One-Pot Creamy Tuscan Orzo

Everybody’s making One-Pot Orzo these days because it’s super easy and requires very little cleanup.  This particular recipe is really a winner and easily adaptable to camping.  In fact, the first time we tried it was at a campsite on top of a mountain outside of Crested Butte, Colorado. This One-Pot Creamy Tuscan Orzo was an immediate hit, and clearly earned a place both in our regular rotation and as a vacation meal (think ski condo, camping, and your favorite Airbnb).  

Orzo is a pasta that looks like rice, but it tastes like pasta and cooks quickly.  The idea behind one-pot orzo is that the cooking liquid completely absorbs so you don’t need to drain the pasta, and the liquid makes a sauce so the whole meal cooks together.  It’s quick to make with minimal cleanup.

The original recipe calls for cream or milk, but to convert this to a camp meal I substituted canned condensed milk (no refrigeration required).  It also calls for sun dried tomatoes, which are sold in a small jar or can near the canned diced tomatoes in my grocery store.  You could certainly opt for regular canned tomatoes or fresh cherry tomatoes that have been cut in half.  But the sun-dried tomatoes add a deeper and more intense flavor.

The ratio of orzo to liquid is 1:3, or 1 cup of orzo to 3 cups of liquid.  1 cup of orzo serves 2-3 people, so you’ll likely want to double this recipe to serve a family.  Or do like we did with small camping pots and make one batch per pot.  Only the ratio of orzo to liquid is important, and it’s not all that precise either.  The rest of the measurements can be approximated and improvised so you don’t need measuring cups or measuring spoons.  And although the recipe calls for toasting the orzo before you add the liquid, you can add the ingredients in whatever order works for you, it will still taste great.  So you can use the empty chicken broth can to measure out the orzo, with one-half can approximately equal to one cup of orzo. 

What if you want to cook the whole box of orzo?  Well, there are about 2.5 cups of orzo to a 1 lb. box, so that means about 7.5 cups of liquid.  I used 3 cans of chicken broth plus a generous 1.5 cups of milk.  This should make 6-8 servings, so I used 8 sausages and the whole jar of sun-dried tomatoes.  You can figure out how to scale up the rest yourself (double everything plus a little more).

But wait – there’s too many ingredients you say.  Then leave some out, that’s your choice.  But is it really too much work to squirt in some Dijon mustard and a shake of Italian seasoning?  

One-Pot Creamy Tuscan Orzo

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Servings: 2 people

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• Sliced cooked Italian sausage 2-4 sausages
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice optional
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard optional
• 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth 15 oz can is close enough
• 1 cup cream or milk
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 3 oz. fresh baby spinach or more to taste
• Salt & pepper to taste

Method

 

1. Add the sausage, oil and onion to a pot over medium-high heat. Sauté the sausage and onion for 3-4 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and orzo. Cook for 2-3 minutes to soften the garlic and toast the orzo.
3. Add the Italian seasoning, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon juice and Dijon mustard.
4. Add the chicken broth and cream or milk. Bring to a gentle boil. Continue cooking for about 10 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the pasta is cooked.
5. Stir in the parmesan and spinach. Season with salt & pepper as needed.