The perfect family-friendly weeknight dinner, this easy and cheesy Tomato Orzo is a one-pot meal everyone will love. Ready in under 30 minutes with basic ingredients, enjoy alone or with your family’s favourite protein.
Why You NEED To Make this Cheese and Tomato Orzo:
- It’s QUICK and EASY.
- Made with basic ingredients and easy to customise.
- Kid (and fussy eater) friendly – kiddos love orzo AND tomato based sauce, plus we have some added ‘hidden veg’ from the carrots and celery.
- One Pot – saves time on clean up.
- Freezes Well
- Makes Great Leftovers.
Ingredients
Full ingredients list with quantities is included in the recipe card below. These are some helpful notes about the main ingredients including some swaps and substitutes where applicable.
- Orzo – also called Risoni. Small rice-like pasta. You can swap for another mini pasta shape, though cook time may vary.
- Tinned Tomatoes – Chopped/diced or cherry tomatoes work best. You can also use diced fresh tomatoes if you have them – about 300g.
- Onion, celery and carrots – finely diced for the soffrito. Celery and carrots are optional but almost undetectable in the sauce. If you have super fussy eaters try grating the veg or use a food processor to chop really finely. That way they will literally melt into the sauce.
- Tomato Paste or Puree – for extra tomato flavour.
- Garlic – I do about 2 cloves and use a garlic press for ease. You can swap for a teaspoon of garlic paste or powder.
- Stock – I like chicken, but vegetable stock also works well. I dissolve one stock cube in 500ml boiling water. Use low salt stock for babies/little kids (I like Kallo) or just water.
- Fresh parsley – optional, but recommended. Use another herb like basil or chives if you prefer. I like to keep frozen chopped herbs on hand for ease.
- Cheese – also optional but recommended. I use medium white cheddar as it is my daughter’s favourite, but parmesan or mozzarella work well too. Or try a mix of cheeses.
Serving Suggestions
Cheese and Tomato Orzo works great as a meal by itself, or you can add some steamed greens or a salad on the side.
My family loves this one-pot orzo with Italian style chicken sausages or turkey meatballs. Try serving with your favourite protein.
Make it a Baked Orzo – scatter some extra grated cheese on top then bake or pop under the grill until golden and bubbling.
Upgrade your One Pot Tomato Orzo with additional vegetables – diced bell pepper, mushrooms, courgette/zucchini or peas are all a great addition.
Add some chopped chorizo or bacon – you can cook this off before adding the onion, carrot and celery.
I find this recipe to easily feed 2 adults and 2 children, but you may need to adjust depending on your family’s appetite and ages of children etc. There are buttons beside the Ingredients heading in the recipe card to allow you to increase the quantities.
Got Leftovers?
Keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freeze for up to 3 months. This dish is best served freshly cooked as freezing can affect the texture. However if you reheat carefully then frozen leftovers can still be tasty and convenient. Make sure to defrost thoroughly before reheating.
Reheat slowly on the stove or in the microwave with a splash of water, stirring regularly.
More One Pot Orzo Recipes:
- Baked Orzo with Mediterranean Vegetables
- Chorizo Orzo with Peas and Sweetcorn
- One Pot Beef Orzo
- Chicken and Chorizo Orzo
I hope you like this recipe as much as I do!
Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment if you make it.
Your feedback is really important and helps me keep making recipes you love!
One Pot Tomato Orzo
Equipment
Ingredients
- 200 grams (1 cups) orzo - (1 cup orzo = 200g)
- 1 onion - diced
- 1 rib of celery - diced
- 2 cloves garlic - diced
- 1 medium carrot - diced
- 1 tbsp Tomato paste
- 500 ml (2 cups) chicken or vegetable stock - I use one very low salt stock cube
- 1 400g tin (1 14oz can) of chopped tomatoes - (14oz can of diced tomatoes)
- 1 tbsp olive oil - Or whatever you prefer for cooking. Butter also works.
- small bunch fresh parsley or basil - chopped
- 50 grams (½ cups) grated cheddar cheese - or Parmesan or mozzarella
- Salt and pepper - adjust to serve – omit/reduce salt for babies and young children as required
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat.
- Add the diced onion, celery and carrot (plus optional pinch of salt) and sauté for about 5 minutes until softening.
- Stir in the garlic and tomato puree and cook for another 2 minutes before stirring in the orzo.
- Pour over the stock and bring to a simmer. Cook for 8-10 minutes until the orzo is tender and the liquid has reduced.
- Annoyingly, orzo likes to stick to the bottom of the pan so make sure to give it a stir every few minutes.
- Once the orzo is cooked, stir in the cheese and chopped parsley then season as required with salt and pepper. Add extra cheese to serve.
- Optional – stir through half the cheese then scatter the rest on top and bake till golden and bubbling.
Notes
Nutrition
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