Creamy Tomato Baked Orzo

This Creamy Tomato Baked Orzo might just be magic. Dump everything into a 9×13, stir, bake, dig in! Creamy orzo, sun-dried tomatoes, and frozen meatballs turn this into serious comfort food!

This recipe is part of our Weeknight Rescue series, where we share easy, comfort food favorites that are ready in about 30 minutes with minimal prep and no stress! Don’t miss a Weeknight Rescue recipe – join here.

Minimal prep, minimal clean up, major comfort food vibes

The only thing I want after a crazy day is something easy for dinner. But also I want it to taste like some effort went into it.

I want a home cooked meal. But I don’t want to cook it.

I want comfort food. But I want to sit on the couch while it happens.

I know you can relate and that’s why I also know you’re going to go bonkers for this Creamy Baked Orzo situation.

Pretty sure this one is magic, as you literally just open ingredients and dump them into a 9×13, give it a rough stir, and pop it in the oven. It’s a one dish dinner in the truest sense.

The most magical part about this is the orzo – it bakes up so tender and creamy, thanks to the tomato soup that it cooks in. The pasta soaks up the flavors of the soup, becoming these chewy glossy little bits of goodness.

There are frozen meatballs in here to keep things easy but you could easily throw in our homemade turkey meatballs or some shredded rotisserie chicken instead.

This is creamy comfort food without any of the work, and I just know it’s going to save your weeknight sanity!

3 Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe:

• It’s ridiculously simple. Dump everything in a baking dish, stir, and let the oven work its magic. The frozen meatballs mean no browning, no rolling, no extra dishes – just pure weeknight genius.
• Major comfort food vibes. Creamy, tomatoey, cheesy goodness with tender orzo and hearty meatballs. This hits every single comfort food note without any of the usual weeknight stress.
• One dish, minimal cleanup. Everything cooks together in your 9×13 pan. You don’t even have to get out a cutting board if you don’t want to.

Ingredient Notes, Swaps, & Tips:

Orzo Pasta – This rice shaped pasta is one of our favorites! It really soaks up the broth and soup to get creamy, tender, and so flavorful.

Tomato Soup – We love using ready-to-serve tomato soup (the kind in cartons or cans that don’t need liquid added to them), but leftover homemade tomato soup works great too. Roasted red pepper tomato soup adds extra veggie power if you’ve got it.

Meatball options: Any frozen meatballs work here – homestyle, turkey, even plant-based if that’s your thing. If you’ve got leftover homemade meatballs, use those instead.

Veggie swaps: Spinach is our go-to, but small broccoli florets (about 2 cups) work beautifully too. Fresh or frozen both work fine.

Sun-Dried Tomatoes – These are packed in oil which you’ll need to drain, and then mince them if they aren’t already. Swap for halved cherry tomatoes if that’s what you have on hand.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Step by Step:

While your oven preheats add the orzo, chicken broth, tomato soup, meatballs, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and spinach to a prepared baking dish and stir to combine.

Place the dish in the oven and bake uncovered for 25 minutes. It will still be a bit liquid-y and that’s okay.

Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top and add small chunks of butter to the dish. Stir it all together and bake for 7-10 minutes more or until the liquid has absorbed and the orzo pasta is tender.

Remove the baking dish from the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes before dishing it up.

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