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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 with dry orzo pasta, basil pesto, then finished with melty mozzarella cheese. This incredible dish is all made in one pan 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.
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, 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.
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!
My family loved this! Super easy and great the next day for lunch! Thank you for this and for all your recipes! I don’t know what I’d do without your website!
Hey Leanne,
Thanks for your feedback! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for trying it out! xTieghan
This was such a hit at our house! And sooo easy; perfect to make in the late afternoon, then all the kids could dish some up before their evening activites. My picky MIL also loved it! Seems pretty versatile, too; you could use different veggies depending on what you have on hand. This will definitely be put in the rotation, thank you!
Hey Susanne,
Thanks for your feedback! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for trying it out! xTieghan
Omg! This was delicious! Huge hit with the whole family! The second time I made it, I made some adjustments. I added broccoli, asparagus at the beginning with the tomatoes and then added small pieces of chorizo sausage – another time small slices of salami — and that little bite of salt was excellent! Thanks for sharing!
Hey Mira,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Have the best week:) xxT
What do you think about using vegetable broth instead of water? I’m going to make this recipe on Sunday.
Hey Suzie,
Vegetable broth would be great to use! Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
I made it with the Pacific brand vegetable broth. It was delicious! I ended up adding about an extra cup of the broth. My cherry tomatoes were very large so I cut them in half part of roasting. I also added fresh Parmesan cheese on top of the dish and completed with Fresh basil. Everyone loved it!
Hey Suzie,
Thanks for your feedback! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for trying it out! xTieghan
Love this recipe! Great flavor. It’s so easy and the ingredients aren’t too hard to find or expensive. I add more chili flakes for an extra kick. I’ve made it twice already. Yum!
Hey Julia,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try and sharing your feedback! I love to hear that it was a hit! xTieghan
So tasty! I followed the recipe to a T and it was perfection!
Hi Annie,
Wonderful!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed!! ?xxT
This recipe is DELICIOUS and so simple to make. The flavors just POP! I tripled the tomatoes because we just love them so much and added julienned spinach.
Taking this to a family tonight with great confidence that it will be a hit! (And of course making it for our family as well. By the way, making two pans is a brilliant idea because it’s perfect for left overs and even cold or in a kiddos lunch box!)
Hi SaraAnne,
Awesome!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! Thanks for your kind message:) xx
For us Canadians , can you advise how many cups of orzo ?. The internet told me 1 pound is equal to 4 cups – against my gut feeling that was too much orzo I used that amount and the orzo did not fully cook . Boo 🙁
Hi Mel,
Sorry about that, our orzo comes in a 1 pound box which is about 2 cups. I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan
Any suggestions for protein recipe to pair with?
Hi Bethany,
You could add cooked sausage or chicken to the dish, either of those would work well for you! Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
I made this and added shrimp. Deliciousness!
Hey Kerri,
Happy Friday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xT
So good. Had this a few times now. Fast ecoming a go-to tea!!
Hey Gill,
Awesome!! I am so glad that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for your comment and sharing your feedback! xxT
Excellent.. full of flavor.. a little heat.. thanks for sharing
Hi Laura,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a go! xxT
I can’t seem to find orzo where I live, is there a different pasta I could use instead? Can’t wait to try it!
Hi Anne,
You can use any other short cut noodle, elbows would be great! Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope it turns out amazing! xx
This was absolutely delicious! I’ve been wanting to make this for a bit, and I did tonight! I cooked everything a little longer than the times in the recipe, but it came out very well! A word of caution: even though it is tempting, don’t eat the tomatoes whole right after you pull this out of the oven. Make sure to cut them in half – they are hot!
Hey Amy,
Fantastic!! Thanks so much for trying this recipe, I am thrilled to hear that it was enjoyed! xxT
Another Pasta dish full of flavor!!! And easy it is!!! Roasting the ingredients sure brings on the flavor ? A very filling dish I must add!
Hey Andrew,
Thanks so much for your feedback! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for making it! xTieghan
Made this with dinner last night and cannot adequately state how ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS it is!!! Sooo super easy to make and truly bursting with flavor. I warmed some up for lunch just now and it was just as amazing the second time around. Those tomatoes and peperoncinis are just so, good with the melty cheese and fresh basil. Yum, highly recommend!
Hey Megan,
Thanks so much for your feedback! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for making it! xTieghan
I made this today. It was YUMMY. I only cook for 2 so, I halved the recipe. Next time, I will half the recipe, but not the tomatoes. For some reason, I had to cook my pasta about 12 minutes longer than the recipe said. My orzo would not get done. Will make again.
Hi Alisa,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it!! Have a great week:) xxT