Algerian Beef and Chickpea Orzo
- 30 mintotal time
- $2.36£1.61a serving
- 707648calories
- 3334 gprotein
Serves 4; price is an estimate. Dinner Plan is a paid weekly plan for your household and budget. You see your week before you pay.
Inspired by Algerian tlitli: orzo simmered with browned beef, chickpeas, turmeric and cinnamon, with lemon.
Ingredients
Serves 4.
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 14 oz ground beef (80/20)
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 11 oz orzo
- 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 lemon
- ¼ bunch parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 vegetable bouillon cube
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Contains: wheat (gluten), celery. Check the label: milk, soy, sulfites. Always read the labels if you cook for someone with an allergy.
Method
- Put the kettle on. Heat the olive oil in a large deep frying pan or wide pot on medium-high heat. Add the yellow onion and the ground beef, then wash your hands after handling the raw meat. Cook for 7 minutes, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until browned.
- Stir in the garlic, ground cinnamon, paprika, turmeric and plenty of black pepper for 1 minute.
- Add the orzo, the chickpeas, the crumbled bouillon cube and 3 cups (720 ml) of just-boiled water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10–12 minutes, stirring often so it does not stick, until the orzo is tender, most of the liquid is absorbed and the beef is cooked through with no pink left (160°F). Add a splash of hot water if it gets too dry.
- Season with salt, squeeze in the lemon and scatter with the parsley.
Leftovers: Fridge for 3 days; reheat with a splash of water until piping hot.
Ingredients
Serves 4.
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 400 g beef mince (20% fat)
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 300 g orzo
- 1 × 400 g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 lemon
- ¼ bunch parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Contains: gluten, celery. Check the label: milk, soya, sulphites. Always read the labels if you cook for someone with an allergy.
Method
- Put the kettle on. Heat the olive oil in a large deep frying pan or wide pot on medium-high heat. Add the onion and the beef mince, then wash your hands after handling the raw meat. Cook for 7 minutes, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until browned.
- Stir in the garlic, ground cinnamon, paprika, turmeric and plenty of black pepper for 1 minute.
- Add the orzo, the chickpeas, the crumbled stock cube and 720 ml of just-boiled water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10–12 minutes, stirring often so it does not stick, until the orzo is tender, most of the liquid is absorbed and the beef is cooked through with no pink left (71°C). Add a splash of hot water if it gets too dry.
- Season with salt, squeeze in the lemon and scatter with the parsley.
Leftovers: Fridge for 3 days; reheat with a splash of water until piping hot.
Nutrition per serving
| Calories | 707 |
|---|---|
| Protein | 33 g |
| Carbohydrate | 77 g |
| Fat | 30 g |
| Fiber | 8 g |
| Sodium | 823 mg |
| Calories | 648 |
|---|---|
| Protein | 34 g |
| Carbohydrate | 73 g |
| Fat | 27 g |
| Fibre | 9 g |
| Sodium | 506 mg |
Worked out from the ingredients, 303 g a serving; optional extras and salt to taste aren't counted. US and UK values differ a little because each uses that country's food data and products. US values from USDA FoodData Central.UK values from McCance and Widdowson's Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset 2021, under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
What it costs
About $2.36 a serving in the US (range $1.81–$3.13) and £1.61 in the UK (range £1.23–£2.13). That's the share of each ingredient this recipe uses; basics like oil, salt and spices aren't counted.
Prices are estimates. Item prices come from public price data where available (US: Bureau of Labor Statistics and USDA; UK: Office for National Statistics). Where that data has no match, we use our own estimate. Ranges set using Open Prices data (Open Food Facts, ODbL). Prices as of October 2026. How we estimate
Build a week around this recipe
Tell us who's eating and your budget. This recipe goes into your week with dinners picked to fit your budget, one list by aisle and its estimated total, and you see the week before you pay.
Build my week
