Zucchini Pesto Orzo Casserole
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One Pan Zucchini Pesto Orzo Casserole recipe is bright, fresh, healthy, flavorful, and easy to put together! This summer dinner is packed with summer produce, zucchini, yellow squash, and basil.
You’ll also enjoy my Lemon Zucchini Bread and Zucchini Quiche.
ZUCCHINI PESTO ORZO CASSEROLE
My new favorite pasta is orzo. It doesn’t really cook faster than other pasta, but it cooks about 10 minutes faster than rice.
This recipe cooks in 20 minutes and takes just under 10 minutes to prep, depending on how quickly you slice. Therefore, you can have this casserole on the table in less than 20 minutes.
Actually, even though it is meatless, we have it as our meal. You can always serve it alongside chicken, fish, or other protein.
INGREDIENTS FOR THIS CASSEROLE
The full recipe with ingredient amounts and instructions for cooking is at the bottom of this post. You can also create a personal and private recipe box and save this recipe along with any recipes on Call Me PMc so that you always know where they are when you need them.
- Zucchini or yellow squash.
- Olive oil.
- Garlic.
- Shallot. You can use an onion.
- Pesto.
- Seasoning. I used salt, pepper, low-sodium Cajun seasoning, and cayenne pepper.
- Cheese.
- Orzo.
WHILE YOU’RE HERE, CHECK OUT THESE RECIPES
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- Zucchini casserole with ground beef
- One Pot Italian Sausage Orzo
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary based on the products used.
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ZUCCHINI PESTO ORZO CASSEROLE
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Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchini or yellow summer squash
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 large cloves garlic clove minced
- 1 medium shallot chopped
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper ground
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning low salt
- 1 and ½ cup cheese grated
- 8 ounces pesto
- 1 pound orzo
- 2 and ½ cups water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° F. In a 9×13 inch baking dish, combine the zucchini, olive oil, garlic, shallots, Italian seasoning, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. Cook for 15 minutes.
- Take the zucchini out of the oven. To the same pan, add the orzo and pesto. Pour over 2 and 1/2 cups of water over the ingredients and stir to combine.
- Return the dish to the oven and bake for 14 to 16 minutes. Most of the water should be cooked into the pasta at this point. There may be a little in the bottom of the dish, but that's okay.
- Stir the pasta around, then sprinkle over the cheese.
- Bake another 10 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the sauce is bubbling. If there's a lot of oil from the pesto on top, drain off the excess. Top with fresh basil!
This is a great garden meal with so much flavor! Was able to make fresh pesto from abundance of basil, used 2 zucchini and a yellow squash since my kids like those veggies. Easy to make and enjoyed not having to boil the pasta prior to baking. Will be making this again!
I’m so happy you liked it. I love fresh veggies and this recipe is so easy. Thanks for commenting!
Fast and easy, used 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning since the amount was not listed in the ingredients. Loved the texture and I did use mozzerella cheese.
No pesto in the ingredient list.