This one-pot summer vegetable orzo baked dish uses fresh, seasonal vegetables that can be replaced with frozen versions in the off-season. It’s a great way to use up summer scraps to make a one-pot weeknight dinner that will feed the whole family without any extra work or side dishes.
Yall, I’ve been in some kind of dinner food rut. I usually love meal planning and making grocery lists, but it all just seems like too much. I want easy and nutritious dinners. I like to cook a few nights a week and have leftovers on the other nights. I like to sneak in vegetables when I can. And frankly, I just like to eat food that tastes good, especially if I spent all the time making it.
I recently bought a bag of orzo thinking it would be a nice change to some of the foods we usually eat around here. Most orzo dishes are lemon-based and while I like that, it can seem like a little much. So, I wanted something with a lot of flavor, stuffed with vegetables, and having it all done in one pot was for sure a bonus.
I like this summer orzo bake because it uses up seasonal garden vegetables and it cooked like a casserole so I didn’t need a side or anything extra besides this one meal. I used ground turkey in mine, but I was thinking that leaving out the meat would make a great side dish for anything off the grill like chicken, steaks, or sausage. And, it would be a nice side dish to shrimp or lobster. It would also make a great Sunday dinner for hosting family or even a potluck meal.
I will say it is definitely one of those weeknight homemade dinners that fit nicely on a menu like a chicken pot pie or spaghetti baked pie. I think you could totally make it ahead and just cook it when you are ready or freeze it and take it to someone you love. This is a good busy weeknight meal that you could make ahead on the weekend or in the afternoon and just cook it when your family is ready to eat.
I do sometimes have texture issues with foods that are all mixed together. So, I challenge you to think about your vegetable cuts on this. I finely dice the onion and peppers. And then use a ¼-inch cube cut on the squash and zucchini. I like using frozen broccoli cuts on this so there are not as many “hunks” of broccoli florets, and I even rough chopped some of them to keep the size small.
The great part about this one is you can shift it to make something that fits your family – add corn, leave out peas, and use drained Rotel. Whatever your people love!
One-Pot Summer Vegetable Orzo Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 red bell pepper or 4 sweet peppers chopped
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 zucchini chopped
- 1 yellow squash
- 2 cups chopped spinach
- ½ pint cherry tomatoes halved or 1 cup chopped tomato
- 1 10 oz bag frozen broccoli cuts or 3 cups fresh broccoli
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon lemon pepper
- 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 lb dry orzo pasta
- 32 oz box chicken stock -or 4 cups
- 1 lb cooked meat ground beef, ground turkey or shredded chicken or leftover turkey
- 1 bag frozen peas
- 2 cups shredded cheese*
- ½ c roasted red pepper slices
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400.
- Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the bottom of a dutch oven.
- Finely chop an onion and stir it into the pot.
- Add peppers to the pot. (add more olive oil if needed)
- Stir together and cook until onions are translucent.
- Chop or dice zucchini and squash, and add to stock pot.
- Cut tomatoes in half and hold them in a bowl.
- Chop spinach or measure out if frozen, set in bowl with tomatoes.
- Once vegetables are browning in a dutch oven, make a hole in the middle and add minced garlic.
- Allow to brown for a minute and stir into vegetables.
- Add tomatoes, chopped spinach, and frozen broccoli.
- Stir together all vegetables.
- Add seasonings and stir.
- Add orzo to the pot and pour in the chicken stock.
- Stir together to mix vegetables, orzo, and seasonings.
- Bring the dutch oven to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium and cover, cooking for 5 minutes.
- Remove lid and add cooked meat, frozen peas, cheese, and any other add-ins.
- Stir together everything to incorporate.
- Cook the mixture in a dutch oven at 400 for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile set table and get drinks ready for dinner because your whole meal is in one pot!
Notes
-Replace seasonings with a Grillmates garlic herb seasoning packet
*Cheese options- fat free cheddar or mozzarella, Velveeta shreds, Gouda, gruyere, mix fiesta blend with feta and parmesan.
-Adding green chilies or chopped jalapeños would add great spice and use pepper jack cheese
-other pasta could be used instead of orzo, like penne or rotini noodles
