Cheesy baked orzo with marinara

We tried this recipe for an easy weeknight meal. Because we wanted leftovers for the week, we doubled the recipe. For the sauce, to reduce sodium, we combined 32 oz Rao’s marinara, 16 oz no-salt tomato sauce (two 8-oz cans), and 2 oz water mixed with 1 Tbsp no-salt tomato paste.

We reduced the thick cut shredded mozzarella to 1 1/2 cups (from 2 cups) and added only 2 Tbsp shredded parmesan. If you omit the parmesan, this recipe easily is vegetarian. (Dec. 2023)