The 9 Best Orzo Substitutes

When it comes to cooking, it’s always helpful to have a list of substitutions for common ingredients in case you forget to buy them at the store, are allergic to them, or just want to try something different.

When it comes to orzo, this tasty little pasta is used in tons of delicious recipes ranging from soups to cold salads to pilafs and other garnishes. But what if you don’t have any on hand? That’s where these substitutions come in.

So what are the 9 best substitutes for orzo?

The best substitutes for orzo are Acini Di Pepe, tubettini, small orechiette, arborio rice, pearl barley, fregola or couscous, short grain brown rice, quinoa or millet, depending on the context and if they should be gluten free.

Let’s dive into some of the best substitutes for orzo.

What is orzo?

Although it looks like a grain, orzo is actually a type of pasta made with semolina (durum wheat) flour.

When you look at this paste, it looks like rice or barley grains. In fact, the word “orzo” means barley in Italian.

Orzo is actually classified as a pastina, which is a category of small types of pasta often used in soups and stews.

It’s also a great pasta to use in salads, pilafs, and garnishes because, once cooked, it has a great texture that complements sauces and vegetables very well. 

It has a somewhat jagged, firm texture and a subtle flavor that makes it an incredibly versatile pasta to have in your pantry.

Different varieties of orzo can be colored with things like squid ink (which will make it black), tomatoes (for an orange hue), or spinach (for a light green color). 

Even when these types of pasta are colored with different foods, it doesn’t change the flavor too much, so you can use them interchangeably, for the most part.

When shopping for orzo, try to find a good quality brand that is high in protein, so the pasta will hold its shape once cooked.

Is the orzo gluten free?

Although orzo may look like a grain of rice, being made with semolina, or Durham wheat, this pasta is not a gluten-free option.

If you have celiac disease, gluten intolerance, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, or avoid gluten for other reasons, orzo shouldn’t make it onto your plate.

I’ve included several gluten-free options below that you can use in place of orzo in your kitchen. Although the textures and flavors won’t be exactly the same, they can be quite similar and offer a great substitution for gluten-containing pastas.

I’ll go into more detail below, but some good gluten-free substitutes for orzo are

• Arborio rice
• Short Grain Brown Rice 
• Quinoa 
• Darling 

Depending on how orzo is used in your recipe, there is bound to be a gluten-free substitute that will work for you.

How will you use the orzo substitute?

When deciding what to substitute for orzo pasta, it’s important to figure out how it’s used in your recipe. Some substitutes will work better in specific applications than others. 

Some will be great to use in soups, but they wouldn’t make a good pilaf. Others will make a perfect salad or garnish, but will completely fall apart if you try to use them in a soup.

That’s why it’s important to figure out how you want to use your substitute so you can choose the best ones for your needs.

The 9 Best Orzo Substitutes

Once you’ve figured out how you plan to use your orzo substitute, you can take a look at the list of options below to find the one that best suits your needs.

I’ve included a number of pasta, grain, and gluten-free options to help you find the best substitute for orzo.

1. Acini Di Pepe Pasta

This little pasta is absolutely adorable and makes a great substitute if you’re looking for something to use in a soup.

Acini Di Pepe pasta is a small, round pasta (somewhat smaller than orzo) and means “pepper seeds” in Italian, because they look like little peppercorns! 

They are made from semolina flour, so unfortunately they are not a good gluten-free option.

Like orzo, they are a pastina, or tiny pasta, often used in soups. Individual chunks often resemble tiny cylinders 1mm or less.

Another great use for this tiny pasta is in a cold salad or as a side dish. The structure holds up well, and they have a bit of a firm texture, making them perfect for use in soups or garnishes.

This pasta absorbs flavor very well, so you can cook it in stock or in water seasoned with salt, herbs, wine/vermouth, and spices to take its flavor game to the next level.

If you want to cook the pasta well, follow these steps:

1. Bring a pot of water or broth to a boil.
2. Add the Acini Di Pepe pasta and stir. 
3. To use it al dente in salads and garnishes, cook it for 6 minutes. For a smoother texture, cook for 8 minutes.
4. Strain, rinse with cold water and enjoy! 

2. Tubettini pasta

Another small pasta that you can use in place of the orzo is the Tubettini. As its name suggests, it is tube-shaped and made with semolina flour, so, like orzo and Acini Di Pepe, it is not gluten-free.

Generally, this paste is used in soups, stews or even in the classic macaroni salad. You may have seen this paste in Minestrone soup.

It can come smooth or with ridges to help the sauce stick to it. It has a nice texture and its tube shape is great for absorbing flavor.

To cook Tubettini pasta for a salad or side dish, follow these instructions:

• Place a medium saucepan on the heat and fill it with water, salt, and any herbs or spices you want to use for flavor. 
• Cover the saucepan and bring it to a boil.
• Once boiling, pour in the pasta and stir it.
• If the pasta is al dente, cook it for 9 minutes.
• For the soft pasta, cook it for 11 minutes. 
• Once cooked to your liking, strain, rinse and serve. Remember that if you serve it hot with a pasta sauce, you should not rinse it. The starch in the pasta helps the sauce stick.

3. Small Orecchiette pasta

These little pastas get their name from their shape, which looks like “little ears.”

Like the other pastas on this list, it’s made with semolina (Durham wheat) flour, so it’s not a gluten-free option. The small size of the pasta can be a bit hard to find outside of specialty Italian food stores.

However, if you can find this pasta, it’s amazing to use in soups as a substitute for orzo. If you are using it in a soup, you should add it in the last 8-10 minutes of simmering to maintain its texture. 

4. Arborio Rice

Arborio rice is a short grain rice that is often used in one of my favorite dishes, risotto, but it also makes a great substitute for orzo due to its shape and starch content.

It is not milled as much as other types of rice, so it maintains a higher level of starch.

This rice is gluten-free and can be used in soups or side dishes, depending on what the recipe calls for.

It’s very versatile, and while it’s not exactly the same texture as orzo, it’s pretty close. The texture is firm, chewy and slightly creamy thanks to the starch content.

This bean is short, fat, oval in shape and pearly white.

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this rice if you’re looking for something to use in a salad or cold dish, as the starch makes it quite creamy as opposed to the distinct grains you want for a salad.

If you’re looking for a good substitute for orzo to use in soups, arborio rice should be high on your list.

5. Pearl barley

Although pearl barley is an individual grain rather than a processed paste, it’s not a gluten-free option, so keep that in mind. That being said, pearl barley is a wonderful substitute for orzo in soups, stews, cold salads, and garnishes.

The fibrous outer hull has been removed, so while it still has a chewy texture, it’s not as difficult to cook as barley in the husk.

Pearl barley takes about 40 minutes to cook completely, so keep that in mind if you want to use it in a soup. The flavor is slightly nutty.

If you want to use it as a substitute in salads or garnishes, you can cook it in seasoned broth or water to add another layer of flavor to your dish, as it absorbs flavor very well.

6. Fregola or couscous

Although you may think of couscous as a grain, thanks to its small round shape it is actually a tiny paste.

You are probably familiar with couscous, the delicious pasta made from semolina flour that is used in many North African and Mediterranean recipes.

Fregola is similar in that it is a small round pasta made from semolina, except that this variety is made by hand.

Both options can be used in a wide variety of applications, from soups to stews, cold salads, pilafs and garnishes.

Couscous, in particular, is incredibly easy to cook. Just follow these instructions:

• Bring to a boil in a medium saucepan 1 and 3/4 cups of the broth (or water), 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt, a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter.
• Once boiling, add the couscous, cover with a lid, remove from heat and allow to steam for 5 minutes.
• When cooked, fluff with a fork and serve. 

You can also season the water/broth with herbs and spices to give it a more special flavor.

7. Short grain brown rice

This gluten-free option is great for those who enjoy rice, but don’t want one as starchy as arborio rice. You can use short grain brown rice in place of orzo in just about any application, from soup to salad to pilaf.

If using it in a soup, I usually recommend that you cook the rice separately until al dente and add it to the soup during the last few minutes of cooking.

Otherwise I find that the starch that is released can make the soup very doughy.

Short-grain brown rice has a subtle nutty flavor and a nice firm texture that absorbs flavors well and makes a great vehicle for sauces and herbs.

8. Quinoa

I love using quinoa as a substitute for orzo in salads and garnishes. It is a gluten-free grain from the Andean region of South America.

Personally, I don’t like to use it in soups because I find it absorbs a lot of water and can be quite mushy. However, other people really like that texture, so it depends on your preferences.

When I cook it to use in garnishes, pilafs, and salads, I like to follow this method:

• Add 1 and 3/4 cups of broth, 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and 1 cup of quinoa to a saucepan.
• Put the saucepan over medium heat and cover it with a lid. 
• Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer for 15 minutes, keeping the lid on the saucepan. 
• After 15 minutes, remove the lid, fluff with a fork, and recover. Let stand another 5 minutes and serve. 

9. Millet

This unconventional little seed works like a grain and is perfect to use as a substitute for orzo in salads and garnishes. Traditionally, this seed was grown in India, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and northern China.

If you want to use it in a soup, I recommend that you cook it separately and add it just before serving the soup to prevent it from getting mushy and cakey.

It has a mild corn-like flavor and a smoother texture than other substitutes on this list.

To cook your perfect millet, follow these steps:

• Add a cup of millet seeds to a saucepan over medium heat and toast them for 3-5 minutes, until they turn golden brown and fragrant. 
• Add 2 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt to the saucepan (it will bubble and sizzle a bit because it’s already hot) and stir to combine. 
• Raise the heat to high and bring the contents of the pot to a boil.
• Once boiling, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil or butter, stir and cover. Turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.
• After 15 minutes, remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes, still covered. 
• Once cooked, fluff up with a fork and enjoy.