Cheesy baked orzo
Orzo bakes right in tomatoes and broth until tender, then gets stirred with spinach and topped with bubbling mozzarella, all in one dish.
- 50 min total
- 10 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $2.16 a serving
- 450 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 2½ cups vegetable broth
- 1½ cups orzo
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can diced tomatoes, 14.5 oz, with juice
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1½ cups shredded mozzarella, divided
- ¼ cup grated parmesan
From your pantry
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Each serving has about 450 calories, 22 g protein, 57 g carbs and 15 g fat, and costs about $2.16 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No diced tomatoes? Crushed tomatoes work.
- No baby spinach? Kale or arugula works.
- No shredded mozzarella? Provolone slices work.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 400°F. Heat the broth in the microwave for 3 minutes, until steaming.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Timer: 3 min
In a 9x13-inch baking dish, stir the orzo, garlic, tomatoes with their juice, Italian seasoning, salt, oil and hot broth.
Cover tightly with foil and 25 minutes, until the orzo is tender and most of the liquid is gone.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Timer: 25 min
Dolly’s tip: Peek at 20 minutes. If it looks dry and the orzo is still firm, stir in a splash of water.Stir in the spinach, ½ cup mozzarella and the parmesan until the spinach .
Wilt. Wilting means cooking leafy greens just until they go soft and collapse. Greens shrink a lot, so a big pile of spinach becomes a small handful, and that’s normal.
How you’ll know: The leaves turn soft and deep green and slump into the pan, usually within a minute or two.
Scatter the rest of the mozzarella on top and bake uncovered 10 minutes, until and bubbling.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Timer: 10 min
Let it sit 5 minutes before serving.
Timer: 5 min
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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