Easy Salmon Bake With Orzo

Easy Salmon Bake With Orzo mains This one-pan salmon bake with creamy orzo is the perfect easy weeknight dinner Easy bakes, Salmon Meals Easy Salmon Bake With Orzo salmon, one pot meals

This one-pan salmon bake with creamy orzo is the perfect easy weeknight dinner. I do like to sear the one side of the salmon first - so if you want to be technical it’s not a true one pan meal but of course you can skip that step. No need to simmer or boil orzo separately. It cooks in the oven with broth, cream lemon zest and a little mustard making a very creamy base for your seasoned salmon. then a quick bake together with the veggies until everything is cooked through. Speaking of those veggies, this dish is loaded with spring veggies - asparagus, zucchini and green peas. A simple and truly delicious meal that you will be making over and over!

Easy Salmon Bake With Orzo

Easy Salmon Bake With Orzo Recipe Ingredients

  • SALMON: 4 pieces of salmon fillets (approx 6 oz each) is what you will need. I usually use skin on Atlantic salmon and try to get pieces that are as similar in size as possible so they all cook evenly.
  • OLIVE OIL: Any vegetable oil will do for searing the filets
  • SPICES: Oregano, garlic powder and paprika are what I use for this recipe along with salt and black pepper to taste.
  • ORZO: Dried orzo is easy to find but any small pasta will work in this recipe if you prefer it over orzo. Orzo is not rice and cannot be substituted with rice for this recipe as liquid ratios and cooking times would be affected.
  • BROTH: I either use low sodium chicken broth or chicken stock or vegetable broth which really is the base liquid that the orzo cooks in for this one pot meal
  • BOUILLON: Just a tsp is all I use to amp up the flavor of the orzo. It’s optional but recommended. Use either chicken or vegetable.
  • HEAVY CREAM: It adds a creamy luxurious richness to the dish but for a lighter version just use a lighter cream or broth and for a dairy-free option you could use a non dairy cream or stick to broth in its place.
  • LEMON ZEST: This is to flavor the orzo - but keep the lemon and slice in wedges for squeezing over the dish when it is done cooking.
  • MUSTARD: Mustard adds a nice flavor to the orzo - I usually use either yellow mustard or dijon mustard
  • VEGETABLES: This one pan dish has zucchini in it as well as asparagus and green peas.You could definitely switch things up with chopped green beans or even broccoli florets.
  • EXTRA ADD INS: Feel free to stir in some minced shallots, minced garlic cloves, a knob of butter, a splash of white wine or red pepper flakes for more flavor. Or you can also stir in some greens after it bakes up like baby spinach, or arugula or even some sliced cherry tomatoes.
  • FOR GARNISHING: I like to garnish this dish with loads of fresh herbs - usually a combination of fresh chopped parsley and fresh dill. Along with the herbs I like to toss in and garnish with some sliced green onions, of course some lemon slices or wedges and crumbled feta cheese as well or you could do parmesan cheese instead.

Easy Salmon Bake With Orzo

How To Make This Easy Orzo Salmon Bake

  1. STIR together the orzo, cream, broth, mustard and lemon zest in casserole dish then cover and bake in preheated oven
  2. SEASON & SEAR salmon on top side only, set aside
  3. REMOVE pan from oven and uncover, stir in the veggies and place salmon over top
  4. RETURN pan to oven and cook until salmon is done
  5. STIR in garnishes and serve

Easy Salmon Bake With Orzo

Salmon Orzo Bake Storage & Make Ahead

  • STORAGE: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3-4 days. Add a little broth or cream to loosen the orzo pasta when reheating because like any other pasta dish the orzo will continue to absorb any liquids as it sits and overall dish will thicken.
  • MAKE AHEAD: This dish comes together super quickly so I usually don’t make any part of it ahead. If you would like to season and marinate the salmon ahead of time you can and store it in the fridge in an airtight container until you are ready to sear it.

Easy Salmon Bake With Orzo

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Easy Salmon Bake With Orzo

Recipe

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 35 mins
Total Time 45 mins

Ingredients

For the Salmon

  • 4 pieces of salmon filets (approx 6 oz each)
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • ¾ teaspoon paprika
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoons black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil (for searing)

For the Orzo Bake

  • 1½ cups dried orzo pasta (risoni)
  • 2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
  • ⅔ cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon mustard (yellow or dijon)
  • 1 teaspoon chicken or vegetable bouillon
  • 1 medium zucchini, trimmed, peeled into ribbons
  • 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed, cut into thirds
  • 1 cup frozen peas, slightly thawed

For garnish

  • 2 green onions, thinly sliced
  • ¼ cup fresh herbs chopped (I use parsley and dill)
  • Lemon slices or wedges to serve
  • Crumbled feta cheese or grated parmesan cheese

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. In a medium size greased baking dish (approx 11x8 inch) stir together the orzo with the stock, cream, bouillon, mustard and lemon zest and stir to combine. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, combined the spices, and coat the salmon with the spice rub. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the salmon, top side down only, for 1½-2 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a plate. Set aside.
  4. Carefully remove pan from oven and the foil from the baking dish (beware of steam escaping). Stir the asparagus peas and zuchhini into the orzo then nestle the salmon, cooked side up, on top of the orzo mixture
  5. Return pan to oven uncovered and continue cooking for 10-12 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. And salmon is cooked through or reached internal temp of 145°F
  6. Toss in the fresh herbs and scallions, a squeeze of lemon juice and serve with lemon wedges and a sprinkle of crumbled feta cheese or grated parmesan cheese to taste.

Recipe Note

  • If you prefer to skip searing you salmon that is fine. It will need to cook slightly longer in the oven - just keep that in mind.

Easy Salmon Bake With Orzo