By:Nagi
150 Comments
Is there a rule that says Bolognese has to be madewith spaghetti? Why not orzo (risoni)? Especially given that you can make it all in ONE POT in 20 minutes!Introducing orzo / risoni bolognaise!
This was an accidental discovery. Sometimes it amazes me that I go to the grocery store almost every day and yet when I start making dinner, I’m missing a crucial ingredient. Like spaghetti for spaghetti bolognaise. Seriously.Who doesn’t have dried spaghetti in the pantry at all times?
I know, I’m weird. I think it’s the Japanese blood in my veins. Ialways have rice. But I don’t always have pasta.
I was about to get started with dinner when I realised I didn’t have spaghetti but I did have orzo. (It’s similar torice in shape. Maybe that’s why I had it! 😉 ) And then the laziness kicked in, and I wondered –could I cook it IN the bolognaise sauce if I got the liquid ratio right?
Turns out you can. With absolutely zero comprise on flavour or texture. The orzo is perfectly al dente, and the bologanise is gloriously saucy.
You know what else I love about this? It’s great couch food. Have you ever tried eating spaghetti on the couch? Don’t do it! Well, if you do, wear a bib, have a pile of napkins beside you and I really hope your couch is NOT a white fabric couch.
But this Orzo Bolognaise is perfect for eating on the couch. A bowl, a spoon and a glass of wine while you watch whatever show helps you wind down after a long day. You can keep your eyes glued to the screen so you don’t miss a single critical moment of Game of Thrones and manage to scoff down dinner at the same time. (Talent. That’s what it’s called. Like driving and eating.)
And if that wasn’t enough, this is a fantastic midweek meal because it takes just 20 minutes from start to finish. 20 minutes! It’s just ridiculously fast and easy (and delicious!).
One key difference in this bolognaise sauce is that I make it using tomato passata instead of tinned tomatoes. I believe Americans also know it as tomato sauce (but not tomato sauce as Australians know it!).
Passata is simply pureed tomatoes and nowadays it’s sold in all grocery stores and costs around the same as tinned tomatoes. I love using passata because the sauce is smoother and thicker, unlike with crushed tinned tomatoes which you need to cook for a while for the tomatoes to break down.
This is the passata I use which you can find in the pasta section of Coles and Woolworths (supermarket chain in Australia). It comes in a large25oz /700g glass bottle. I keep the bottles and use them for all sorts of things, like storing sugar, salt, homemade stock. Ieven use them asvases and water jugs when I’m entertaining.
OK! Signing off. I have a HUGE bowl of Orzo Bolognaise to scoff down!
– Nagi x
And more One Pot Ground Beef / Mince recipes
Cheeseburger Casserole (Homemade Hamburger Helper)
Chili Mac–mash up of Mac and Cheese with Chilli Con Carne, so good!
Asian Beef and Ramen Noodles – one skillet, 15 minutes
Beef and Veggies with Rice
Taco Soup – don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, it’s amazing!
Browse all One Pot recipesand Ground Beef / Mince recipes
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
One Pot Orzo / Risoni Bolognaise
Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 3 minutes mins
Cook: 18 minutes mins
Total: 21 minutes mins
Dinner, One Pot, Pasta
Italian-esque
4.89 from 51 votes
Servings4 -5
Tap or hover to scale
Dinner all made in one pot in just 20 minutes! A yummy bolognaise sauce made with orzo/risoni instead of spaghetti. Great couch food - and for kids too, less mess!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic , minced
- 1 small onion , peeled and diced (brown, white or yellow)
- 1 lb / 500g ground beef (mince)
- 24 oz / 700g tomato passata (Note 3)
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp dried Italian Herbs , or any combination of dried parsley, oregano, basil
- 2 beef bouillon cubes (Note 1)
- 1/2 to 1 tsp salt (to taste)
- Black pepper
- 3 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups dried orzo / risoni
To serve (optional)
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Finely chopped parsley
Instructions
Heat the oil in a large skillet/fry pan (or pot) over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 3 minutes or until translucent.
Add the mince and turn the heat up to high. Cook the mince, breaking it up as you go.
When the mince is browned, add the remaining ingredients except the orzo. When the liquid comes to a simmer (it might bubble and spit slightly) add the orzo/risoni.
Give it a quick stir then turn the heat down to medium low.
Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently towards the end to ensure the orzo/risoni doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. If your liquid is evaporating too quickly, just add a slosh of hot water (tap or boiling).
Remove the risoni from the heat. The risoni should be a teeny bit hard still and it should be very saucy when you take it off the stove. (Note 2)
Check for seasoning (salt), then give it a good stir.
Serve immediately, while it's piping hot and nice and saucy, garnished with freshly grated parmesan and parsley, if desired.
Recipe Notes:
1. Boullion cubes are stock cubes. You could use beef stock (or even chicken stock) instead of water and skip the boullion cubes.
2. Because orzo / risoni is so small, it goes from perfectly cooked to overcooked in a flash. So for perfectly cooked orzo, take it off the stove at 10 minutes while the orzo is a teeny bit hard still. While you are testing for seasoning and serving it out, the residual heat will finish cooking it so it is firm but tender (al dente), rather than soft and mushy (overcooked).
That is also why it is quite saucy when you take it off the stove. The sauce reduces a lot quite quickly, through both evaporation and being absorbed by the orzo. So by the time you serve it, you still have enough sauce.
3. Tomato passata is just pureed tinned tomatoes. Nowadays it is readily available in supermarkets, usually alongside pasta sauces. It costs just a tiny bit more, sometimes the same, as canned tomatoes. If you can't find it, puree canned tomatoes or use crushed canned tomatoes.
4.Nutrition assuming this serves 5 people. 1 1/2 cups of dried risoni does not sound like much but you will be surprised how much it swells when cooked.
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 456gCalories: 484cal (24%)Carbohydrates: 49.5g (17%)Protein: 35.8g (72%)Fat: 15g (23%)Saturated Fat: 4.5g (28%)Trans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 86mg (29%)Sodium: 565mg (25%)Potassium: 333mg (10%)Fiber: 2.1g (9%)Sugar: 10.1g (11%)Vitamin C: 1.7mg (2%)Calcium: 20mg (2%)Iron: 4.7mg (26%)
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.
Hi, I'm Nagi!
I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!
Read More
Free Recipe eBooks
Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks!
Reader Interactions
Leave a Comment
150 Comments
Faye saysWe really liked this recipe, makes a change from using spaghetti, quick, easy and tasty, I made it for 2 but there was a lot left over, mainly because we are older and don’t eat as much but I will heat up and eat later.
Reply
- Ellie says
I love your recipes but found this one boring in flavour. My husband said not to bother cooking it again . It was easy to make but not for us.Reply
- Terri says
Nagy, would this one be suitable for freezing?
Reply
- Cara says
Tasty and quick midweek meal; enjoyed by all and will be making again. Many thanks.Reply
- Asa says
Hello!
First of all I want to thank for wonderful site and recipes that always work. Tried already over 15 recipes, all tasty and kids eat.
However, I read comments and noticed that some people complain about “too tomato” and soupy. I took it in account and did only little change: I reduced water to 1 cup and added 1 cup half and half (there is milk in traditional Bolognese, but I’m worse than that). It slightly prolonged cooking time for orzo by 5 minutes. The rest remained unchanged and tasted as good, as 6 hours long Bolognese. Even my son, who hates orzo, ate huge bowl.
Please, keep posting and don’t take too close to heart if someone doesn’t know how to adjust recipe for personal liking.Reply
- Clare says
Delicious and so easy! I doubled the quantity to make a larger meal for my big eaters and added a couple of handfuls of baby spinach at the end to get some more greens in.
Reply
- Trevor says
Have to admit that I chose this recipe largely because I was looking for something quick and uncomplicated. But it was a lot tastier than I expected and will definitely cook it again. Thank you!
Reply
- Kylie says
I only had small macaroni. I cooked it 3/4 the way through before I started the recipe so it was ready. I used 2 1/2 cups water with tbsp beef stock. I followed the recipe the rest of the way. It totally works with mac. It looked identical to the pics on this page, and we actually sat on the couch with it no issues. Tasted amazing.
Reply
- Nicole says
The salt on this one was out for me. The 1 tsp wasn’t enough for both mince and orzo and ended up not being sure of the amount of salt needed. Otherwise turned out good and was a quick meal to prepare ahead of load shedding (in South Africa our electricity gets cut for any where between 2-4 hours at a time). Thank you NagiReply
- Lyn says
I have made this so many times & it turns out perfectly every time. It’s so easy yet soooooo good! Thanks Nagi for this beauty😍Reply
- Nikita says
After a hectic weekend, I ran out of time to meal prep my lunches for the week. Cut to getting home after 7pm Monday night and needing to whip up something quick, easy and reheat-able for lunch for the week, when I trawl RTE and find this recipe. Sounds too good to be true (even though Nagi’s recipes are always 5* and I’m not sure when I will learn to never doubt Nagi!), I’ve got all the ingredients for this recipe in the house, so on the stove it goes (while I’m prepping dinner for the night too), and it was SO quick and SO easy, no dramas in making it while rushing around making dinner, feeding dogs etc. Even better was how dang good it tastes. Just had my lunch, reheated perfectly, Orzo is perfectly cooked, sauce is bold and flavourful in the best way. Definitely hit the spot and will become a regular in the lunch rotation! I made it exactly to the recipe with no changes or substitutions. Quick, easy, cheap, healthy, reheat-able. Check, check, check, check, check. Thank you for another amazing recipe. In Nagi We Trust.Reply
- Weevil69 says
Nagi, this was delicious. I did add 4 anchovies at the start in the heated oil before adding the onions and garlic. I only had about 300ml of crushed tomatoes so I added a sachet of tomato paste (2tbs) and an extra 1.5 cups of water. I also added a tsp of chili flakes. So easy and I love that it was a 1 pot dish ! Easy clean up is always a bonus! Thank you and Merry Xmas to you and Dozer .Reply
- P Call says
Made this with farro since I had no orzo. Hearty, delicious and healthy. My health-conscious teenager approves!Reply
- Zulu says
Loved this. Very quick & tastyReply
- Sarah JK says
We all loved this recipe in our house!! Super quick and easy to make and so tasty. We’ll definitely be making this one again!Reply
- Sarah says
Love this dish. I add about 1/2 tablespoon of brown sugar to take the edge off of the acidity in the tomatoes, but that’s the only change I make.Reply
- Gaylourdes says
I knew I was on a winner when I searched risoni bolognaise and recipetineats came up first! This is glorious! I kinda went backwards and used 1 3/4 cans diced tomatoes because the passata in my grocery order got swapped out for jar sauce! Not having Italian herbs to hand either, I made up ~2tsp of cumin, coriander and fennel seeds (dry-roasted and crushed) with a scattering of dried marjoram and greek oregano. And a few fresh bay leaves for good measure. I think these are all bolognaise adjacent. Wooster sauce also got the substitute treatment with half and half tamari, balsamic vinegar and a tsp brown sugar. Total winner, thank you for being the best kitchen muse and mentor!Reply
- Soner Ali says
Hi Naggi
Any chance of doing a video for this dish.
Thank you.Reply
- Nagi says
I will add that to the list Soner! N x
Reply
- Soner Ali says
Thanks really appreciate that, also made your spaghetti Bolognese yesterday for the first time (2 hour simmer) the family loved it and insisted I cooi it again.
Thanks again.Reply
- Sarah says
This is really good and so easy to make!Reply
- Nagi says
Thanks Sarah!! I’m happy you enjoyed it! N x
Reply
- RM says
Sadly, this one was just not up to par with the other recipes here (which are always bursting with flavor).Followed the recipe exactly, but ended up with a dish that was very one-note (tomato), soupy, and very little texture. Going to try this again, but double the spices and add a different shape pasta (and slightly more of it), to see if that improves the result. I hope to love it!
Reply
- Nagi says
Thanks for your feedback RM – I’m sorry it wasn’t to your liking! N x
Reply
