Orzo Meatball Bake

Hello to your new favorite easy weeknight meal. I love a pasta bake, but I think the best pasta bake is one where you don’t have to boil the pasta before baking it! In this orzo meatball bake, we are using orzo pasta, which cooks quickly. We are also adding extra liquid to the pan for the pasta to cook. It may look a little soupy going into the oven but trust me! It will come out absolutely perfect. We are going to form some perfect little meatballs and bake them for a bit first to give them a crispy exterior and ensure they hold their form once the pasta is added. Then, we’re going to add the pasta and all the sauce ingredients and give a quick stir before baking! Some mozzarella cheese melted on top finishes off the dinner. Serve with a salad to round it out, and dinner is served.

Ingredients for Orzo Meatball Bake

• Ground beef and ground pork. These meatballs are pretty flexible. You can use all ground beef or ground turkey instead of ground pork.
• Parmesan cheese. I love adding a little cheese to my Italian-style meatballs for flavor and moisture!
• Salt. Of course, necessary in both the meatballs and the sauce.
• Egg. Not all meatballs use an egg, but I like to use it as a binder.
• Italian Seasoning. We are using this seasoning in both the meatballs and the sauce.
• Garlic Powder. We are keeping things as easy as possible here and using garlic powder instead of taking the time to mince garlic.
• Onion Powder. Same as above! Keeping it easy.
• Breadcrumbs. I use Italian seasoned breadcrumbs in these meatballs.
• Orzo pasta. Pick your favorite brand! I used Dellalo foods orzo today.
• Canned diced tomatoes
• Your favorite pasta sauce + more for serving if desired. The pasta soaks up a lot of the liquid so if you’d like your pasta extra saucy, have some extra sauce for serving!
• Mozzarella cheese

How to Make Your Orzo Meatball Bake

• First, preheat your oven and make your meatballs. Combine your ground meats, parmesan cheese, salt, egg, seasonings, and breadcrumbs in a bowl. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and form your mixture into meatballs. Bake for 15 minutes to allow the meatballs to get a little crispy on the outside.
• After the meatballs have had some time to cook, pour your pasta, water, pasta sauce, diced tomatoes, and seasonings over the meatballs. Stir gently to combine, ensuring that the pasta is all submerged in liquid to allow it to properly cook. Bake for another 20  minutes until the liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and bake for another 5-10 minutes until the cheese is melted.
• If serving with extra pasta sauce, heat some up in a saucepan and serve on the side to drizzle extra over the pasta.
• Serve your pasta with a side salad and enjoy!

I absolutely love this dinner for an easy weeknight option. It’s so easy to make, has an easy cleanup, and who doesn’t love pasta? If you happen to have any leftovers, those are going to be delicious too! We are in a season where I just can’t spend a lot of time cooking dinner. In the window of time I have between my kids getting home from school and dinnertime, I’d rather be spending time with them or preparing a dinner that’s so easy they can help me too. I try to get my kids in the kitchen whenever possible. And this is the perfect recipe to make that happen! I hope you like this orzo meatball bake as a family-friendly recipe as much as we do.