One Pot Rosemary Bacon Orzo
on Aug 18, 2020, Updated Mar 12, 2025
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The perfect weeknight meal that can be a side or the main dish, this Rosemary Bacon Orzo is perfect for those busy evenings.
Table of Contents
What Makes The Recipe Great
I am so excited to share this One Pot Rosemary Bacon Orzo recipe with you! I made a recipe with orzo a few weeks ago and it was so delicious I was thinking why on earth don’t I make orzo more often? So I whipped this up one night because rosemary, bacon and garlic is our favorite combo, and it was amazing. I love that it is an easy side dish but you can also add some chicken sausage and make it a full meal!
Ingredient List
- Bacon– Any cut of bacon will be perfect
- Onion
- Garlic
- Orzo
- Water
- Nut Pods– if you don’t need it dairy free, feel free to use any milk
- Rosemary – check your yard, lots of people have a rosemary bush in their yard
- Salt/Pepper
- Lemon Juice – adding acid to the end of a recipe always adds the best flavor
Step By Step
- In a large dutch oven cook bacon until crispy and set aside.
- In the same dutch oven cook the onions for a few minutes staring frequently, add the garlic and then the orzo. Mix again a few more times
- Next add water, nut pods, rosemary and salt and pepper and combine again.
- Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Make sure and stir often so the orzo does not stick to the bottom of the dutch oven.
- Once cooked remove from heat add in chopped bacon and lemon juice and Enjoy!
Pro Tip
- If you are not a fan of Nut Pods and still want to keep it dairy free coconut milk is the best alternative. If you don’t need to make it dairy free I suggest whole milk.
Frequently Asked Question
Can I make this a full meal?
- Yes, I love to make this into a full meal. I usually add chopped chicken apple sausage to just rotisserie chicken at the end of the boiling phase. Feel free to also mix in some spinach or kale to get some greens in.
One Pot Dinners
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One Pot Rosemary Bacon Orzo
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 lb orzo
- 2 ½ cups water
- 1 ½ cups original nut pods*
- 1 tbsp chopped rosemary
- 2 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Place a dutch oven or 3 ½ quart skillet over medium high heat.
- Once the pan is hot add bacon and cook until crispy or to your liking and set aside.
- Add chopped onion to the bacon grease and cook, stirring occasionally for 2 minutes.
- Add in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then add in the orzo. Toss to combine and lightly brown the orzo for 2 minutes.
- Add in water, nut pods, rosemary, salt and pepper.
- Raise heat to high and boil, stirring frequently so the orzo doesn’t stick, until orzo is al dente and the liquid has nearly evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes.
- While the orzo cooks, chop your bacon.
- Once done cooking, turn off the heat and add in chopped bacon and lemon juice and stir to combine.
Notes
- You can use full fat coconut milk if you can’t find nut pods.
- You can also use whole milk instead of nut pods if you can tolerate dairy.
- If you want it to be a full meal you can also add in chopped chicken sausage when you add in the liquid.
I eat paleo and we use Jovial grain free (and gluten free) cassava orzo. Another comment mentioned that using that pasta in this recipe was an epic fail and I was a little hesitant to try it, but we’ve made it multiple times now and it is delicious!! Here’s what I do: I add the liquid that the recipe calls for. If the pasta isn’t cooked by the time the liquid has started mostly evaporating, I will add more liquid. I usually just pour another splash of Nutpods or water (usually nutpods) in and repeat the process until the pasta is al dente. I taste as I’m cooking and add more seasonings if the liquid starts to dilute the taste. It does use a lot more liquid than the recipe calls for, but it’s creamy and oh so good!!