Risoni Bake

This easy and delicious risoni bake is made with spinach and mushrooms and topped with cheese and panko breadcrumbs. So good!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Servings people

Calories 419kcal

2 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 box button or brown mushrooms, sliced 8 oz, 250 g
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
2.5 cups Risoni (Orzo) 500 g, 17 oz, 500g
2 tablespoon flour
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups whole milk
1 bag frozen spinach, thawed (or half that amount if you want it less spinach-y) 14 oz, 400 g
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 7 oz, 200g

Preheat oven to 350 F (180C). This is to bake the risoni later!
In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and mushroom, and saute several minutes until soft.
Add the salt and pepper, stir, then add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the risoni and stir, toasting for a minute.
Sprinkle the flour on top of this mixture, and stir, then add the vegetable broth and milk.
Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 9-11 minutes (or according to package instructions) until the risoni has cooked al dente. Keep stirring frequently to avoid the bottom burning, and if pasta absorbs too much liquid while cooking, just add a splash of water
Remove from heat, stir in the spinach and the Parmesan cheese.
Transfer the whole mixture to a baking dish, and top with panko breadcrumbs and mozzarella cheese. Bake for 20 minutes until cheese is golden and bubbling, then if you want a deeper color, broil for another 1-2 minutes.
Let the dish rest for just a couple minutes, then enjoy hot!

Risoni is the same thing as orzo.

You can mix in some shredded cooked chicken to the risoni mix to make this heartier.

Storing Leftovers: Cooked orzo lasts for 3-5 days tightly covered in the fridge.

Leftover baked risoni will last 1-2 months tightly covered in the freezer. Thaw the casserole overnight in the fridge, then heat up in the oven.