Spinach Garlic Parmesan Orzo with Crispy Bacon
Easy, flavorful spinach garlic parmesan orzo pasta with crispy bacon and gorgeous veggies like red bell pepper, zucchini, and spinach. This creamy garlic parmesan orzo recipe comes together in one pan, is the perfect meal prep dinner, and is delicious hot or cold!
Servings 6 servings
Calories 473cal
Ingredients
- 10 slices uncooked thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
- ½ medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into chunks
- ½ cup shredded or diced carrots (from 1 medium carrot)
- 1 medium zucchini, quartered
- ¾ cup frozen or fresh sweet corn
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 12 ounces uncooked orzo pasta (about 2 cups dry orzo)
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 3 cups spinach, roughly chopped
- ¾ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 small lemon
- 2 to 3 tablespoons hot honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Cook the bacon: Place a large oven-safe skillet or 3.5 qt braiser over medium heat. Add the bacon, stirring occasionally and cook until crispy and golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Once bacon is done, transfer it to a plate lined with a paper towel and set aside.While the bacon cooks, you can chop your veggies.
- Carefully drain the bacon grease (I transfer it to a medium bowl then set aside).
- Cook the veggies: In the same pan, warm 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease over medium heat. Add the add in the onion, bell pepper, carrot, zucchini and corn, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are slightly tender, 5 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, and a few grinds of pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is fragrant, 30 seconds.
- Add orzo and broth: Stir in the orzo and toast in the pan for 1 minute, stirring frequently, to develop flavor. Stir in the chicken broth and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over medium-high heat.
- Bake: Cover and bake undisturbed until the orzo is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and stir in the parmesan and spinach until the spinach wilts and cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Top with lemon zest and lemon juice. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as necessary.
- Top with bacon pieces and a drizzle of hot honey. Add salt and pepper to taste. I like to add A LOT of black pepper into this dish -- it just gives it a really nice flavor! If you think it needs a little extra parmesan cheese, feel free to stir in ¼ cup more. Enjoy!
Notes
To swap the bacon: you can easily use 4 chicken sausages instead; just slice into rounds, saute in a pan, then stir into pasta like you would the bacon.
To make vegetarian: I think a can of rinsed and drained white beans or even roasted, crunchy chickpeas would be a really nice option.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving (based on 6) | Calories: 473cal | Carbohydrates: 50.4g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 22.7g | Saturated Fat: 8.8g | Fiber: 8.6g | Sugar: 12.4g