Ground Beef Orzo Pasta with Bolognese Sauce

This Orzo Pasta with Bolognese Sauce and Ground Beef is a weeknight dinner made with ground beef, orzo, crushed tomatoes, and a mix of aromatics that turns into a rich, meaty sauce in about 35 minutes.

The orzo cooks right in the sauce, so every grain soaks up flavor instead of sitting on the side like plain pasta.

I make this one on nights when I want something that tastes like it simmered for hours but really only needs one pot and about half an hour.

It’s a solid pick for a weeknight dinner, meal prep for the week, or a dish to bring to a potluck (it holds up fine at room temperature).

If you like a big pot of something meaty and filling, these are worth bookmarking too:

• Beef Barley Soup
• White Bean Cannellini Soup With Ground Beef, And Kale
• Traditional Spanish Lentil Soup with Chorizo
• Viral Dump and Bake One Pan Dumpling Casserole

Ingredients You’ll Need

Ground beef and orzo do most of the work here, but the combination of crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and beef broth is what gives the sauce its depth.

Use 85/15 ground beef if you can find it (the extra fat keeps the sauce from tasting thin).

Orzo works better than traditional pasta shapes in this recipe because it cooks directly in the sauce and thickens it as it goes.

Important Recipe Notes

• Don’t skip draining the fat. After browning the beef, drain off all but a tablespoon or two. Too much fat left in the pan makes the sauce taste greasy instead of rich.
• Stir the orzo often. Orzo releases starch as it cooks and will stick to the bottom of the pan if you leave it alone too long. Stir every couple of minutes once it goes into the sauce.

• Storage. Let leftovers cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
• Reheating. Orzo keeps absorbing liquid even in the fridge, so leftovers thicken up. Reheat on the stovetop with a splash of broth or water to loosen the sauce back up.
• Freezing. This dish freezes fine for up to 2 months, but the orzo texture softens a bit after thawing. Still worth it for a fast dinner later.
• Swap the beef. Ground turkey or Italian sausage both work here if that’s what you have on hand. Sausage adds more fat, so you may not need the olive oil.
• Make it dairy-free. Leave out the Parmesan and finish with a drizzle of good olive oil instead. It won’t taste quite the same, but it’s still good.

How to Serve, Store & Customize This Recipe

Serving:

Ladle it into wide, shallow bowls so the sauce pools around the orzo instead of sinking to the bottom.

A sprinkle of fresh parsley and a little extra Parmesan on top makes it look like more effort than it is. I like it with warm crusty bread for scooping up the extra sauce.

Storage:

Cool completely before transferring to an airtight container, then refrigerate for up to 4 days.

The orzo keeps soaking up the sauce as it sits, so leftovers come out thicker (add a splash of broth when reheating to bring it back to a saucier consistency).

Customization:

Ground turkey or Italian sausage both work in place of the beef, and a plant-based ground substitute holds up surprisingly well too.

Stir in a handful of spinach or chopped mushrooms with the vegetables if you want to bulk it up. For more heat, double the red pepper flakes or finish with a drizzle of chili oil.