Skim by Section
★ Why You’ll Love this Recipe ★
Plenty to Share
But you won't want to. This orzo casserole of roasted butternut squash, orzo, feta, and sage is rich, creamy, and so good you won’t want to share.
Easy Ingredients, Big Flavor
With just a few simple ingredients, this dish delivers bold, comforting flavor. It’s one of those rare recipes that’s both easy and totally crave-worthy.
Why It Works
Roasted butternut squash brings fall vibes and vitamin C, while orzo offers extra protein to keep you full. It’s a cozy, nourishing combo.
Thanksgiving Leftover Idea
This butternut squash orzo pairs so nicely with smoked turkey. Just shred any leftover smoked turkey you have and toss it into this butternut squash orzo. The addition of turkey makes this into a complete meal in just one step and the flavor will blow your mind! By the way, if you've never smoked a turkey before, check out this how to smoke a turkey tutorial. It's super easy but you will need a smoker.
Make it a chicken casserole for dinner,
By just adding shredded rotisserie chicken, this becomes a complete dinner. Perfect for busy weeknights. Try pairing it with a delicious salad.
★ Ingredients You'll Need ★
Total there are just 7 ingredients! Here's a peek at everything you'll need to make this butternut squash orzo.
- Butternut squash. See FAQs for how to roast a whole squash or start with cubed butternut squash to save time.
- Orzo pasta
- Chicken bullion. Paste or cubes.
- Butter. Salted.
- Shallot
- Sage. Fresh or dried.
- Crumbled feta cheese
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
★ Tips & FAQs ★
Yes. Add sage when you sauté. The oil re-hydrates and allows the flavor of the herb to really come alive. This is important to remember when working with any dry herbs.
Feta is traditionally made from sheep’s or goat’s milk, but most grocery store versions use cow’s milk, which gives it a milder flavor. For authentic taste, check out a specialty cheese shop.
Crumbled feta is convenient, but block feta usually tastes better. Pre-crumbled cheeses often have anti-caking agents that dull flavor and texture, so you end up using more.
Buying a block and crumbling it yourself can save money and calories.
That said, no shame in grabbing the pre-crumbled—it's what I do most of the time too!
Shallots grow in clusters and have a sweeter, milder flavor with a hint of garlic. If you don’t have one, use a small onion (or half a large one) plus a bit of minced garlic as a substitute.
The thing I love most about shallots though is their purple color. It looks so pretty in this dish so it's worth it to try to find one if you can. 
You can start with a whole butternut squash, or pre-cubed butternut squash for this recipe. You can typically find cubed butternut squash next to the snack packaged broccoli florets, snap peas, etc.
If you're starting with a whole butternut squash, simple cut it in half length-wise:
Scoop out the seeds:
Then place it face down on the baking sheet adding a bit of water to the baking sheet to keep squash moist while cooking.
Yes. I honestly like to cheat and use the cubed squash so I don't have to cut or seed a whole squash. However, its still an easy recipe even if you're starting with a whole squash.
Here are a few delicious ways to change this dish up a bit:
• Try adding in spinach! Throw in a handful or two of fresh spinach leaves when you're cooking the shallots. They just need to wilt a little and then they'll stir in perfectly.
• Add some rotisserie chicken or sausage and it's a complete meal in one dish.
• Try using risotto instead of orzo.
Risotto is a creamy dish made with Arborio rice, which releases starch as it cooks to create a rich texture. Orzo, on the other hand, is a rice-shaped pasta that doesn't get creamy unless you add sauce or cheese.
Not really. This can be prepared on the stove top then transferred to a large serving bowl. I prefer to serve mine in an oven-safe casserole dish though so that I can pop it in the oven to keep it warm. You could also keep this warm using a crockpot.
I really like the presentation of food in a white dish though and that's why I typically serve my side dishes using my favorite Corningware casserole dish.
The 2.5 qt dish is a good size for this recipe, leaving room to spare for scooping without a mess. The set is a good price and the large dish comes with a glass lid so it looks great on the Thanksgiving dinner table.
★ More Squash Recipes ★
This recipe for butternut squash orzo was featured on South Your Mouth!
Butternut Squash Orzo with Feta and Sage
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash or bag of cubed butternut squash
- 16 oz orzo
- 4 chicken or vegetable bullion cubes
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 large shallot diced
- 1 teaspoon sage
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Mighty Mrs. is a #WalmartPartner.
Instructions
- Cut butternut squash in half and remove seeds. Place face down on baking sheet. Add about ¼" of water to baking sheet. Bake at 400˚ for about 25-30 minutes or until squash is very soft. Cool then peel away outer skin and slice into bite-sized chunks.
- Cook and drain orzo. While squash is baking, prepare orzo according to the package but add chicken bullion to the water for additional flavor. When done, drain and set aside.
- Saute shallot. In a pan, melt butter and add diced shallots. Cook over medium heat until shallots as transparent. Stir in sage.
- Combine ingredients. Return drained orzo to the pot it cooked in, add in butter and shallots then lightly toss in cubed butternut squash and feta cheese.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.
Rudy says
Delicious. Made it with chicken and Spinach 😋.
Angela G. says
So glad you enjoyed it, Ruby!
Carol says
I am confused - the heading of the recipes talks about pureed butternut squash, but the recipe itself talks about cubed butternut squash. Which is best? Or maybe it would be interesting to puree half the squash, and put the rest in as cubes?
Angela G. says
Hi Carol, you can start with a whole butternut squash or cubed butternut squash. Cubed butternut squash can be found at most stores and saves time. It's up to you if you want to leave the cooked squash cubed or you can mash it once cooked for a more pureed texture. I prefer cubed as it looks nicer.
Erin says
Hi Angela! Thank you for sharing at our first Super Fabulous Friday Linky Party!
Angela G. says
Thanks for the invite. I'll be there!! 🙂
Kristen says
Looks delicious! Would this fare well being kept warm in a crockpot?
Angela G. says
Hey Kristen, I think this would be fine in the crockpot on warm. The only thing that might happen is the feta cheese may get melty. If you're worried about that, you could wait to add that in a few minutes before serving.
Holly Shepherd says
Thank you for the delicious recipe idea. It helped me to make a recipe that would suit my weird dietary restrictions due to Gastroparesis. I am sure that the original recipe is delicious. I only made half the recipe.
For those who need to reduce fat: I used fat free chicken broth to cook the Orzo. I also used only 1 tablespoon each of butter and olive oil to saute the onions. I think I could have used half that amount.
Angela G. says
Thanks so much for the feedback, Holly! I'm glad to know you had success cutting down on the fats. I appreciate you sharing that for others who may have restrictions or who are looking to just cut down on their fat intake. I'm going to probably try to minimize the butter myself. 🙂
Deborah Glynn says
How many calories in this dish please?
Angela G. says
Hi Deborah,
You can copy and paste the ingredient into this calorie calculator here: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076. That will give you calorie count for the entire dish. Divide that by 12 to get the calories by average serving size. You can reduce the amount of butter and add a little bit of water instead if you're looking to reduce the calories. Enjoy!
Lisa says
What size bag of squash and what size pan?
Angela G. says
Hi Lisa, a 2-lb package of pre-cut butternut squash would work great. Just a small frying pan for the shallots is good but any size pan works. Thanks for asking! Hope you enjoy. 🙂
Brenna says
I may have missed this but when do you add in the feta cheese? Thanks!
Angela G. says
Hi Brenna, You can fold it in at the very end along with the butternut squash. You want it to be warm but not too melty. Thanks for asking. Enjoy!