One-Pot Beef Orzo with ground beef and tomatoes and a touch of oregano, a creamy and comforting dish that feeds the whole family. It's a great midweek dinner recipe that uses easily-available ingredients, and it's a good alternative to the good old risotto. So satisfying and easy to make!
One-pot meals are life-savers when you need to come up with something quick that everybody will love to eat, without too much fuss, but with maximum flavour.
Orzo is such versatile, as just like any other pasta, you can turn it into a delicious and hearty dinner or a light and healthy salad. And this one-pot ground beef orzo ticks all the boxes when it comes to a satisfying family dinner.
Just like my one-pot leftover chicken roast pasta or one-pot ground beef pasta, it can be done in one single pot, thus saving you time prepping it, and also with the cleaning up afterwards. A win win situation if you ask me.
I have made orzo before, that was another simple one-pot dinner, but it used bacon and peas instead, what boy, that went so well with my family, you can see the recipe here: one-pot orzo with bacon and peas.
Ingredients used
- ground beef/minced beef / beef mince - same thing, different way of saying it depending whether you are in the US or UK
- orzo - the brand doesn't really matter, as it's just the same anyway
- chopped tomatoes - you can use fresh tomatoes if you have juicy and well ripen ones
- red pepper - you can leave it out if you wish, but I love the extra flavour this brings to any beef dish
- beef stock / broth - water can be used to, but if you have stock, that adds such a depth of flavour to the dish
- tomato paste - adds a touch of sweetness and deeper red colour to the sauce
- garlic and onion - the best base for the tomato sauce
- salt and pepper - I don't add tons of salt to beef dishes, but I tend to be quite generous with the black pepper
- oil - to fry the onion and garlic
- oregano - for a taste of Italy
- fresh parsley - to garnish
- parmesan - or any other hard cheese
Step-by-step photos and instructions
- in a large pot, heat up the oil over a medium heat, add the onion and fry until golden
- add the beef and use a spatula or wooden spoon to break the meat and cook it until no longer pink
- leave to cook for a further 5 minutes for the meat to brown lightly
- add the chopped garlic and pepper, and give it a good mix
- add the orzo and chopped tomatoes, give it a good stir, then pour over the stock
- place a lid on the pan and leave it to cook until the liquid is mostly absorbed and the orzo is cooked
- add the parmesan, oregano, season with salt and pepper and garnish with parsley
Expert tips
Orzo might look more like rice, but since it's actually pasta, it must not be rinsed before cooking, just add it straight to the pan as it is.
If you added more broth than it was needed, and the orzo is already cooked, but there is still some liquid in the pan, just remove the lid, and slightly increase the heat, the liquid will evaporate a lot faster.
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Beef Orzo
Ingredients
- 450 g minced beef ( 1 lb)
- 1 cup orzo
- 1 onion
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes (400 g, 13 oz)
- 2 cups beef broth (stock)
- 1 red pepper
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- â…› teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tsbp fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoon parmesan
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
Instructions
- In a large pan, heat up the oil over a medium heat, add the peeled and chopped onion, and fry it until golden.
- Add the beef and use a wooden spoon to break the meat until it's no longer pink.
- Leave it to cook for a further 5 minutes or until the meat browns lightly.
- Add the peeled and chopped garlic and pepper.
- Give everything a good stir, then add the orzo and chopped tomatoes.
- Pour over the stock, place a lid on the pan, and leave it to cook until the liquid is mostly evaporated, and the orzo is cooked.
- Add the oregano, parmesan, tomato paste, salt and pepper, and stir.
- Garnish with fresh parsley.
Video
Notes
- Orzo might look more like rice, but since it's actually pasta, it must not be rinsed before cooking, just add it straight to the pan as it is.
- If you added more broth than it was needed, and the orzo is already cooked, but there is still some liquid in the pan, just remove the lid, and slightly increase the heat, the liquid will evaporate a lot faster.
Nutrition
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Laura Semmens says
How much tomato paste? It’s not in the ingredient list.thanks
Daniela Apostol says
Thank you for your comment, I omitted to add the tomato paste to the list of ingredients. I used one tablespoon of tomato paste - recipe card is now updated.