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The Easiest One Pan Caprese Pesto Orzo Bake. Trust me, this is going to become your new go-to for busy nights. Roasted tomatoes with garlic, shallots, and olive oil, all tossed together in a casserole dish with dry orzo pasta, basil pesto, then finished with melty mozzarella cheese. This incredible dish is all made in one large baking dish without even having to boil any water. Just mix, bake, eat, and enjoy!
I know this is a recipe post, but for long-time readers, I just have to quickly say how incredible the last few days have been. Your support for me is just so sweet and incredible to feel. I feel so very loved by you all and I just want to say thank you, thank you!
For everyone who has already received the book, what’s your favorite recipe so far?!
Going to chat more about all this fun stuff on Sunday, but I just had to say thank you!
Ok, ok, back to today’s recipe. This is the easiest recipe and certainly my favorite of the week!!
I honestly have no idea how I thought to put this one together, but it’s pretty perfect. The flavors are nothing new by any means, but the cooking method is super smart. And the end product is so very delicious.
A lot of times one-pan pasta dishes aren’t cooked properly. But because we’re using orzo, which is such a small pasta, it cooks up really well!!
Here are the simple, simple steps
Start out by roasting the tomatoes, just to get them cooking before we add the pasta. I added some garlic, shallots, and chili flakes to bump up the flavor a bit.
When the tomatoes start sizzling, pull them out and add the DRY orzo pasta, a jar of basil pesto, and some peperoncinis. The peperoncinis are not traditional for Caprese, but I’m obsessed with them and they add a lot of flavor to the dish.
The next key ingredient…water or broth.
So simple, and yes, technically not an ingredient. But the water cooks the pasta just as if we had boiled it on the stove. Once the water is in, bake another 10 minutes or so. Allowing the water to cook into the pasta, then stir the orzo mixture, and sprinkle over the cheese. Now finish baking!
Finish it up and eat
When the sauce is bubbling and the cheese has melted, pull the pan out. If there’s a lot of oil on top from the jar of pesto, just drain that off and save it for dipping with bread (YUMMM).
Top with plenty of fresh basil and that’s literally it. SO SIMPLE, SO DELICIOUS! And I love that there’s basically no prep or extra dishes.
Simple but delicious really is the key!
Looking for other easy pasta bakes? Here are my favorites:
One Pot Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Whipped Ricotta
Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta
4 Cheese Sun-Dried Tomato and Spinach Pasta Bake
Lastly, if you make this Easy One Pan Caprese Pesto Orzo Bake, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Easiest One Pan Caprese Pesto Orzo Bake
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 541 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 2-3 cups cherry tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped
- chili flakes
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 pound dry orzo pasta
- 1 (8 ounce) jar basil pesto
- 2-3 tablespoons sliced peperoncinis
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.2. In a 9×13 inch baking dish, combine the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, shallots, basil, chili flakes, salt, and pepper. Roast 10 minutes. Pull the tomatoes out of the oven. To the same pan, add the orzo, pesto, and peperoncinis. Pour over 2 1/2 cups of water and stir to combine. Return the dish to the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, until most of the water has cooked into the pasta, but not all of it. 3. Stir the pasta around, then sprinkle over the cheese. Bake another 10 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the sauce bubbling. If there's a lot of oil from the pesto on top, drain off the excess. Top with fresh basil!
This post was originally published on March 31, 2022
Amazingly easy and delicious. It will easily become an “on repeat” meal. I added some chicken (cooked) for some protein, and it worked great. Added it at the same time as the cheese. I think I will try a little more water next time and use the lower end of the cooking times.
So so good!
Hey Lola,
Fantastic! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your comment, love to hear it turned out well for you!
Have the best weekend!
This is so very good! We had the last of the tomatoes to use up, an open box of broth, and an almost empty jar of homemade pesto. The recipe was perfect to use up things found in the fridge. Threw in some sliced mushrooms at the start of the recipe with the tomatoes. Will definitely make this again. Love it!
Hi Mary,
Really appreciate you making this recipe and reporting back. Thrilled it turned out well!
Hi! I want to make this and add chicken, any suggestions?
Hi Jamie,
I would add cooked chicken to step 3, that will work nicely for you.
Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Delicious! I recently made the “One Pot Spinach and Artichoke Orzo Bake” and liked it so much I wanted to try more “One Pot” recipes. Made this one exactly as directed with the following minor changes:
Used chicken broth instead of water
Cut the cherry tomatoes in half
Added an additional 10 minutes baking time to cook the orzo
So I roasted the tomatoes as directed for 10 minutes, added the orzo, pesto, peperoncinis, and chicken broth and baked for 15 minutes, took it out to stir it up and baked another 10 minutes, and then took it out and added the cheese and baked it for the final 10 minutes. It was cooked perfectly. Then added the fresh basil on top when it was done baking.
It was a great side dish to our eggplant parmesan. Lots of rave reviews from family. Will definitely be making again.
Hi Kristen! I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for trying it out, and I really appreciate all the input! It’s always helpful for others making the recipe too! 🙂 xT
Easy and delicious. Orzo cooked perfectly!
Hey there,
Happy Monday!! Thanks a bunch for your comment and making this recipe, love to hear it was a hit!☀️
Awesome recipe! My fiancé approved & even went back for seconds. Whoever commented that it needed to bake for longer was wrong. I followed the recipe to a t & everything came out perfect! Next time I may add chicken or turkey!
Hey Alex,
Happy Monday! Love to hear this dish turned out nicely for you, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xx
I think the recipe worked really well and is incredibly simple. I did cover the dish with foil for the first cook after the orzo was added; I think it helps with absorption. Cooked without foil after the cheese is added, and it came out perfectly. Still eating the leftovers 🙂
Hi Mirest,
Thank you so much! I am thrilled to hear this recipe turned out nicely for you! Thanks for giving it a try!
Is this recipe published in one of your cookbooks? It was so good!
Hey Liz,
Thank you so much! I am thrilled to hear this recipe turned out nicely for you! Thanks for giving it a try! Sorry, this recipe is only on the blog. xx
Yesterday I lavished praise all over this site and it’s recipes, today I’m gonna pull the reins a bit. This dish underwhelmed. It looks decent, but 1) it takes a lot longer than it states in the recipe (add AT LEAST another 15-20 minutes unless you like orzo soup) and despite the crazy amount of basil in the dish, the predominant flavor was tomato, since when you got tomato, it was basically an entire cherry tomato that bursted in your mouth. I’m 100% going to try other recipes, but I didn’t like this one NEARLY as much as I thought I would. Also, it absolutely needs a protein. After my initial tasting, I added some pepperoni, and that helped A LITTLE…
Hi Matt,
Thanks for trying this dish and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear you didn’t love it! Let me know what you try next:) xx