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This one pot ground beef orzo recipe comes together in just 30 minutes and is a creamy, comforting, and delicious meal for busy weeknights!
Try my Italian Sausage Orzo, Lemon Chicken Orzo, and this Creamy Garlic Spinach Orzo next.
Why you’ll love it
A quick, cozy, and hearty meal that the kids will eat too, and it’s made all in one pot!? Yes please. Since I know you guys are very fond of ground beef, it was a natural fit to pair it with orzo and a homemade creamy tomato sauce. You can’t really go wrong with beef and pasta.
This orzo with ground beef recipe is sort of like a quick risotto, to give you an idea of the texture. Of course, orzo is pasta and not rice, but I find it so much easier to make than risotto after a long workday when you don’t have the energy to put in a ton of effort!
What you’ll need
- Ground beef – I prefer at least 90% lean
- Onion and garlic – for a tasty aromatic base. Sweet (Vidalia) onion is my go-to.
- Red pepper flakes – it’s optional, but they add a mellow, gentle heat without being spicy
- Italian seasoning – it comes in a single jar and has a blend of dried herbs
- Orzo – it’s a small oval-shaped pasta that you’ll find in the pasta aisle
- Canned tomato sauce – the foundation for the tasty tomato sauce. For my U.K. and Australian readers, it’s similar to passata.
- Beef broth – it adds a deep, rich layer to the sauce
- Cream – heavy cream gives this sauce a luxurious creamy touch
- Worcestershire sauce – gives savory, umami flavor. Don’t skip it!
- Parmesan cheese – to top it all off
- Spinach – for some contrast and freshness
Pro tip
As with any one pot pasta recipe, I recommend keeping an eye on it since stoves/cookware/etc. vary. If it seems like the liquid is getting too low and the orzo isn’t cooked yet, you may want to turn the heat down and/or add a splash more liquid. If the cooking time has elapsed and there’s a lot of liquid, I recommend taking it off the stove, covering the pot, and letting it sit for a few minutes (the orzo absorbs liquid quite quickly).
How to make ground beef orzo
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Add the ground beef to a soup pot and let it brown, undisturbed, for a few minutes. Stir in the onions, breaking up the beef with a spoon, and cook for a few more minutes. Stir in the garlic, crushed red pepper, Italian seasoning, and orzo. Cook for another minute.
Pour in the tomato sauce, broth, cream, and Worcestershire sauce. Letting it gently bubble, cook until the sauce reduces and the pasta is cooked through, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, and stir in the parm and spinach. Cover for a few minutes to thicken, then season with salt & pepper.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- Use a classic wooden spoon to stir this orzo and a garlic press to mince the garlic with ease.
- Grating your own parmesan cheese is a game changer. It tastes and melts much better than the pre-grated kind. I use my handy Microplane to grate it.
- This is the Dutch oven I use.
Substitutions and variations
- There’s a chance that replacing the cream with something lower fat will lead to curdling due to the acidity of the tomatoes and the heat the dish is cooked at, so be aware of that if you make a substitution. It’ll also be less rich, so I don’t recommend it.
- I have not tested this recipe with rice. If you want to attempt it, you may need to adjust cooking time and liquid measurements.
- You can leave out the red pepper flakes if that’s not your thing (or increase them if you’re a fan).
What to serve with ground beef orzo
- It’s fairly rich, so I recommend enjoying with a side salad. Try mixed greens with my Creamy Balsamic Dressing or Honey Mustard Dressing.
- A side of Garlic Bread is a classic choice as well.
- Any basic veggie side dish would work too! Try steamed vegetables, Easy Roasted Cauliflower, or my Easy Stovetop Asparagus.
Leftovers and storage
- They will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container. Keep in mind that as time goes on, the orzo will soak up more liquid. You could revive it with a splash of cream when warming it up.
- Reheat over a low heat in a saucepan, or try microwaving in smaller increments.
- I wouldn’t recommend freezing leftovers since the texture will get soft and weird.
More ground beef recipes
If you made this ground beef orzo recipe, talk to me in the comments below! Please leave a star rating and review. You can also tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram.
Ground Beef Orzo with Tomato Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
- 1 (14 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 3/4 cup beef broth
- 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 2 cups (packed) fresh baby spinach
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the ground beef to a soup pot/Dutch oven and break it up a little bit with your spoon. Let it cook, without stirring, over medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes.
- Add the onion to the pot and stir/break the beef up into small pieces. Let it cook for another 5 minutes or so. If there's a lot of excess fat (like if you didn't use lean beef), spoon some of it out. Otherwise, leave it in the pot.
- Stir in the garlic, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, and orzo. Cook for about a minute.
- Stir in the tomato sauce, beef broth, cream, and Worcestershire sauce. Once it starts to bubble, continue cooking for 10 minutes, uncovered, stirring fairly often (so the orzo doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot). You will likely need to turn the heat down a bit (to medium or even medium-low). It should gently bubble vs. boil (you don't want the liquid to reduce too much before the pasta has cooked).
- Take the pot off the heat, stir in the parmesan and spinach, and cover the pot for about 3-5 minutes or until it has thickened up to your liking. Season with salt & pepper as needed and serve immediately. See more troubleshooting tips in the blog post and notes below.
Notes
- Serves 4-6 depending on portion size/what else it’s served with.
- Tomato sauce in North America is similar to passata in the U.K./Australia/etc.
- As with any one pot pasta dish, the liquid quantities work as tested in my kitchen, but pots/stoves/temperatures can vary, so if you feel like it needs more liquid, add another splash of cream or broth. If it seems too liquidy, let it sit for a bit longer, and it’ll soak any excess liquid up within a few minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Super easy & delicious! Great comfort food!
Thank you, Deb!!
This was soooo good! I loved it. Definitely adding it into the rotation.
Fantastic! 😀
Amazing! I doubled the spinach!!
Thrilled you enjoyed it, Kirstin!
We loved this recipe so much! I altered it a little- we used ground turkey because that’s what we had on hand and we’re dairy free, so I used that fat from canned coconut milk instead of the heavy cream. It worked really well! My husband said it wasn’t expecting to like it, but now he wants it on the dinner rotation, lol. Thank you for a great recipe!
Well that’s so nice to hear, Kylie!!
I’ve made this recipe twice and followed the directions exactly. Both times my orzo was still hard as a rock!!! What am I doing wrong!?
Hi Ali! Hmmmm. There are some troubleshooting tips in the post – did you try those? Like let it cook for a little longer, add more liquid if it cooked off etc.? Orzo should only take about 12 minutes or so to cook, so I am not sure. Are you absolutely sure you’re using orzo pasta and not arborio rice or something else? They’re easy to mix up so I figured I’d ask in case that solves the mystery haha.
This was 10/10 AMAZING! Everyone loved it, and it was so easy to make. I’m going to keep this in the dinner rotation for sure.
I’m thrilled to hear that, Lexi! 😀 Thanks for your review!
We loved this recipe!!! The only thing I did differently is add some additional spices (oregano, extra Italian spice, paprika and a tiny bit of chili powder) otherwise made it as is, it was so delicious!!! Thanks for the great recipe!!!
You are very welcome, Shanda! 😀
1 month postpartum and was looking for something easy and quick – this was so simple to make, and so delicious!! Will be adding this to the rotation
I’m thrilled you enjoyed it, Kerry! Congrats on your new arrival, and thanks for your review! 🙂
can I use Risotto instead of orzo?
Hi! Do you mean arborio rice? It’ll take longer to cook and the liquid measurements will likely need to be increased. I really can’t guess how to alter the recipe without testing since rice is quite different from pasta. You could experiment by keeping an eye on it and adding more broth as it’s absorbed until it’s cooked, though.
Just made doubled the recipe
It was DELICIOUS. Huge hit with the whole family.
I’m thrilled to hear that!! 😀