This one pan ground turkey and mushroom orzo combines lean Italian ground turkey with brown butter sage mushrooms, creamy orzo, lemon, and parmesan. Complex flavors, simple recipe-that’s the goal!
You’ll find a printable recipe card below. If you have a question about the recipe, drop it in the comments at the bottom of this post. And if you try this ground turkey and mushroom orzo and love it, I always appreciate recipe reviews.
Ground Turkey and Mushrooms with Creamy Orzo
A one-pan pasta recipe with Italian ground turkey, brown butter sage mushrooms, and cheesy orzo.
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons (42g) Unsalted Butter
- 4-6 small Sage Leaves
- 10 oz Sliced White Mushrooms
- Pinch of Salt and Pepper
- 1 pound Lean Ground Turkey
- 1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
- 1 1/3 cup (220g) Orzo*
- 1/4 cup Lemon Juice
- 2 Tablespoons (30g) Dijon Mustard
- 2 1/2 cups Chicken Broth
- 1 cup Skim Milk
- 4 oz Grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan Cheese
- 2 handfuls Fresh Parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Add the butter to a large skillet over medium-low heat. Cook for 4-5 minutes, swirling often, until the butter turns a golden brown color and smells nutty and caramelized. Once browned, add the sage leaves and fry for 15 seconds before adding the mushrooms and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Increase to a medium-high heat and sauté the mushrooms until they begin to brown, about 6-8 minutes. Push the mushrooms to one side of the pan and add the ground turkey. Brown one side before breaking apart to fully cook.
- Add the seasoning, orzo, lemon juice, dijon mustard, and broth. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the orzo is tender, about 10-12 minutes. Add more broth as needed.
- Once the orzo is cooked, reduce the heat to low and add the milk, gradually followed by the grated cheese and chopped parsley. Fold everything together and serve immediately.
- Salt and pepper to taste and serve with lemon juice and more grated cheese. An arugula salad (+ bread) is a great pairing.
Notes
*Orzo is a pasta that's shaped like rice (also known as risoni). You can swap it for another pasta if you don't have orzo on hand, or you could substitute for rice. My Korean ground turkey and rice cooks short grain sushi rice for 12-15 minutes over low heat in a covered pan. Check out the chickpea rice in my Greek chicken and rice skillet for a lower carb option.
If you're not calorie-conscious, you might use another tablespoon or two of butter, deglaze with white wine instead of lemon juice (add the lemon juice at the end), swap half and half for skim milk, and use Italian pork sausage instead of ground turkey.
To reduce the calorie and fat content, on the other hand, you can swap the brown butter sage and just lightly sauté the mushrooms in a tablespoon of olive oil. You could also make do with as little as 2-3 oz of cheese.
For a creamier sauce, check out the ricotta based sauce in my creamy Italian chicken soup and lemon ricotta ground turkey and broccoli pasta recipes.
To make this dairy free, use olive oil for butter, coconut cream or a non-dairy milk, and nutritional yeast or a non-dairy parmesan replacement.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
9 ozAmount Per Serving: Calories: 405Total Fat: 17gCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 29g