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The Easiest One Pan Spinach and Artichoke Orzo Bake. Trust me, this is going to become your new go-to for busy nights. Marinated artichokes with fresh spinach, garlic, and olive oil, all tossed together with dry orzo pasta, basil pesto, and then finished with melty fontina cheese. This tasty dish is all made in one pan without even having to boil any water. Simply mix, bake, eat, and enjoy!
Happy Monday! I’m writing this from sunny, warm Miami. Here for a very quick trip but soaking up as much of the warm weather as I can. But by the time you read this, I’ll be home.
I made this yummy bake last week and have been so excited to share it ever since. It’s so good and I think you’ll all love how easy it is to make!
If you remember from last year, I made a Caprese Orzo Bake that I quickly started to make on repeat throughout the spring and summer.
It’s such a smart cooking method that saves us all so much time. And because of that, we especially love this recipe.
I took inspiration from that recipe and applied the cooking method to this orzo bake. I just love the variety of flavors! Plus, it means that there is truly no effort to this one pan pasta dish.
Here are the details
This recipe is so simple it’s going to shock you!
Start with your baking dish. Use a casserole-style pan that can fit lots of pasta and cheese.
To the bottom of the pan, add in the olive oil, garlic, herbs, and spices. I used a few Italian chilies for some heat, and a small amount of paprika too.
Add dry orzo pasta right to the pan, no need to boil it!
Now, mix in the artichokes. It’s best to use jarred marinated artichoke hearts. They’ll come with a mix of oil and spices. I use the DeLallo brand.
Dump the oil and artichokes directly into the pan with the orzo for an even more delicious flavor.
Next mix in basil pesto and a pinch of chili flakes. Or try using the Calabrian chili paste I’ve been loving.
From here simply add water and bake it all up in the oven. As everything bakes together, the orzo will soak up the water and become perfectly cooked. It’s such a simple way to cook orzo pasta!
Pull the dish out, add a mix of mozzarella and provolone cheese, then bake again until the cheese is all melty and bubbling up.
It’s going to smell so delicious!! The pesto really is such a nice addition to the spinach and artichokes.
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! Especially as we head into the nice springtime weather!
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 Spinach and Artichoke 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!
One Pan Spinach and Artichoke Orzo Bake
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 543 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika or smoked paprika
- 1-2 tablespoons crushed Calabrian chili paste, or chili flakes, to taste
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 pound dry orzo pasta
- 1 jar (12 ounces) marinated artichokes, quartered (or use 2 smaller jars)
- 1/2 cup basil pesto
- 3 cups baby spinach, chopped
- 3/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3/4 cup shredded fontina cheese
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.2. In a 9×13 inch baking dish, combine the olive oil, garlic, shallots, basil, paprika, chili flakes, salt, and pepper. Add the dry orzo, artichokes, and pesto. Pour over 2 1/4 cups of water and stir to combine. Place the spinach on top. 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 the cheeses overtop. Bake another 10 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the sauce is bubbling. If there's a lot of oil from the pesto on top, drain off the excess. Top with fresh basil!
This was really good but would make a few adjustments next time. I felt like there might be too much oil so I only added 1tbsp of EVOO – if I did it again I’d probably omit the extra oil all together and/or drain the artichokes. Maybe it depends on how oily your pesto is but mine was a very oily at the end – tasty but just a bit too intense. I would also add an extra 1/3 of cup of water to make the orzo a bit more tender. I added chopped cherry tomatoes and that was great – they helped balance the oil as well. Love the simplicity and adaptability of the recipe.
Hey Mimi,
Happy Friday!!☀️🐰 Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, love to hear that it was delish! xT
Super easy and so yummy. Made as is the first night. Added chicken to it the next night. Good both times.
Hi Andra,
Happy Friday!!☀️🐰 Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, love to hear that it was delish! xT
Very tasty! Unfortunately it took about an additional 1/2 cup of water and almost 20 extra minutes for the orzo to fully cook. Not sure if anyone else had this experience.
Hey Brittney,
So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Sorry to hear you had to add some extra water and bake time! Could just be the difference in ovens:) xx
This is so delicious! I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out great. Quality mozzarella and fontina cheeses and fresh basil make all the difference. Yum!
Hey Anne,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad to hear it was a winner! xT
My stores are sold out of orzo, could you swap in another kind of pasta for this?
Hey Steph,
Sure, any other mini pasta would work well for you like stars! I hope you love this recipe, let me know if you give it a try! xx
I used chicken bone broth in place of the water, dried basil in place of fresh, Gouda instead of fontina cheese, and omitted the shallot but otherwise followed the recipe… it turned out delicious! There was some excess liquid but that wasn’t really an issue. The flavor was unlike what we’re used to eating, but it was super flavorful and so tasty! I think I’ll use homemade pesto next time tho.
Hi KariLynn,
Fantastic!!🐣 Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT
This turned out alright, but the 2 and 1/4c water didn’t seem like nearly enough. I added more water while baking and the orzo was still gummy. After baking I re-read the recipe to make sure I didn’t miss anything, and I didn’t… until I noticed in the blog post above the recipe you say to add the artichokes WITH their liquid. That wasn’t stated in the recipe, so I drained them- which is why there wasn’t enough liquid to cook the orzo! You might want to update this so other people don’t make the same mistake. The flavor is very nice, but the pasta didn’t cook right.
Hi there,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback! Sorry to hear you drained the artichokes, if I wanted them to be drained, I would have wrote that with the recipe:) Let me know if you give this another try! xx
This was such a quick and easy meal with great flavor!
Hey Jory,
Happy Monday!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for trying it out! xx
While it definitely needed some adjustments with the water while cooking to ensure the orzo was done, it had really great flavor. The issue for me was that it there were a lot of leftovers and it did not reheat well. I think next time, I will halve the recipe and serve as a one time side dish vs a main meal that produces leftovers.
Hi Coco,
Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your feedback, sorry it wasn’t your fave! xx
I made this recipe for supper this evening and it turned out great! I did use chicken broth instead of water. I was worried the orzo wouldn’t cook through but thankfully most of it did. Some bits that were on the edges of the dish were still crunchy though, so I’d recommend making sure all the little orzo bits are covered.
I also used some of the leftover pesto to coat some chicken breasts and baked them to serve with the orzo – turned out great!
Great idea!!
Hey Emily,
Happy Friday!! So glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for making it and sharing your comment! xx
Could I make this ahead and heat it up? Like a couple of hours before company arrives.
Hi Katy,
I would just make up until the point of baking and then bake when you are ready to serve:) I hope you love this recipe! xx
Made today to share with neighbors. Turned out fantastic! I added some rotisserie chicken when stirring the pasta for the last 10 min of baking. Thanks for the great recipe!
Hey Melissa,
Fantastic!!🌻 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for trying it out! xT
Making this for dinner tonight! I’m a fan of your other orzo bake with squash and looking forward to trying this one. I tend to add extra veggies to about everything I make – would I ruin this if I doubled the spinach? Wondering if that would make it too liquid-y. Thank you!!
Hi Sarah,
I think that would be just fine for you to do! Let me know how this recipe turns out, I hope you love it! xx
Hi! You mention a squeeze of lemon juice in your video, but it wasn’t on the ingredient list. I regretted not picking this up at the store as I was making the dish because I think it would have definitely brightened it a bit!
Thanks so much for trying the recipe Kathryn!! So sorry about the lemon, let me know if you give this another try with the lemon! xx
This dish is delicious but it took 25 minutes for the orzo to cook al dente and the water was completely absorbed, so the result was a bit dry. two thoughts: do you cover the pan in the initial bake? That would bring the temperature up more quickly and seal in some of the moisture. Also, I didn’t mix in the spinach because the recipe says to place it on top, but had I mixed it in it would have probably created more liquid…do you mix it in from the beginning? When you have a chance, could you please clarify? Thanks!
Hi Melinda,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try!! So I do not cover the dish while baking, I layer on the spinach at the end of step 2, then I stir around in step 3 after the dish has baked for 12-15 minutes. Just exactly as the directions state:) You could also watch video above for clarification! I hope this helps!! xx