One Pot EASY CHICKEN ORZO in about 25 minutes! Similar to our popular 20 Minute Shrimp and Orzo recipe only with chicken and tons of veggies, but just as easy to make!
We love easy healthy chicken dinners! Especially those that use one pan. Everyone who loves to do dishes raise thier hand….Ya, that’s what we thought :).
Ingredients to make this one pan chicken dinner:
- orzo pasta
- boneless chicken thighs or chicken breasts
- chicken stock
- canned diced tomatoes
- bell pepper – any color
- onion
- garlic
- spinach
- italian seasoning
What is orzo pasta?
- Orzo is a small rice shaped pasta. Used primarily in soups in Italy but we like it for everything! It’s fast to cook and lighter than large pasta. Perfect for skillet dinners, soups and salad. You can see all of our orzo pasta recipes here!
How to make Easy Chicken Orzo:
We start by sprinkling the chicken with salt, pepper and Italian Seasoning. Give a quick sear and remove to a plate.
Next we are going to saute’ up all the veggies and add in the orzo. Almost done!
What other veggies can I use in this Chicken Orzo Recipe:
- carrots
- celery
- zucchini
- broccoli
- corn
- beans – cooked canned kidney, black , white or garbanzo
- cubed squash
- cubed sweet potatoes
- The list goes on and on – clean out the fridge!
Add your stock, tomatoes and chicken back to the pan. Let cook for about 20 minutes covered, stirring once or twice until most of the liquid is absorbed and your pasta is cooked through. About 15 minutes. Top with spinach, stir until spinach is wilted and it’s ready to serve!
Here are a few more of our most popular recipes with orzo!
- One Pan Chicken and Mushrooms with Orzo
- Meditteranean Shrimp and Orzo
- Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
- Orzo Pasta Salad
Let’s Eat!
Kathi and Rachel
Easy Chicken Orzo
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless chicken thighs – or boneless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning – or one teaspoon each basil, thyme and oregano
- 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
- 1 bell pepper – chopped, any color
- 1/2 cup onion – chopped
- 2 cloves garlic – chopped
- 1/2 cup cremini mushrooms – sliced
- 2 cups fresh spinach leaves – chopped – or one 8 ounce frozen package, thawed and well drained
- 1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes – undrained
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- garnish with parmesan if desired and chopped green onion
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and italian seasoning on both sides.
- Sear chicken for about 3-4 minutes on each side until a nice crust forms. Remove from pan and set aside. ( Your chicken may not be cooked all the way through but will continue to cook with the pasta and veggie mixture.)
- Add all veggies excluding spinach to pan. Saute until just tender about 3-4 minutes. Add orzo to pan and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes until orzo is lightly toasted.
- Add undrained diced tomatoes and chicken stock, stir. Bring to a simmer. Add chicken back to the pan. Cover and cook, stirring once or twice, for about 15-20 minutes or until orzo is tender. Stir in spinach, cook until wilted, about 1-2 minutes. Taste for seasoning. More salt, pepper, italian seasoning?
- Garnish with grated parmesan and chopped green onion if desired.
Barbara says
I made this recipe tonight. Easy to prepare and delicious. My husband and I loved it, served with some crusty bread. I
definitely will be making it again! Thanks!
Kelly says
This was super yummy and really easy! I reccomend doing more orzo. I can’t imagine it serving 5 people. We barely had any orzo left after 3 people!
Pam says
Hi Kelly – I agree, this serves like 3 people. Its really good, but next time more onion, mushrooms and orzo. – Pam
Kathi & Rachel says
If you hover over the ‘serving size’ in the recipe card a slider will pop up and you can increase the servings…pretty handy little tool! Glad you liked the recipe. Thank you for the 5 stars! Kathi
Pam says
Hi Kelly and everyone else – I came across something that I didn’t think about. The recipe calls for 1cup of orzo. So, I’m thinking 8 oz. right? So, I Google how much is 8 oz. of orzo. The answer is 1 and 1/4 cup. Slightly more than what I put in, but I definitely will try it next time. How much difference 1/4 of a cup will make probably not much. Just thought I would pass it along. – Pam
Kathi & Rachel says
Hi Pam – the recipe was developed using a cup not ounces. If you increase the pasta you will need to increase the broth. Hope that helps. Kathi
Sam Cormas says
Made this recipe for my family tonight and it was absolutely delicious, followed instructions to specifically and everyone loved it! Thankyou for a great recipe.
Kathi & Rachel says
We are so glad you loved it! If you type in Orzo in the search bar you will find a few more versions that you might like! Thank you for the nice note! Kathi
Claude says
Can I substitute farrow for the orzo? I am on the Mediterranean diet?