This Tomato and Bacon Orzo is the kind of dinner that makes everyone drift into the kitchen asking what smells so good. The orzo cooks straight in the tomatoey sauce, soaking up all that savoury bacon flavour, with little bursts of sun-blushed tomato and creamy crumbled cheddar tucked in at the end. It’s got that lovely risotto-style comfort, but without all the standing and stirring. Just a few good stirs here and there, a pan of cosy tomato orzo bubbling away, and dinner is sorted in about 30 minutes.
Nicky’s Notes
Orzo is so underrated! It makes a brilliant alternative to risotto, and you can cook it directly in your sauce – meaning it absorbs all the lovely flavour! The bacon, sun-blushed tomatoes and crumbled chunks of cheddar all add little zings of flavour when you’re eating it too. So tasty!
In this recipe, the bacon does a lot of heavy lifting. Frying it first gives you crisp little salty bites, but it also leaves behind flavour in the pan, which then works its way into the garlic, tomatoes, stock and orzo.
The sun-blushed tomatoes are my favourite little extra here. They add a sweet, tangy richness that makes the whole dish taste like it’s had much longer on the hob than it actually has. And the cheddar? That’s the cosy finish. Little craggy chunks melting into the warm orzo, yes please 😋.
📋 Ingredients for tomato & bacon orzo
***Full recipe with detailed quantities in the recipe card below***
EG potato starch for crispness. Also if more than one ingredient photo then add a H3 heading for each.
Ingredient Swaps
You can swap the streaky bacon for back bacon if that’s what you have, though streaky gives the best crispiness and flavour. Pancetta would also work beautifully.
For a vegetarian version, use chopped vegetarian sausages or a vegetarian bacon-style alternative, and swap the chicken stock for vegetable stock.
Sun-blushed or sun-soaked tomatoes add a lovely intense flavour, but chopped roasted peppers would be a good alternative if you want something a little softer and sweeter.
🧑🍳 Abbreviated Recipe
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card below***
Fry the bacon until crispy, then lift out, leaving the lovely bacon oil behind. Add garlic, tinned tomatoes, stock, orzo, tomato purée and seasoning, then simmer with a lid on until the orzo is tender. Stir through the spinach, sun-blushed tomatoes and chopped bacon, then finish with crumbled cheddar.
Recipe Tips
- Stir the orzo a few times while it cooks. It takes a little longer to cook in sauce than it does in boiling water, and stirring helps it cook evenly while stopping it from catching on the bottom of the pan.
Rich, tomatoey and savoury, with smoky bacon, sweet-tangy sun-blushed tomatoes and soft little bites of orzo in every forkful. The cheddar melts just enough to give you creamy pockets without overpowering the sauce.
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📺 Watch how to make it
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Heat the oil in a large frying pan (skillet) over a medium-high heat.
1 tablespoon oil
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Add the bacon, and fry for 5-6 minutes, until crispy. Remove from the pan, leaving the oil behind. Turn the heat down to low.
200 g (7oz) streaky bacon
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Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds, then add the tinned tomatoes, stock, orzo, tomato puree, salt and pepper.
2 cloves garlic, 400 g (14oz) tin finely chopped tomatoes, 360 ml (1 ½ cups) chicken stock, 200 g (7oz) dried orzo, 1 tablespoon tomato puree (tomato paste), ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper
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Stir together and bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer, place a lid on and cook for 12-14 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the orzo is cooked through.
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While the orzo is cooking, chop the bacon into small pieces.
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When the orzo is cooked, remove the lid and stir through the spinach, sun-blushed tomatoes and cooked bacon.
100 g (3.5 oz) baby spinach, 250 g sun-blushed/sun-soaked tomatoes in oil
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Sprinkle the crumbled cheddar on top and serve.
100 g (3.5 oz) cheddar cheese
Make it vegetarian: Swap out the bacon for chopped up vegetarian sausages or vegetarian-style bacon alternative. Swap the chicken stock for vegetable stock.
Calories: 695kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 58mg | Sodium: 1835mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 5g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This tomato & bacon orzo recipe was first posted in July 2026.
🍽️ What to serve it with
This is a full meal on its own, but I do love it with something fresh or crunchy on the side.
Serve it with homemade garlic bread for mopping up that tomatoey sauce, or add a simple green salad if you want to keep things lighter.
🍝 More delicious pasta recipes
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