An Easy One Pot Chicken Orzo Recipe that is quick to make! this Creamy orzo with chicken is rich and delicious while still being healthy!
This Chicken Orzo is a quick, one pot meal and is perfect for those busy weeknights.
Tender asparagus, spinach, and juicy bites of chicken are combined with orzo in a light and creamy parmesan sauce for a healthy meal that can be on the table in 30 minutes!
If you love orzo, try our Mediterranean Chicken Orzo or Greek Orzo Salad!
We love Creamy Orzo with Chicken
- Easy to Make: This orzo chicken dinner is simple to make and only needs one pan, which means less cleaning up afterward. (We love that!!) Any time you can have dinnon the table in under an hour with minimal dishes = a win in my book!
- Delicious Flavors: The creamy sauce, tender chicken, and veggies = perfect combo! Even picky eaters will love it because the flavors are simple and delicious!
- Healthy Ingredients: Chicken Orzo is made with wholesome ingredients like lean chicken and fresh vegetables, making it a healthy dinner choice!
Ingredients
For this chicken orzo you’ll need:
- chicken breasts – chicken thighs also work well in this recipe
- garlic powder, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
- olive oil – this is our favorite
- onion, garlic
- asparagus – mushrooms also work well in this recipe
- dry orzo
- chicken broth – you can use homemade, or look for low/no salt!
- fresh thyme
- half and half – milk works too!
- parmesan
- spinach
SUBSTITUTIONS FOR THIS RECIPE
Olive Oil: You can substitute avocado oil, butter, or ghee.
Chicken Breasts: You can substitute with boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenders. To make this an even faster dish, you can skip the first 2 steps and use pulled or chopped cooked chicken folded in at the end.
Broth: Broth and stock are the same thing! You can use any broth or stock interchangeably. Beef Broth, Chicken Broth, or vegetable broth all work interchangeably. I always use low or no salt broth.
Asparagus: Other vegetables that would be good in this would be zucchini, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes and mushrooms. If you want a veggie loaded chicken dish try this Chicken Vegetable Soup Recipe.
Orzo: I have only tried this recipe with orzo pasta. I’m not sure how gluten free pasta will work in this recipe.
Half & Half: You can substitute half and half with whole milk but it will not be as creamy. You can also substitute heavy cream. I haven’t tried this with dairy free milk and I don’t know how it would come out.
Parmesan Cheese: We haven’t tried this with any other cheese and wouldn’t recommend swapping anything for the parmesan! It wouldn’t have the same flavor. Feta can be sprinkled on top of this dish but would give it a totally different flavor.
Spinach: I haven’t tried it, but I think you could sub spinach with arugula and it would be just as delicious! I’ve also doubled thee spinach in this recipe and it came out great. You can try our Broccoli Cheddar Orzo with Chicken if you want more veggies.
Gluten Free: We only tested this recipe with regular pasta. Gluten free pasta cooks very differently, and we find that it can get very gummy/mushy. It’s hard to know if it will work in this recipe without trying it. Because the orzo cooks in the pan with everything else, the ratios in the recipe would need to change. You could try reducing the broth and cooking it in a separate pot, but I really don’t know how it would come out. If you try it, let me know.
Dairy Free: While I personally have not made this recipe, multiple readers have used dairy free milk + cheese with success!
How to make Creamy Chicken Orzo
- In a small bowl, combine chicken chunks, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, and toss to coat.
- In a large pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and brown the chicken. Set aside. Add the remaining oil to the pan and saute asparagus for another 2 minutes. Then remove with the chicken.
- Saute the onion until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the orzo and garlic and cook until the orzo starts to toast slightly.
- Add in the broth and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Cover and cook for 7 minutes.
- Stir in the chicken, asparagus, half and half, parmesan, and spinach.
- Heat for one to two minutes more until heated through.
How to serve Orzo Chicken
This Orzo Chicken should be served immediately and is best garnished with chopped parsley and extra grated parmesan. You could also add some lemon zest and freshly ground black pepper.
It’s delicious paired with these side dishes:
- Even though there are lots of veggies in this dish, I like it paired with Kale Salad or Kale Quinoa Salad
- Crusty Baguette or Artisan Bread
- Asparagus in the Oven for more veggies
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Parmesan
- A Glass of White Wine
Liz’s Tip:
There are different sizes of orzo pasta, and they may have different cooking times. The size most commonly found in supermarkets cooks in about 8 minutes. Check the packaging of the orzo for cook times and choose one with a 7-9 minute cook time.
How to store Creamy Orzo with Chicken
This dish is best when fresh. Leftovers tend to be drier, less creamy, and can clump together.
Storing: This will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
Freezing: We don’t recommend freezing this recipe. Frozen pasta can get really mushy when frozen!
Reheating: Reheat in a covered pot on the stove, over low heat, adding some extra broth to loosen it back up.
Chicken Orzo Recipe FAQs
Orzo is a type of pasta, not rice, but can get mistaken for rice because of the similar shape.
In this recipe, you should cover the pot to create a controlled cooking environment and allow the orzo to absorb the flavors of the other ingredients in the recipe and cook evenly.
To prevent the orzo from becoming mushy, make sure you use the right amount of chicken broth, cook it to a tender but firm texture, and stir occasionally.
Other healthy dinner recipes:
Looking for other easy one pot meals? Check our our favorite’s below! Grab our free healthy 30 minute dinners cookbook.
One Pot Chicken Orzo
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders cubed into 1” pieces
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoon olive oil divided
- ½ cup yellow onion chopped (about 1/2 a medium onion)
- 2 cups fresh asparagus spears cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic about 3 garlic cloves
- 8 ounces dry orzo
- 2 ½ cups chicken broth low or no salt
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme can sub 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- ⅓ cup half and half can sub milk
- ⅓ cup freshly grated parmesan
- 2 cups fresh spinach
- Chopped fresh parsley and extra Parmesan for garnish
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine chicken chunks, garlic powder, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, toss to coat.
- In a large high sided pan over medium high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add the chicken. Cook for 10-12 minutes, until brown on all sides. Remove from the pan and set aside in a bowl.
- In the same pan, (no need to clean it!) add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add the asparagus and sauté for 2 minutes, until tender but still crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside to the plate with the cooked chicken.
- Add the onion to the pan and sauté until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the orzo and garlic and cook until the orzo starts to toast slightly, another 3 minutes.
- Add in the broth and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pan. (Tip: You can microwave your broth before adding to the pan to speed up cook time) Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 7 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed, stirring halfway.
- Stir in the cooked chicken, asparagus, half and half, parmesan, spinach and thyme. Heat for one to two minutes more until heated through and spinach is wilted.
- Serve immediately garnished with chopped parsley and extra grated parmesan.
Notes
- This dish is best when fresh. Leftovers tend to be drier, less creamy, and can clump together. For best quality, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days and reheat in a covered pot on the stove, over low heat, adding some extra broth to loosen it back up.
- There are different sizes of orzo pasta, and they may have different cooking times.The size most commonly found in the supermarkets around me cook in about 8 minutes. This recipe was made using Barilla orzo. Check the packaging of orzo for cook times and choose one with an 7-9 minute cook time.
- This orzo can be made with chunks of boneless skinless thighs, but you may need to adjust the cooking time for the chicken. To make this an even faster dish, you can skip the first 2 steps and use pulled or chopped cooked chicken folded in at the end.
- Other vegetables that would be good in this would be zucchini, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes and mushrooms.
- Chicken broth can be substituted with vegetable broth.
McDonald says
Recipe is perfect for something quick and filling. My family enjoyed it.
Allie says
This was an easy dish to prepare and it tastes amazing! My boyfriend is trying to up his protein intake and this is a great recipe for that!
Liz Marino says
I’m so glad you both enjoyed it!! Thanks, Allie!
Jeanne S says
Mine was a bit soupier than the picture, but very delish!
Liz Marino says
So glad you liked it, Jeanne!
Gizmo says
New favorite recipe. I subbed half and half with coconut milk for my dairy free husband and added quartered Zuchinni. Leftovers were almost better I thought, I added avocado and tomatoes and omg, so good! Thinking about making this for a meal prep
Liz Marino says
I’m so glad you liked it!! The addition of avocado/tomato is such a good idea! It’s great for meal prep. You should try our Broccoli Cheddar Orzo next!
Rachel Roberts says
Amazing healthy recipe, that is quick and easy for those busy days.
Must try😋
Liz Marino says
Thank you so much!
Elaine says
This was fabulous. I loved the kick of the pepper and I’m not a pepper lover. I think I’ll add mushrooms next time. I did not add spinach as I didn’t see I needed it so I won’t add that next time, but add the mushrooms in its place.
CC says
This is delicious! Will definitely be in the week night rotation- even the teenager loved it!!
Lauren Ford says
My 6 year old son has not eaten a SINGULAR meal that I’ve made without protest since he was 2 (unless it’s plain spaghetti noodles, which doesn’t count as a meal). I made this recipe last night and while he ate it slow, he didn’t say ONE bad thing about it! Ate the spinach and asparagus too 🙂 if I could give this recipe 20 stars, I would. You have NO IDEA how much of a win this is for our family! Thank you for providing an easy, fantastic tasting dish!
Yvonne says
So good!
Quick and easy to make, ingredients on hand!!
I love that about your recipes!!
This was my 3rd time making. It’s great when my husband AND my adult children all like a meal, especially a NEW recipe!!
I had a fresh Loaf of sourdough bread hot from t the oven as the Orzo Chicken was ready.
Didn’t need the extra carbs but ….
This recipe!! Hit the spot!!
Sarah says
I’ve had this on my “to make” list for awhile and I wish I had made it sooner! It was so good with the spinach and asparagus but I’m looking forward to trying it with other vegetables too. I think it’s a really versatile recipe. Thank you for another good one!
Lisa says
So good! I actually think we enjoyed it even more as a leftover dinner. We added mushrooms and it was delicious!
Heidi Brigman says
Loved it! Very simple and easy to follow recipe. Easy to swap out ingredients based on what you have in the fridge and pantry and easy to add more veggies if you want.
Marsha Laufenberg says
Tried this recipe last night and it was so fast to put together and it was delicious. Creamy and not too heavy. The veggies make it so fresh. My picky eater (textures) even liked the orzo. This recipe will for sure go into my favorites rotation!!
Brigitte says
Absolutely delicious!! We ate leftovers and didn’t find them dry at all. Had a little kick to it with the red pepper flakes, but not too much! Will definitely make this again!
Mary says
So good and so easy. I added some mushrooms too.
Erin says
Super easy and so delicious!
Stephanie Kartelias says
This was so delicious! Very easy to make and I loved the added spiciness. 10/10 totally recommend!
Sharon Grene says
Easy, delicious recipe! Next time I will skip the red pepper. It was a little spicy for the little ones but I thought the spice was perfect. I didn’t use asparagus, I replaced with mushrooms. Thank you for another recipe added to my collection!
Crystal Jones says
Just made this tonight, so delicious! The family ate it up and said this recipe is definitely a keeper!
Kiranmai says
My family loved it, I did not have garlic powder so I added fresh garlic.
Clara says
Really loved how quick this was for a weeknight dinner. I did add in basil, tomatoes, and peppers since my husband isn’t a fan of asparagus. Turned out great.
Sally says
Delicious and so easy! How can you go wrong with that combination! It even got a “pretty good” from my husband, which is high praise. It also tasted great for lunch the next two days. I really love your recipes! You even have your own folder in my Pinterest.
Ginny Price says
Can’t wait to try these recipes ! Thank s so much !
Jon says
Wow this was extremely tasty. Previously we made another version of this same recipe but one that was loaded with unnecessary fat and salt. My wife was able to further reduce the fat using tsp. butter while browning the chicken in a non stick pan. The only issue was when to add the sprigs of thyme? The recipe was clear so it went in with the broth.
Jennifer Bartz says
This recipe is one of the best we have every made!!! And we mean any food recipe!!!