Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Sun-dried Tomato Baked Salmon Orzo Recipe
Salmon over creamy tomato orzo makes a generous dinner, with spinach tucked between the pasta grains. Sun-dried tomato gives the sauce a savory sweetness that suits the fish.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Total
- 40 min
- Original yield
- Serves 4
- Ingredients
- 14 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course
- Primary protein
- Seafood
- Cooking method
- Baking · Baked & roasted · Roasting
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 31–60 minutes
A few quick notes
1. Leave most marinade in the dish
Coat salmon with the whisked marinade, then set it aside, keeping most of the mixture for the orzo.
2. Cover the first bake tightly
Add the pesto, tomatoes, garlic, orzo and broth, then cover tightly for the pasta's first baking stage.
3. Stir before adding salmon
Mix Parmesan, spinach and cream into the partly baked orzo before placing the salmon pieces on top.
Get to know the ingredients
Tomatoes packed in oil
Use the sun-dried tomatoes and their specified oil portion in the dish, saving the tomato slices for the orzo stage.
Dry orzo
The orzo goes into the baking dish dry with broth and the remaining marinade before its covered bake.
Pesto choice
Use homemade or store-bought sun-dried tomato pesto, or swap in basil pesto.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 4. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 6 steps completeMake room for Sun-dried Tomato Baked Salmon Orzo Recipe
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Serve fish with the orzo
After the uncovered salmon roasting stage, serve each salmon piece with the creamy spinach and tomato orzo.
A little more help as you go
Finish without the cover
The salmon cooks over the orzo uncovered, following the thickness-dependent roasting range in the directions.
Broth options
Chicken or vegetable broth are both listed for the covered orzo cooking stage before cream is added.
A few questions you might have
Does the salmon cook during the first orzo bake?
Keep the coated salmon aside on a plate while the orzo bakes covered, then add it after stirring the pasta.
When does spinach go in?
Stir chopped baby spinach into the orzo with Parmesan and cream after the covered baking stage.
Can I use tomatoes that weren't packed in oil?
You can use tomatoes that are not packed in oil. Replace the jar oil with olive oil and increase the salmon seasoning a little.
Is lemon juice only squeezed on at serving?
Whisk it into the first marinade with oil, melted butter and seasonings before coating the salmon.
What affects the final salmon roasting period?
The directions vary the final uncovered roasting according to fillet thickness and how well done you like the salmon.
Any more cooking tips?
Swaps: feel free to swap the tomato pesto for basil pesto if that's more your thing. Sun-dried tomatoes: if yours didn't come packed in oil, you can still use them but you'll need to amp up seasonings for the salmon a bit and swap the oil for olive oil.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: littlespicejar.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
