Giouvetsi (or Youvetsi) is a slow-cooked Greek dish made with stewed beef (or lamb) and orzo pasta in a rich and deeply flavored sauce. It's perfect for a cozy Sunday family dinner, or any time you're craving a comforting and delicious meal!
Giouvetsi (Youvetsi / γιουβέτσι) is a classic Greek casserole featuring a combination of braised or stewed meat and pasta cooked together in a tomato-based sauce. This popular dish is typically made with either beef (my preference), lamb, veal, or even chicken. The sauce is incredibly fragrant and includes everything from onions and garlic to cinnamon and red wine.
Although you’ll often see this casserole made with orzo pasta, youvetsi can also be made with square-shaped hilopites. Like most casseroles, this is a great dish for Sunday family dinner, but is also worthy of gracing your holiday table.
Giouvetsi may require a bit of time from starch to finish, but a good part of the process is hands off and is basically just waiting for the components to finish cooking. The result is an incredibly flavorful dish where the orzo soaks up all the incredible juices and flavors from the slow-cooked beef. It’s truly comfort in a bowl.
Although some people like to stir the orzo right into the pot used to stew the meat, giouvetsi is traditionally baked in a clay pot. I feel that transferring and finishing it in a baking dish (stoneware for example) is more authentic than finishing the process in your Dutch oven.
Ingredient notes
- Beef: I use beef stew meat for this recipe, but if you want to purchase a large cut and cube it up yourself, chuck is a great option. You can also use lamb shoulder or veal stew meat for this recipe if you prefer.
- Orzo: Orzo is commonly used in youvetsi, and is easy to find in supermarkets from various pasta brands. You could also use square-shaped hilopites pasta, which you can get at Greek specialty markets or online. Since the shape is quite different, and would result in a different volume amount than measuring orzo, I would suggest weighing the hilopites in the recipe.
- Broth: You could use any kind of broth or stock you have on hand. Chicken, beef, veggie, or even technically water would work. As the stew cooks, it will infuse tons of flavor into the liquid from the meat and other ingredients.
- Tomato: You'll need tomato paste and canned diced tomatoes for this giouvetsi recipe. The tomato paste adds intense, rich tomato flavor. Meanwhile, the diced tomatoes add more liquid to the broth and, of course, even more tomato flavor. You could replace the canned diced tomatoes with some canned crushed tomatoes or passata if that's all you have on hand.
How to make it
Season meat with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat, and sear the meat, in batches if necessary until browned on all sides (PHOTOS 1-2). Remove to a plate and set aside.
In the same pot, add onions and carrots, stirring until they start to soften (PHOTO 3). Add garlic and continue to cook for another minute. Then, stir in tomato paste (PHOTO 4).
Deglaze the pot with red wine (PHOTO 5). Add broth, diced tomatoes with their juices, ground cinnamon, and salt and pepper (PHOTO 6).
Finally, add the seared meat with any collected juices (PHOTOS 7-8).
Stir to combine, bring to a simmer, then cover, lower the heat to low, and simmer gently, stirring occasionally for 1 ½ to 2 ¼ hours, or until the meat is very tender (PHOTOS 9-10).
In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the uncooked orzo and toss to lightly toast in the oil. Remove from the heat before they start to brown.
Transfer the lightly toasted orzo and residual oil to a 3 quart baking dish.
When the meat is tender, remove the pot from the heat. Carefully transfer the meat and all of the sauce from the pot into the baking dish of toasted orzo.
Give it a very gentle stir to help the orzo evenly incorporate with the rest of the mixture.
Place the baking dish, uncovered, in a 350°F (175°C) oven and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it rest for about 15 minutes. It may look very liquidy at first but as it rests the orzo should continue to absorb some liquid.
Give the youvetsi a stir and serve with grated cheese on the side.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Expert tips
It’s best to serve the giouvetsi immediately after the initial 15 minute rest period out of the oven. If you let it sit even longer and don’t eat it right away, it will continue to absorb liquid and the result will no longer be saucy.
That being said, you can store leftover youvetsi in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. Reheat in a pan or small baking dish in the oven or toaster oven or in the microwave until heated through.
To make ahead, you can make the stewed beef portion in advance. Cool and refrigerate or even freeze it. When you're ready to serve, gently reheat the stew (thaw overnight in the fridge if you had frozen it) in a covered pot, stirring occasionally. Then proceed with lightly toasting the orzo, combining and baking the giouvetsi to finish.
Cutting the meat into slightly smaller, somewhat bite-size pieces allows it to cook a bit faster than if you use very large chunks of meat. It’s also easier to distribute into servings and eat!
Make sure there’s enough liquid for your orzo to cook through. Generally, you want 3 cups of liquid for each cup of orzo in the dish. The orzo should be fully submerged in liquid in the casserole dish before going into the oven. If, in the process of stewing the meat, the liquid has reduced significantly, top off with a little more hot water or broth before baking.
Other recipes you may like
- Fasolakia Giaxni / Lathera (Greek Stewed Green Beans)
- Spanakorizo (Greek Spinach Rice)
- Roza's Tas Kebab (Persian Beef Stew)
- Beef Bourguignon (Burgundy Beef Stew)
- Hovězí Guláš (Czech Beef Goulash)
- Individual Beef and Mushroom Pies
- Burmese Beef Curry with Potatoes
- Ram-Don from Parasite (Jjapaguri with Steak)
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also follow me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Giouvetsi / Youvetsi (Greek Beef Stew and Orzo Casserole)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ to 1 ¾ pounds (24 to 28 ounces / 680 to 795 grams) beef, lamb, or veal stew meat cut into 1 ½-to-2-inch pieces
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil divided
- 1 large or 2 small onions peeled and finely chopped
- 1 medium to large carrot peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and finely chopped or crushed
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ cup red wine
- 2 cups chicken beef, or vegetable broth or stock
- 1 (14-ounce / 400-grams) can diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ cups (275 grams) orzo pasta
- Grated kefalotyri, mizithra, or feta cheese for serving (you can also use Parmesan or pecorino Romano in a pinch)
Instructions
- Season the cubed meat with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Sear the meat, in batches if necessary until browned on all sides, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove to a plate and set aside.
- In the same pot with any residual oil left, add the onions and carrots, stirring for a 2 to 3 minutes until they start to soften (lower the heat if the onions are browning too fast). Add the garlic and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste, then deglaze the pot with the wine. Add the broth, diced tomatoes with their juices, cinnamon, a big pinch or two of salt and pepper, and finally the seared meat with any collected juices.
- Stir to combine, bring to a simmer, then cover, lower the heat to low, and simmer gently, stirring occasionally for 1 ½ to 2 ¼ hours, or until the meat is very tender (the exact timing will depend on the cut of meat). Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). In a skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the uncooked orzo and toss to lightly toast in the oil. Remove from the heat before they start to brown, a couple minutes or so. Transfer the lightly toasted orzo and residual oil to a 3 quart baking dish.
- When the meat is tender, remove the pot from the heat and carefully transfer the meat and all of the sauce from the pot into the baking dish of toasted orzo. Give it a very gentle stir to help the orzo evenly incorporate with the rest of the mixture.
- Place the baking dish, uncovered, in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it rest for about 15 minutes. It may look very liquidy at first but as it rests the orzo should continue to absorb some liquid.
- Give it a stir and serve with grated cheese.
Notes
- I use beef stew meat for this recipe, but if you want to purchase a large cut and cube it up yourself, chuck is a great option. You can also use lamb shoulder or veal stew meat for this recipe if you prefer.
- Store leftover youvetsi in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. Reheat in a pan or small baking dish in the oven or toaster oven or in the microwave until heated through.
- To make ahead, you can make the stewed beef portion in advance. Cool and refrigerate or even freeze it. When you're ready to serve, gently reheat the stew (thaw overnight in the fridge if you had frozen it) in a covered pot, stirring occasionally. Then proceed with lightly toasting the orzo, combining and baking the giouvetsi to finish.
- The orzo should be fully submerged in liquid in the casserole dish before going into the oven. If, in the process of stewing the meat, the liquid has reduced significantly, top off with a little more hot water or broth before baking.
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
Aida Arthur
Hello, this looks amazing , and I have all the ingredients except the beef. Since I’m too excited to make it can I try it with chicken ? Has it been done before ? I know it’s not the recipe. I was just wondering.
Victoria
Hi Aida,
You could definitely make it with chicken! It just won't need to cook nearly as long as the beef. If you're using chicken thighs, they can cook longer than breast. If using breast, personally I would sear it, remove from the pan, continue with the sauce/stew mixture, and then let the sauce simmer without the chicken pieces added for a bit (to develop flavor in the sauce) and then stir in the chicken pieces a bit later just to warm them through and then add to the orzo to finish cooking. With boneless thighs you could add them at the same time you'd add the beef, but just cook them a bit less than the beef (until they are fork tender). You could also use bone-in thighs if that's what you have, and those would stew quite a bit longer than boneless thighs until they are fork tender. Either way it should work but just adjust the cooking time accordingly. Let me know how it goes!
Novellian
Love this recipe! However, I was wondering if it can be done with Rice instead of using Orzo. Also, better yet if there is any type of gluten free Orzo out there that you’re aware of??
Victoria
Hello! You could definitely use gluten-free orzo in this recipe, although the texture will be a bit different as is always the case with gluten-free pastas. You may also want to check the label to see how much liquid you would need per cup of GF orzo in case you need to add a bit of extra liquid to this recipe to ensure the orzo cooks through. My sister uses DeLallo Gluten-Free Orzo or Jovial Orzo for cooking for her kids who can't have gluten either. I would avoid using rice as it's really not the same and will result in a completely different dish.