Greek Lamb Stew With Orzo (2024)

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Greek Lamb Stew With Orzois the ultimate Greek comfort food – tender meat and orzo cooked in a rich tomato sauce. Easy to make in your Instant Pot or stove top.

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Some recipes evoke so many memories… this lamb stew and orzo was one of my favourite dishes growing up in Greece, a delicious one-pot meal that my mum would make on the weekends.

This simple casserole would definitely be in my top five ‘ultimate comfort foods’ list. Though it has few ingredients it is incredibly nourishing and slimming friendly.

Grocery List

You only need a handful of ingredients to make this Greek lamb stew, a lot of them pantry staples.

Olive oil or cooking spray such as Fry Light
Lamb neck or lamb steaks
Onions, garlic, carrots, celery
Tinned chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. I only had tinned plum tomatoes so I liquidised them before using.
Cinnamon stick, bay leaves, dried thyme
Vegetable stock or red wine – or a combination of both
Orzo pasta
Feta or grated kefalotyri cheese (optional)

How to make Lamb Stew with Orzo in the Instant Pot

Full measurements and instructions can be found on theprintable recipe cardat the bottom of the page. Please take a look at the steps and video before attempting this recipe!

Heat a little olive oil in a large casserole dish or directly in your Instant Pot using the ‘sauté function. Brown the meat, in batches, until nicely coloured on all sides. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Add a little more oil in the Instant Pot and sauté the onions, garlic, carrots and celery for 5 minutes. Season with the salt, garlic granules and thyme.

Add the browned meat into the Instant Pot together with stock, tomatoes, tomato paste, cinnamon, bay leaves. If you are worried about getting a ‘Burn’ notice, don’t stir the tomatoes and paste in at this stage.

Set vent to sealing and cook for 17 minutes on high pressure. Release the steam manually. Stir in the orzo and additional stock and cook for 3 minutes on high pressure. Release the steam manually.

Give the stew a good stir – it will probably still have quite a lot of liquid. Turn the Instant Pot off, loosely cover with the lid (without sealing just resting it on top) and leave for 10-15 minutes.

Check again – the stew should have thickened as the orzo will have absorbed more of the liquid and be ready to serve. Remove the cinnamon stick and bay leaves, taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Hob instructions

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).Heat the olive oil in a large lidded casserole dish (Dutch oven).Brown the meat, in batches, for 5 minutes, until nicely colouredon all sides. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Add a little more oil and sauté the onions,garlic, carrots and celery for 5 minutes. Season, add the browned meat together with all the stock,tomatoes, tomato paste, cinnamon, bay leaves. Bring to a simmer andcover.

Cover the casserole and transfer to the oven and cook for 90 minutes or until the meat is very tender. You might need to add more stock ifit looks a bit dry at this point.

Add the orzo and cook for a further 30 minutes or until the orzois cooked through.
Transfer to a platter, season with pepper and sprinkle with fetacheese and chopped parsley. Serve immediately!

Greek Lamb Stew With Orzo

Lucy Parissi | Supergolden Bakes

Giouvetsi is the original one-pot meal: a delicious Greek casserole with tender meat and orzo in a rich tomato sauce. Cook it slowly in the oven or make it in your Instant Pot.

4.41 from 10 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Ingredients

▢ 1 tbsp olive oil or cooking spray , more as needed
▢ 900 g (2 lbs) lamb steaks, fat removed , cubed (or use beef, chicken thighs)
▢ 1 large onion or 6 shallots , roughly chopped
▢ 3 garlic cloves , sliced
▢ 3 carrots , peeled and cut into chunky cubes
▢ 3 celery sticks , diced
▢ 2 bay leaves
▢ 400 g (4oz) chopped tomatoes or pureed plum tomatoes
▢ 3 tbsp tomato puree
▢ 1 cinnamon stick
▢ 1 tsp salt
▢ 1 tsp garlic granules
▢ 1 tsp dried thyme or mixed Italian herbs
▢ 250 g (1 ⅓ cups) orzo
▢ 750 ml (3 cups) vegetable stock
▢ Handful parsley leaves , roughly chopped to garnish
▢ 100 g (3 ½ oz) feta cheese , crumbled to serve (Healthy Extra)
▢ Ground pepper , to taste

Instructions

Instant Pot method

Heat at the olive oil in a large casserole dish or directly in your Instant Pot using the ‘sauté function. Use cooking spray such as Fry Light for SW version.
Brown the meat, in batches, until nicely coloured on all sides. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Add a little more oil in the Instant Pot (or use cooking spray) and sauté the onions, garlic, carrots and celery for 5 minutes. Season with the salt, garlic granules and thyme.
Return the browned meat into the Instant Pot together with 250ml (1 cup) of stock, tomatoes, tomato paste, cinnamon, bay leaves.
Set vent to sealing and cook for 17 minutes on high pressure. Release the steam manually.
Add the orzo and remaining stock and cook for 3 minutes on high pressure. Release the steam manually.
Give the stew a good stir – it will probably still have quite a lot of liquid. Turn the Instant Pot off, loosely cover with the lid (without sealing just resting it on top) and leave for 10-15 minutes.
Check again – the stew should have thickened as the orzo will have absorbed more of the liquid and be ready to serve. Remove the cinnamon stick and bay leaves, taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Transfer to a platter, season with pepper and sprinkle with feta cheese and chopped parsley. Serve immediately!

Stove/oven method

Please note you will need 1litre (4 cups) stock for this version. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
Heat the olive oil in a large lidded casserole dish (Dutch oven). Use cooking spray such as Fry Light for SW version.
Brown the meat, in batches, for 5 minutes, until nicely coloured on all sides. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Add a little more oil (or use cooking spray) and sauté the onions, garlic, carrots and celery for 5 minutes. Season with the salt, garlic granules and thyme.
Now add the browned meat together with all the stock, tomatoes, tomato paste, cinnamon, bay leaves. Bring to a simmer and cover.
Cover the casserole and transfer to the oven and cook for 1 1/2 hours until the meat is very tender.
Add the orzo and cook for a further 30 minutes or until the orzo is cooked through.
Remove the cinnamon stick and bay leaves, taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Transfer to a platter, season with pepper and sprinkle with feta cheese and chopped parsley. Serve immediately!

Video

Notes

You can replace the lamb with beef or chicken thighs, whatever your preference is.

Slimming World: This recipe is syn-free unless you use oil which comes at 6 Syns per tablespoon (2 per serving). Feta cheese can be part of your healthy extra allowance or you can use fat-free Polish curd cheese as a free substitute.

Please note I am not affiliated in any way with Slimming World. Syn values are based on the Slimming World online calculator. Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on the ingredients you choose, serving sizes etc.

Nutritional Info

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