This One Pot Cheesy Taco Orzo is super cheesy and delicious! One pot of quick and feel-good comfort food, ready in just 30 minutes. This Cheesy Taco Orzo is topped with lots of cheese, and your favorite taco toppings. Enjoy a big bowl of cheesy gooey goodness!
One Pot Cheesy Taco Orzo
At the very least, I think you should bookmark this recipe for a busy weeknight or when you’re in a pinch because you couldn’t get off any easier with making dinner. Another thing I love about this dish is how pretty and colorful it is, because as you all know we first eat with our eyes, and I’m all about colorful and pretty dishes. One last thing to mention here is the more cheese the better, although I only list one cup of shredded cheese in the ingredients list, go big or go home.
The thing is, I really dig this dish (do people still say dig?) because I’m a sucker for anything cheesy, especially cheesy pasta. And I even like to fool myself into thinking this dish is healthy because I did add some veggies to it, like the bell pepper and all those toppings like the tomatoes, green onions and olives.
One Pot Cheesy Taco Orzo Highlights
- One Pot 30 Minute Meal. As we know, I wrote the book on one pot 30 minute meals so I’m all about easy meals that require little to no cleanup and are done in no time.
- Perfect Easy Weeknight Meal. If you’re looking for an easy dinner that the whole family will love, look no further.
- Customizable. You can add your favorite veggies to this dish, like broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms, you name it. Want to change up the beef? Feel free to use chicken, whether it’s ground or cut up pieces of chicken breast or thighs. Make this recipe your own with your favorite ingredients.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Ground Beef – I like to use extra lean ground beef for less fat, but if you just have regular ground beef, just make sure you drain the fat first before adding the rest of the ingredients.
- Orzo – We want this small shaped pasta for our dish, but you could also substitute it with couscous. I love orzo though because it’s so similar to rice but cooks much faster and tastes delicious.
- Aromatics – Yellow or white onion, and garlic to create a strong and flavourful base for our orzo skillet.
- Broth – I always aim for a low sodium chicken broth to cook our orzo in.
- Hot sauce – Feel free to use whatever brand you’d like, I prefer sriracha or garlic chili sauce for a bit of heat to my orzo.
- Cheese – Mozzarella and cheddar shredded up fresh. Any melty cheese will do! For best results, I always recommend shredding your own cheese rather than using pre-shredded.
- Veggies – I love bell peppers in this dish, but feel free to use other veggies, such as broccoli, mushrooms, or whatever you have in your fridge.
- Taco sauce – We want to incorporate some taco sauce into our dish. This sauce is one of my favorites and if you can find it, I recommend buying loads of it. However, feel free to replace this with regular taco sauce or enchilada sauce.
- Toppings – This is where you can go nuts and top this with your favorite toppings such as tomatoes, green onions, olives, etc.
How To Make Cheesy Taco Orzo In One Pot
- Saute the meat and veggies: Add the ground beef to a large skillet and brown it over medium-high heat until it’s no longer pink, breaking it up as you go along. Add the chopped onion and garlic to the skillet and let it cook for about a minute, then add the chopped bell pepper. Stir everything together and cook for about 3 minutes until the onion is translucent and the pepper is tender.
- Incorporate the orzo: Add the dry orzo to the skillet and turn the heat down to medium low. Stir in the taco skillet sauce and the chicken broth, season with salt and pepper then add the hot sauce. Cook for about 10 to 12 minutes or until all of the liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally.
- Finish the dish: Stir in the cheese and remove from heat. Top with tomatoes, olives, green onions and fresh cilantro before serving.
What Is Orzo?
Orzo is a small cut pasta that tastes heavenly in big entrees just like the one I’m writing out for you all today. It packs some good protein and pairs well with a good variety of veggies, I’ll be sure to give you some good recommendations below. This dish is absolutely divine and I can’t wait to show it to you all today!
What Else Can I Add To My Cheesy Taco Orzo?
Another great thing about this recipe, besides it being, quick, one pot and delicious, is the fact that it’s quite versatile. Although I give you a basic recipe here, feel free to add what you’d like to bulk it up a bit! For veggies, try some spinach, broccoli, asparagus, peas or mushrooms. As far as meat goes, change up the beef with chicken, bacon or pancetta.
Can I Replace The Orzo With Something Else?
You don’t just have just use orzo, you can use some other starches if you’d like! I’m just obsessed with orzo lately, because you know what, it only takes about 6 minutes to cook! However, here are some other options you have:
- Rice, long grain like Basmati to prevent stickiness
- Couscous
- Any small small shaped pasta
Expert Tips
- For an even faster dinner, meal prep in advance. Get your veggies ready and store them in the fridge until you’re ready to cook.
- If you can’t find the taco skillet sauce I used, you can use any regular store bought taco sauce or even enchilada sauce.
- Add more veggies as you wish. Some great veggies would be broccoli, mushrooms or asparagus.
Leftovers
If you have any leftovers, this cheesy taco orzo makes for a perfect weekday lunch. Dig into this easy orzo dish anytime throughout the week. You can store any leftover cheesy taco orzo in an airtight container for 3 to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave until warmed through.
Freezer
You can also freeze this in an airtight container in the freezer for 1 to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight then simply reheat in the microwave until warmed through.
More Delicious Orzo Recipes To Try
- One Pot Spicy Pork Ragu with Orzo
- Mediterranean Orzo Salad
- Lemon Orzo with Asparagus
- One Pot Greek Chicken Orzo
- Creamy Parmesan Orzo with Chicken and Asparagus
More Must Try 30 Minute One Pot Meals
- One Pot Hamburger Helper Lasagna
- Creamy Tortellini Soup
- Chicken Marsala
- Chicken Penne Arrabbiata
- Cheesy Gnocchi Bake
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One Pot Cheesy Taco Orzo
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 2 cups orzo uncooked
- 2 cups taco skillet sauce
- 2½ cups chicken broth low sodium
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon pepper or to taste
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce such as Sriracha
- 1 cup cheese shredded, I used a blend of Mozzarella and Cheddar
Toppings (optional)
- tomatoes chopped
- olives chopped
- green onions chopped
- fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Saute the meat and veggies: Add the ground beef to a large skillet and brown it over medium-high heat until it's no longer pink, breaking it up as you go along. Add the chopped onion and garlic to the skillet and let it cook for about a minute, then add the chopped bell pepper. Stir everything together and cook for about 3 minutes until the onion is translucent and the pepper is tender.
- Incorporate the orzo: Add the dry orzo to the skillet and turn the heat down to medium low. Stir in the taco skillet sauce and the chicken broth, season with salt and pepper then add the hot sauce. Cook for about 10 to 12 minutes or until all of the liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally.
- Finish the dish: Stir in the cheese and remove from heat. Alternatively you can top it with cheese, and cover the skillet with a lid until the cheese melts. Top with tomatoes, olives, green onions and fresh cilantro before serving.
Video
Recipe Notes
- If you cannot find taco skillet sauce, regular taco sauce or enchilada sauce can be used.
- You can use ground turkey or chicken instead of beef.
- If you can’t find orzo, small pastas such as shells or farfalle will work as well.
- If you use rice as a substitute, make sure to adjust the amount of chicken broth to suit the cooking instructions for the rice you’re using.
- Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container in for 3 to 5 days.
- Freeze in an airtight container for 1 to 2 months.
Easy and tasty casserole. I substituted salsa for the taco sauce, which I couldn’t find anywhere. My husband asked that I make this weekly, he enjoyed it that much. Thanks Jo for another delicious dish. I love your one pot meals.
Thanks, Diane! Glad you guys enjoyed it!
I really loved this recipe. It was easy to prep and easy to cook. Honestly, the most difficult part was finding the skillet taco sauce, which I located at Walmart. To the seasoning, I added a 1/4 tsp of garlic powder, 1/4 tsp chili powder, and 1/4 tsp smoked paprika to punch up the flavor.
The flavor was so good we enjoyed this meal. We topped it with avocado.
Excellent flavors and easy!! I used the taco sauce recipe another reader shared from Allrecipes and it was wonderful and easy! Will definitely have this in the rotation!! Thank you!
I made tons of changes, and didn’t feel like it would be right to rate it less than a 5. The basis of this recipe is amazing and easily customizable.
I used beef broth, frozen corn, and tons of seasoning.
Absolutely phenomenal and I had all the ingredients on hand.
Can the leftover be frozen. There are only two of us, and this makes a lot.
Thanks
You can! The only issue is that the texture of the orzo will by much softer after thawing, if you don’t mind.
Sonya, I used a recipe that I found online for Homemade Taco Sauce. You are correct about the tomato sauce and the spices. It was excellent in Jo’s One Pot Cheesy Taco Orzo. Here’s the link: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/240291/homemade-taco-sauce/
Made this for dinner last night. Also made the taco sauce to go in it. This recipe went together in no time and was very good. I love the taco sauce recipe. Much better than the store bought sauce and much more affordable. Since it is just me and my husband, I made half a recipe. Served with a dollop of sour cream, lettuce and tomato.
I love this recipe and have made it several times. Every recipe I have made of yours always turns out great!
Trying to figure out how to make this. It calls for 2 cups Taco Skillet Sauce, however if I click on the picture I see a packet, however I can’t tell if it is a liquid or dry. I searched and found a recipe on a website that uses tomato sauce and adds a bunch of spices. I thought it best not to link it here in case it is not what you intended. Can you please clarify. I will note that I do not see Taco Skillet Sauce at the grocery stores here. Hoping for some clarity on what is in Taco Skillet Sauce. Thanks!
Since it’s a sauce, it’s liquid! You can use enchilada sauce in its place if that’s easier to find. We have a great homemade version as well: https://www.jocooks.com/course/sauces/enchilada-sauce/
I thought it would be liquid as it is a sauce, however, in the picture from the link, it looked like a packet. I guess I am just used to sauces in a can or jar. I will make the enchilada sauce recipe you listed. That looks perfect for this and other recipes as well. Thanks for the quick reply. I have had all my other ingredients waiting and now I can make this today.
I made the cheesy orzo and my family really loved it!! I also made the fabulous enchilada sauce from the recipe you listed. to use in the cheesy orzo. I used a bunch of tomatoes that we had that were getting squishy and wow I love this enchilada sauce also. I will be making more of it today. Thank you so much for both recipes!!
It was love at first bite. I don’t remember the last time my guy said he loved a new recipe after the first bite but this was the recipe that he just kept saying how much he loved it and to not change a thing. Just the right amount of heat and lots of flavor.
I did need to cook the dish about 5 min longer with extra chicken broth as I felt the orzo could be cooked a bit longer. I also used McCormick’s fajita skillet sauce as they didn’t have taco skillet sauce at my grocery store.
Make sure you add the green onions and cilantro as it really added to the already great flavor.
Thanks Jo for another dish added to the rotation!