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 medium red bell pepper, halved or cut into ½” thick strips
- 1 medium orange bell pepper, halved or cut into ½” thick strips
- 1 sweet yellow onion, peeled and quartered (or cut into thick slices)
- 1 medium zucchini, cut into ½” thick rounds or strips
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Freshly ground salt and pepper
- For the pasta:
- 8 oz orzo pasta (1 cup dried orzo)
- 1/3 cup reserved pasta water
- ¼ cup salted butter
- 1/2 cup goat cheese crumbles
- Optional: 1 (15 ounce) can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 8-10 large basil leaves, julienned (about 1/3 cup packed basil)
- Freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
-
First grill your veggies: preheat grill to 400 degrees. Place veggies in a large bowl, then drizzle them with olive oil, garlic powder and season with salt and pepper.
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GRILL BASKET OPTION: Grill veggies in a grill basket for 10-15 minutes or until veggies are tender and slightly charred; be sure to toss them halfway through cooking. Once the veggies are done cooking and have cooled a bit, you can chop them up to your liking. I like to chop the bell peppers, slice the onions and quarter the zucchini slices.
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FOIL OPTION FOR GRILLING: Place chopped veggies onto a large piece of foil, then add another large piece of foil on top. Seal the edges by folding a piece of foil together. Use a fork or knife to poke a hole at the top of the foil to allow some steam to escape. Place over direct heat on the preheated grill and grill for approximately 10-15 minutes or until veggies are just fork tender.
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While your veggies are grilling you can make your brown butter: add butter to a large saucepan or skillet and place over medium heat. The butter will begin to melt, crackle, and then eventually foam. Make sure you stir constantly during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown and turn a nice golden amber color on the bottom of the saucepan, this usually happens right when it foams. Continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Set aside to cool a bit (keeping butter in the pan but removing pan from heat) while you cook your pasta.
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Cook your pasta according to the directions on the package.
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Once pasta is done cooking, reserve 1/3 cup pasta water and set aside, then drain the pasta and add it to the skillet with the brown butter. Give it a nice stir to coat all the pasta with the brown butter, then immediately add in the goat cheese and reserved pasta water; stir until nice and creamy and the goat cheese has melted. Finally, add in all of the chopped grilled veggies, and generously season with salt and pepper to taste (I like a lot of black pepper!). Finally fold in the fresh julienned basil. Serve immediately. This pasta is excellent served warm or cold.
Recipe Notes
If you don’t want to grill your veggies, or don’t have a grill: roast the veggies with olive oil on a parchment lined baking sheet at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until veggies are tender.
We love serving this with chickpeas, grilled chicken, salmon or shrimp for more protein.
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
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102 comments
I made this last night and it was fantastic!! To make it gluten free I subbed risoni (similar to orzo, from TJ’s) for the orzo and it worked wonderfully. I’m always looking for more GF + vegetarian recipes and this was perfect!
I’m SO happy you loved it, Sarah!! Great to know that the risoni worked well–such a good swap!
So delicious and easy to make! I added in roasted asparagus as well. Always looking for vegetarian dinners to add to the mix and this is definitely a great one!
Ooh love the idea of adding asparagus! So glad you enjoyed it, Bridgid 🙂
I made this for dinner last night and it was a big hit. My husband said how much he enjoyed again today. We added a little extra goat cheese because you can never have too much goat cheese!
Oh yay!! I’m so glad to hear that you guys enjoyed it! And YES to the extra goat cheese 🙌
So yummy. Made it with GF orzo and added slow roasted cherry tomatoes. Paired it with grilled chicken and arugula. Another five star dish!
Yay!! Omg those slow roasted tomatoes sound amazing 😍 Great additions!
Can you please add the pasta measurement for gluten free pasta? If using rotini what is the dried pasta measurement?
This comes out to about 2 cups of cooked orzo, so I’d say about 3 cups of cooked rotini (or about 1.5 cups uncooked) would be good!
I loved loved LOVED this recipe!!! Super easy to make – I roasted the veggies and added broccoli instead of the extra peppers – and it’s soo delicious!! I will definitely be making this again!
AK recipes never disappoint and this one is no exception! Delicious, easy to make! Added the chickpeas and we had it as a main course. We both wanted to eat the whole batch.
This recipe was fantastic! My whole family loved it, including my toddler and 1 year old. Only thing I would change next time is to cut the onions up smaller, not in slices. Just my personal preference 🙂
Sooo good! I made this with lima beans and shrimp on the side and it was amazing
Loved making this, I couldn’t help myself from eating it for every meal while it lasted, which was a while! Will definitely be making it again.
This was absolutely amazing!!!!!!
I added roasted cherry tomatoes from the garden, a handful of spinach and roasted chicken to the dish – super yummy!
Easy & delicious!!
Did this with Boursin cheese (it’s what was in my fridge) and added Brussels sprouts and it was a family favorite! Will definitely be on our regular rotation!
This is such an easy and delicious recipe to make as a side dish or main course! Delicious both warm and cold!
This recipe was amazing! I used dried basil instead of fresh because I’m lazy but it was still great!
So delicious! Perfect balance of indulgent from the butter/cheese and light from all the veggies. The big bunch of basil adds so much as well! Thank you!
I’m not a fan of goat cheese, what other cheese would you recommend? I was thinking feta. Thank you.
Feta would be great in here! Hope you enjoy 🙂
Wow – amazing! Followed directions this time but excited to throw in other veggies as others have commented. A great way to use up a variety of vegetables from the garden.
Delicious! Followed recipe closely with the addition of roasted cherry tomatoes (added them in the last 2 minutes of roasting. The goat cheese added a beautiful creaminess without the goat milk flavor. Added chickpeas…Great idea. This was so tasty, I kept eating long after I was stuffed.
Awesome vegetarian dinner.
Just made this and my husband and I both loved it. We included the chickpeas and had it as our main course – it is filling but light at the same time with all the veggies!
I wanted to write a review after the first bite, but I made myself actually finish eating first, haha Holy cow this was good. I added grilled chicken and used yellow squash. The flavor of the browned butter combined with the goat cheese was amazing! The two flavors balance each other out well, and adding the fresh basil takes it to another level. It didn’t take very long–perfect for an easy weeknight meal. Definitely making this one again! Thank you!
This might just be one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. I didn’t have fresh basil so I added some dry Italian seasoning at the end instead. WOW! So tasty, full of flavor and absolutely delicious. Looking forward to having it for lunch tomorrow as a cold pasta salad.
This was delicious!!! So quick and easy to throw together for a weekday (or any day) meal! Devoured by kids and adults!!!!
This was SO delicious! I roasted the veggies vs grilling them due to bad weather. I can only imagine how much better it would have tasted with a hint of char. So fast, and easy to prepare. My toddler loved it, too!
Amazing!! Added in shrimp as a protein and it was the perfect dinner! Had a great fresh taste and filling!
Yay! Happy you enjoyed it!
Absolutely delicious! Quick, simple, weeknight dinner that you could totally serve at a dinner party or a date night. I added garlic and shrimp that I grilled at the same time as the veggies. I would add less basil next time so I could taste more of the goat cheese and browned butter, but thats just my personal preference. The whole family enjoyed it. Thank you for yet another fabulous recipe 🙂
Oooh shrimp in here sounds fantastic! So happy that you guys loved it 🙂
A very delicious, easy, and filling dinner! We added shredded chicken for some protein. Another AK winner!
Awesome! I’m so happy you loved it 🙂
I don’t love goat cheese, so I wasn’t sure if I would like this but the flavor pairs so well with the rest of the ingredients and wasn’t over powering at all! SO good and easy, I will definitely be making again! I left out the chickpeas and garlic and used dried basil instead of fresh and it was still so flavorful! Thanks for the great recipe!
Amazing!! So glad that you enjoyed it in here 🙂 Feel free to use feta if you prefer that!
Good recipe! Fairly simple to make, but makes me feel like I’m a total BA making orzo and brown butter 🙂 delicious!
Omg YES that’s how you should feel!! I’m so glad you love it 🙂
Eating these leftovers as I write this review. This recipe is so so good and SO easy. I roasted the vegetables in the oven as per the recipe note, I also added a red onion because I had one on hand. Loved the chickpea addition for a vegetarian dinner all around. The flavor with the brown butter and goat cheese is so delicious, will definitely be making again as this is such an easy meal prep recipe!
Woohooo! I’m so happy you’re loving it, Alyssa! Great call on the onion addition.
Amazing! So simple and delicious. Will definitely be making again!
I made this with Banza rice and it was delicious!
Nice, love Banza! So happy you enjoyed it 🙂
I followed this recipe exactly how she laid it out and WOW. Soo creamy and delicious!!
This was delicious! I roasted the veggies in the oven instead of on the grill, and it was incredible. My husband said he wants it added to the weekly rotation!
Great idea to roast them! I’m so happy you guys loved this one 🙂
So yummy. Would be amazing with some chicken sausage stirred in too.
Oooh love that idea!!
Goat cheese lovers heaven. This dish was extremely easy and loaded with flavor. A vegetarian dish that was actually really satisfying. We had leftovers the next day and made some quick and easy chicken meatballs to go on top for another take. So good!
Yay!! Sounds AMAZING with the chicken meatballs, love that idea.
So simple and delicious. I actually didn’t have any goats cheese so made it without and it was still yummy so I must make it again when I have some.
Totally fine to leave off the goat cheese! Excited for you to try it again when you have it on hand 🙂
This was my first Ambitious Kitchen recipe. It turned out great! I substituted cream cheese for the goat cheese. My husband and I both enjoyed it!
So happy you’re here, Anne! Glad that you loved it, and good idea to use cream cheese!
Love the grilled veggies and Goat cheese combo. This is the perfect summer dish to pass! Easy to make and everyone will be wow’d!
Such a good combo, right?! So happy you loved it!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious!! I added grilled corn as well. Easy recipe for a weeknight dinner.. Will definitely make this again!
Ooh great idea to add corn–so happy you loved it!
Omg this recipe is BOMB!!! Going to add this to the weekly rotation. Grilling the veggies was a fun mixup from roasting/sautéing so thank you for inspiring me to get on the grill! So much flavor in this dish and so easy!
Woohooo I’m so happy you loved it! So fun to break out the grill sometimes haha!
This recipe was so good and easy to make! I will never eat orzo any other way:)
Oh yay!! So glad you loved it, Jessy!
So so good! Made it with grilled chicken and roasted the veggies in the oven. Didn’t have goat cheese, but feta worked just as well. Will definitely be making this again!!
So happy to hear that! Totally fine to sub in feta here, that’s a great option!
Delicious! The first time I made it with feta crumbles (I’m not a goat cheese fan), the cheese did not melt very well and I didn’t get that creamy texture I was hoping for. It still tasted great though! This 2nd time I put the feta in the oven with the veggies in the middle of the pan with some olive oil and it got nice and soft and melted easily once added to the brown butter and orzo for a perfect creamy texture! Yum!
So glad you love this one, Erica! Great idea to melt the feta in the oven. Yummmmm 🙂
I was so excited to make this recipe and got most of the way through before I realized my goat cheese was bad and I couldn’t use it 😩 I always have at least a couple of hard cheeses on hand so I just grated up a bunch of pecorino Romano and it still turned out great! I’m sure not as creamy as the og recipe but maybe a good option if you are on the fence about goat cheese!
So resourceful! Glad to hear that tasted great. Hope you can try it with the goat cheese sometime 🙂
So good and so easy! My 1 year old liked it too!
Yay!! Glad you guys loved it. Thanks so much for the review 🙂
This recipe is amazing!!
Yay! So happy that you loved it, Manthan!
First time cooking with brown butter and was a little intimidated at first but this recipe is amazing! Made it with grilled shrimp and YUM!
Oh yay!! So glad you tried brown butter (isn’t it the best?!) and loved this one 🙂 Great call on the grilled shrimp–yummmm
This was delicious and my husband also loved it! I added more garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and some chopped up cherry tomatoes to give it some extra spice and acidity. Only thing I would do differently next time is use a grill pan instead of the foil method. The foil method steamed the veggies a bit too much for my liking!
So glad you guys loved it! And totally get that, direct heat is definitely the best for those charred edges 🙂
Woooah holy wowza this is amazing. I cannot wait to make the orzo again as a base with different veggies in the fall and different herbs. This is one thing I love about AK recipes is they are staples that are easily adaptable to what you have in the pantry. This was a delightful, well rounded dish.
Yes, this one’s so versatile!! I’m so happy you love it. Thanks, Savanna 🙂
I’ve made a lot of AK recipes over the years, but this is hands down my favorite one I’ve ever tried. I can’t even begin to describe how incredibly delicious this is! Such a great way to get veggies in or use up some that are about to go bad. Absolutely delicious. I agree with Monique in adding lots of black pepper in the end and I also thought a squeeze of lemon juice to garnish adds a nice touch!
Oh I’m SO happy to hear that, Angelique! Thanks for the nice review!
Loved! Added some ground turkey for a lil more protein.
Great addition! Happy you enjoyed it!
I made this recipe tonight and our family loved it! I roasted the veggies instead of grilled and the flavor was amazing. Thank you!
Great idea to roast the veggies–happy you loved it, Chessie!
Simple and so yummy!! Another AK recipe I will be making over and over!
YAY! I’m glad you’re loving it, Kate! Thanks 🙂
I have made this twice now with roasted veggies. SO GOOD. The creamy goat cheese brown butter sauce is heaven! I love this with chickpeas for added protein too! When it’s warmer out I plan to make this with grilled veggies and shrimp. A very easy staple recipe that I think would be a crowd pleaser. Easy to double the recipe for larger gatherings or meal prep.
Ahh thank you, I’m SO happy you love it! Excited for you to try it with the grilled veggies + shrimp, too 🙂
So delicious! I’m a huge fan of goat cheese and I loved this! I served it with smoked turkey. My husband took one bite and said this is a make again recipe for sure.
Yummmm that sounds amazing! I’m so glad you both loved this one ❤️
I cannot wait to make this for my weekday lunches! Just curious… Does the nutritional information include the chickpeas?
Thanks!!
Hi, Amber! So excited for you to try this one 🙂 The nutrition info does *not* include the chickpeas, as they’re optional.
I made this tonight. It was Absolutely delicious!! My whole family really loved it. Thank you for such a great and easy recipe! I just love your recipes.
Yay!! I’m so happy to hear that you all loved it. Thanks so much, Elaine 🥰
Absolutely delicious! Didn’t want to chop the veggies a second time so cut them smaller to start with and grilled in a basket for 15 min – perfect! Grilled a large chicken breast, sliced and added to salad instead of chickpeas. The fresh basil should not be skipped if possible. The goat cheese was amazing – going to try feta next time to see how it changes the flavor. Thanks for this keeper!
That all sounds amazing! I’m SO glad you loved it, Frances 🙂 Thanks for leaving a review!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was SO GOOD! I used cream cheese instead of goat cheese but otherwise made it exactly as listed and we loved it!. So glad we have leftovers to look forward to tomorrow! Thank you for another great recipe that we’ll be making often
I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Lori! Glad the cream cheese worked well in here 🙂 Thanks so much for leaving a review!