This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Orzo With Meaty Sauce, Zucchini and Mushrooms Recipe – easy weeknight pasta dinner, ready in 30 minutes. Made with Ragu Homestyle Sauce.
Happy Wednesday guys!
How is your week going? Mine has been ok, but I wish we did not get rain almost every single day! But this weather is perfect for hearty meals like this Orzo pasta with meat, zucchini and mushrooms.
As I’ve said before, we love pasta in our family. Especially my husband. He can have it every day. That’s why I make a pasta dish once a week. It does not take a long time to prepare and you can serve it with different kinds of sauce, meat and veggies.
This pasta dish reminds me of my childhood.
As I’ve said before, I got my passion for cooking from my grandma. But she rarely cooked pasta. My mom was the one, who’ll prepare a meal like this on a weekday. When we were little, we were blessed to have my mom stay at home and take care of us. That meant a warm meal every day after school. And some great time spent together and lots of homework help.
She used to make the most delicious pasta with meat sauce, which was often packed with lots of vegetables, I guess for us. I used to not like vegetables as a child, meat was my thing and this was a way to make me eat more veggies. My sister was the opposite – she loved veggies, but was not a fan of meat.
My mom used to make the meat sauce with ground beef, but lately I’ve been using ground meatloaf (beef+pork) and I like the taste better. You can definitely make this pasta with ground beef. For the veggies I only used mushrooms and zucchini, but you can add vegetables of your choice.
Feel free to use your favorite pasta, I used orzo today. Orzo pairs well with the sauce and cooks quickly.
This isn’t a one pot meal, but I don’t mind cooking the pasta separately. You basically prepare the sauce in one pan, then add the cooked pasta and cheese to the same pan and give it a stir.
The real hero in this recipe id the New Ragu Homestyle Thick And Hearty Traditional Pasta Sauce. It tastes great! No artificial flavors or high fructose corn syrup.
This is our thickest sauce– you can tell because it hugs the pasta! Make sure you check their selection and try these new sauces.
Visit Ragu’s website to learn more about the new line of Ragu Homestyle sauces and find a taste of home.
Thanks for reading CookingLSL! To stay up on what’s going on in my kitchen, you can follow me on: Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and sign up for e-mail updates, to receive more recipes and a copy of my FREE e-cookbook 15+ Most Popular Recipes On CookingLSL.
Orzo With Meaty Sauce, Zucchini and Mushrooms Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked orzo
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 shallot
- 1/2 pound ground beef, (or ground meatloaf)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp dry basil
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 jar Ragu Homestyle Pasta Sauce
- 8 oz mushrooms, , sliced
- 1 zucchini, , quartered and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
- 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
- chopped basil and parsley for garnishing
Instructions
For the sauce:
- Heat oil in a deep pan over medium heat. Add shallot and garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add ground meat, using a spatula break meat into smaller pieces and cook for 4-5 minutes.
- Add mushrooms and cook for additional 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add zucchini. Add salt, pepper, basil and cayenne. Cook for additional 2-3 more minutes, over medium - high heat, stirring frequently. Add pasta sauce. Stir, so it is evenly distributed and cook until it is warmed up, for 3-4 more minutes. Stir in cooked pasta and cheese. Serve.
For the pasta:
- It is best to set a pot filled with water and bring it to a boil, at the same time you start preparing the pasta. Start cooking pasta at the time you add zucchini to the sauce. Cook orzo following the instructions on the package.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My parents are visiting and my mom made one of my childhood favorites – pasta with a meat sauce; she even used a jar of Ragu to start 😉 It tasted just like I remembered it – wonderful! I’ll have to make a a request for her to use orzo next time, and of course much more cheesy goodness – that shot is amazing!
You know what’ funny…I always keep a jar of this in the pantry for the days when I need to bust out a super quick marinara 🙂 This looks fantastic! And your pictures…OMG they are soo gorgeous
Thanks Mila!!!
This orzo looks seriously scrumptious, Mira!! Meaty and packed with veggies is always winning in my book! Love that you used ground meatloaf in here… I bet that tastes so delicious! We don’t make nearly enough pasta in my house, but this is inspiring me to make a change! Pinned! Cheers, friend!
Oh wow Mira – I’ve not had Orzo like this before! Look at that meaty, cheese, saucy goodness – so totally delicious!
looks very comforting Mira! yeah the new Ragu sauce is seriously so thick and good! love it!
Looks amazing! Loving the new Ragu sauce!
I am a pasta lover too! Orzo is one of our favorites because of its shape and the fact it cooks so quickly. This looks like a delicious dinner!
Thank you so much for linking at #overthemoon! I look forward to seeing what you share every week. Please come back for #WonderfulWednesday or #ThursdayFavoriteThings. Don’t forget to comment your link #’s so I can be sure to visit and you get a chance to be featured! Pinned and shared.