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A while ago I had an orzo dish in a restaurant, where the Orzo had been cooked in the oven together with vegetable stock, garlic, herbs, and cherry tomatoes. The waiter said that the trick is to put the raw Orzo into the hot olive oil with garlic and top it up with the liquid to cook it directly in the oven. I tried to re-cook the dish but unfortunately, the orzo had either been too cooked/ sticky or not cooked through or got hard on the top. I tried to find similar recipes online but the orzo always seems to be precooked or cooked in tomato sauce.

What would be the right liquid/orzo scale to cook orzo in the oven?

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  • Are you sure "raw Orzo" means "uncooked dehydrated orzo" and not "uncooked fresh Orzo"?
    – LightBender
    Commented Aug 16, 2021 at 15:27
  • I'm not clear exactly how you're cooking it. Starting it off on the stove seems the usual method; this provides initial heat and lets you stir it to mix and distribute the heat, then add liquid and put in the oven. The alternative, just putting it cold in the oven, is likely to lead to the top/outside drying out and the centre not cooking properly. See e.g. bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/baked-tomato-mozzarella-orzo
    – Stuart F
    Commented Aug 18, 2021 at 16:03

3 Answers 3

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‎For most preparations the ratio is 1 cup of orzo - 3 cups of water. But if you want it al dente, the ratio is 1 to 2 and a half, while if you want it very soft, it is 1 to 3 and a half.‎

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  • You may need to adjust the ratio slightly when you have other high moisture ingredients (like the tomatoes). I don’t cook a lot of orzo, but for rice pilaf, I tend to aim for slightly less liquid, because I can always add more and the residual heat will finish cooking it, while you can’t undo too much liquid. And it might take a few attempts to dial in the best ratio for your oven, baking dish proportions and how well the lid seals, etc
    – Joe
    Commented Sep 4 at 13:33
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You would need to experiment; but I would start with a 1:1 ratio of liquid to orzo.

I would cover the dish with aluminium foil to keep as much moisture in.

Remember that the cherry tomatoes will also release some moisture.

look at the dish from time to time, if it's not cooked and missing liquid, add some more; if it's cooked and there's too much liquid, quit the cooking and next time use less liquid.

You can always add more liquid, but never remove some.

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  • 1:1 by weight, or by volume?
    – gidds
    Commented Aug 18, 2021 at 22:16
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Brown the orzo stovetop and then bake it 1:2.

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