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Youvetsi (Greek beef or lamb and orzo stew)

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Youvetsi is a delicious Greek stew made with beef or lamb and orzo cooked in a tasty tomato-based sauce. It’s flavorful, comforting and easy to make too.

Youvetsi is a delicious Greek stew made with beef or lamb and orzo cooked in a tasty tomato-based sauce. It's flavorful, comforting and easy to make too.

There are a few people taking part in today’s Sunday Supper who will be getting all excited about a certain movie coming out soon which has given today’s theme (Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, if you’re wondering). As someone who rarely manages to see movies these days unless I am on a flight (and so it’s then restricted by how good the range of in-flight options are and how needy the kids are being), it’s probably not surprising I am not likely to be one of the first ones to see it.

In fairness I have never been a huge movie-buff, but I’ll happily take any excuse to get excited about the Greek food it’s inspiring everyone to make.

For me it was a nice way to remember some of the tasty food we had in Athens last year (and Cyprus, which shares many similar dishes), before deciding to make this delicious youvetsi, a Greek beef or lamb stew with orzo.

Youvetsi is a delicious Greek stew made with beef or lamb and orzo cooked in a tasty tomato-based sauce. It's flavorful, comforting and easy to make too.

In all honesty I can’t really remember whether we had youvetsi or not on our trip as we had a few meals where we had a number of smaller dishes and I can’t remember every single one – it’s very common to have food in a mezze style with a range of small plates.

Sometimes this is just cold dips like tzatziki, baba ghanoush and hummus to start, but a number of places continue this in to the warm, often meaty, dishes as well. We also had some meals we didn’t order from a menu so I didn’t get to see everything listed which is often what helps me remember what we had.

temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens

On top of that we were traveling with a toddler and a six-week old which while it largely worked out OK naturally had its challenges at times. I am sure sleep deprivation does things to your memory as well. Not to mention the fact that the amazing sites of Athens we were trying to see in a couple days can be distracting!

Anyway, whether we had youvetsi or not, it was something I was happy to find an excuse to make. Having already shared a favorite Greek dish, moussaka, I considered other dishes that were a bit better known or quicker. But then thought a slow-cooked meaty stew seemed perfect both for the Greek wedding theme and Easter.

While it takes a little time to cook, youvetsi is really easy – it’s pretty hands-off cooking. And so worth the wait.

Youvetsi is a delicious Greek stew made with beef or lamb and orzo cooked in a tasty tomato-based sauce. It's flavorful, comforting and easy to make too.

How to make youvetsi

This may take a little time to cook but it’s hands off cooking. All you need to do is:

  • brown the meat;
  • soften the onion and garlic;
  • deglaze the pan with wine (basically get all the good stuff stuck to the bottom);
  • add tomatoes, stock and a couple seasonings;
  • leave it to cook the meat to tenderness;
  • add orzo towards end to cook in the sauce.

You can do all but the last step in advance then just reheat and add the orzo, letting it cook in the delicious sauce. Serve with a decent amount of freshly grated cheese (traditionally it would be kefalotyri but parmesan or pecorino work as an alternative).

Youvetsi is a delicious Greek stew made with beef or lamb and orzo cooked in a tasty tomato-based sauce. It's flavorful, comforting and easy to make too.

This was a meal we all immediately loved, my toddler son even asked for more which is always a good sign. It’s got that warm, comforting feel but is not overly heavy.

The orzo takes on the delicious flavor of the sauce, a lovely mix of meatiness and tomato as well as just enough cinnamon to lift it up with a slightly warm fragrance.

Whether this description does it justice I don’t know, but believe me this is a truly delicious dish and has that flexibility of being made with either beef or lamb depending on your preference or what you have available.

Youvetsi is definitely one that we’ll be adding to our regular rotation – give it a try and you may well have a new favorite, as we did.

Youvetsi is a delicious Greek stew made with beef or lamb and orzo cooked in a tasty tomato-based sauce. It's flavorful, comforting and easy to make too.

5 from 3 votes
Youvetsi is a delicious Greek stew made with beef or lamb and orzo cooked in a tasty tomato-based sauce. It's flavorful, comforting and easy to make too.
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Youvetsi (Greek beef or lamb and orzo stew)
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
1 hr 35 mins
Total Time
1 hr 40 mins
 

A wonderfully comforting combination of orzo and slow cooked meat in a tomato-based sauce.

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Greek
Keyword: comfort food, Greek lamb and orzo
Servings: 4 -5
Calories: 646 kcal
Author: Caroline's Cooking
Ingredients
  • 2 lb beef or lamb stew meat 900g, beef chuck or lamb shoulder probably best
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 tbsp olive oil or a little more as needed
  • 1 onion
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 cup red wine 120ml
  • 14 oz chopped tomatoes 400g, 1 can
  • 2 tsp tomato paste puree
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2 cups stock
  • 1 1/2 cups orzo 265g
  • 1/2 cup kefalotyri approx, or or parmesan/pecorino
Instructions

  1. If the meat is not already diced, or the pieces are large, cut it in to roughly bite-sized pieces and season with some salt and pepper. Peel and dice the onion and finely chop the garlic.

  2. Warm half the oil in a Dutch oven and brown the meat on all sides to sear it, working in batches so you don't overcrowd the pan and removing to a plate as they are done.

  3. In the same pan, add the rest of the oil and soften the onions, adding the garlic after a minute. Cook until going translucent but not brown, around 3-5 minutes.
  4. Deglaze the pan with the wine - allow the alcohol to boil off and scrape the bottom to incorporate all the flavor into the sauce.
  5. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar and stock and add back the meat. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer then cook on low for around 1 hour or until tender, covered.
  6. Preheat oven to 350F/175C, add the orzo to the pan, mix through then bake for approx 25 minutes, uncovered, until orzo is tender and cooked.
  7. Serve with grated cheese on top.
Recipe Notes

I use my Le Creuset Enameled Cast-Iron Oval French Oven to make this dish which works perfectly.

Nutrition Facts
Youvetsi (Greek beef or lamb and orzo stew)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 646 Calories from Fat 180
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 20g 31%
Saturated Fat 5g 25%
Cholesterol 147mg 49%
Sodium 789mg 33%
Potassium 1073mg 31%
Total Carbohydrates 53g 18%
Dietary Fiber 3g 12%
Sugars 7g
Protein 54g 108%
Vitamin A 8.2%
Vitamin C 15.3%
Calcium 8%
Iron 33.6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Try these other classic Greek dishes:

grilled chicken gyros with tzatziki

Chicken gyros with tzatziki

Greek lamb kleftiko

Greek lamb kleftiko

Avgolemono soup

Avgolemono soup.

 See all the other recipes to celebrate My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 –

Greek Appetizers:

Greek Soups:

Greek Breakfast:

Greek Main Dishes:

Greek Side Dishes:

Greek Desserts:

Greek Beverages:

Plus Baked Shrimp with Feta plus More Greek Cuisine from Sunday Supper Movement

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Youvetsi is a delicious Greek stew made with beef or lamb and orzo cooked in a tasty tomato-based sauce. It's flavorful, comforting and easy to make too. Great comfort food.

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Comments

    • There are so many places in Greece that just ooze history, it’s fascinating to see. This stew is delicious, hope you enjoy!

      Reply

    • Thanks Barrie, it’s delicious – true it’s good while it’s cold but I have a feeling we’ll still like it when it’s warmer too!

      Reply

  3. I love everything about this dish! From the orzo to the wine to the chunks of meat! Greece is on my bucket list—lucky you!

    Reply

    • Thanks Liz, it’s a great dish. Hope you make it to Greece some time – I had been to some of the islands as a child (one of the benefits growing up in Europe travel is easier) but it was great to see Athens, and I definitely appreciated the food more this time too though I do remember enjoying as a child too.

      Reply

  9. That is such a lovely description of the balanced warm flavours and fragrance of the dish. If it does not do the dish justice, I can only imagine how lovely it is! As part of a mezze, thus sounds just so delicious!

    Reply

    • Thanks, Julie it is. Great you have joined Sunday Supper! I’d say look in the forum and see which upcoming events appeal, add your title and go from there! Let me know if I can help at all.

      Reply

    • Thanks Corina, it’s strangely unknown but is so tasty – I agree a little cinnamon does wonders!

      Reply

  13. saw this on the front page of your site and was taken by the name of the recipe and love the flavors here, my experience with this cuisine is limited to gyro meat (which I love), but this looks much more approachable than somehow concocting a huge vertical spit! thank you for this recipe!

    Reply

    • Thanks Sabrina, I’m glad you decided to take a look, this is definitely one of our family favorites. And a great way to expand your experience of Greek food too.

      Reply


  14. Thank you. This was my grandmother’s signature dish. I’ve made it from memory over the years, but finally looked up the recipe to make it properly. I got a bit teary as the the apartment filled up with the smell <3

    Reply


  15. Just found this recipe after tasting Youvetsi for the first time after a recent holiday to Crete. I have lived in Cyprus for 20 years but have never come across the dish here!
    I made it with beef and it was amazing. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

    • So glad you enjoyed it! Well then maybe it’s not such a surprise I wasn’t sure if we had it or not in Cyprus – I have also been in Greece various times so especially with a newborn at the time it was a little bit of a daze where the familiarity came from But so glad it lived up to what you had in Crete!

      Reply

      • Thanks, that’s how I made it last night and it came out absolutely delicious!!! My husband, daughter and I are Greek and I think your recipe is the best!!! I’ll be making this quite often.

        Reply

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