One Pot Creamy Orzo Chicken
A new beloved one-pot wonder! Our One Pot Creamy Orzo Chicken is everything you need for a complete meal but with some serious from-scratch flair. This one is sure to be a new weeknight winner!
Cozy, creamy, and made all in just one pan! Our latest (and new favorite) easy one pan dinner is our One Pot Creamy Orzo Chicken! It’s packed full of everything you need for a well-rounded nutritious and delicious dinner, with seared chicken, creamy orzo, and a pop of color and nutrition with some spinach and cherry tomatoes. This is one that the whole family loves and is one of our favorite ways to use our Homemade Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup!
Ingredients Needed
- Chicken Breasts – We love a boneless chicken breast for this recipe, but you can also make this with boneless chicken thighs too.
- Orzo – We love this rice-shaped pasta, especially in a creamy dish like this!
- Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup – Have you made your own yet? If not, no problem, this recipe is delicious with the canned option, too.
- Spinach and Cherry Tomatoes – Some colorful veggies to round out this meal to make it complete!
- Chicken Stock – Vegetable stock will also work in this recipe. Use whichever you have!
- Olive Oil, Onion and Garlic – Staples!
- Lemon Juice – Just enough to both deglaze the pan (read: get all of the flavor bits up), and add some necessary acidity.
- Seasonings – Basil, oregano, salt, and pepper, great compliments to the flavors in this one-pot meal.
Easy to Make
Searing the Chicken
The first step to this one-pot chicken meal is the chicken! This recipe calls for 1 lb of boneless chicken breasts, but you can increase that (check out the recipe notes). We had two 1/2 lb chicken breasts that we gave a quick pound for a more uniform thickness of the breasts. This will ensure that the chicken cooks evenly.
Pro Tips – Searing
Use thinner / evenly sized chicken: This will help ensure even cooking while searing.
Lower temp, longer cook: To avoid burning the oil, start at medium-high heat to get a good sear. Then, decrease the heat slightly as needed.
If it sticks, it’s not ready: If you think the chicken is ready to be flipped and sticks to the pan, then it’s still developing that seared crust and is not yet ready to be flipped. Once it can be moved easily, then it’s time.
The browned bits are key to flavor: Called the “fond” these browned bits at the bottom of the pan after the chicken is seared are like little flavor bombs!
Cook the Orzo
Once the chicken is cooked and set aside, it’s time for the onion, garlic, herbs, and orzo. Saute the onion and garlic, toast the spices and orzo, then add the stock with the cream of chicken soup and let it all cook together.
Add the Veggies
Now for the colorful, nutritious, complete the meal veggies! If you’ve been around a while, you’ll know that we love adding spinach to as much as we can!
Give your cooked chicken and little slice (or not, totally up to you!) and then add it on top for a complete One Pot Creamy Orzo Chicken!
Juicy flavorful chicken, creamy orzo, tender spinach, and a pop of color and acidity from sweet cherry tomatoes. What more could you ask for in a meal?
You Also Might Like
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- One Pot Creamy Broccoli Pasta
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- One Pan Cabbage and Kielbasa
- One Pot Veggie Pasta
- One Pan Greek Chicken Legs
Find more inspiration for One Pot Meals and Chicken Recipes at our Recipe Index!
Recipe Tips
What’s great about this one pan meal is that you can adjust the amount of chicken to your family’s needs. This recipe is written for 1 lb of chicken, but you can totally increase that to 2 lbs if that’s not enough for your family.
When adding broth, you want to make sure that it is at least room temperature or warm, otherwise, it will affect your cooking time because it will add time to bringing it all up to a boil. If using broth from the fridge, pop it in the microwave to warm it up.
While some of our other orzo recipes have you cover the pan to let it all cook together, we prefer for this recipe to leave it uncovered and stir while it cooks. We find this creates a creamy orzo and reduces any risk of burning.
This is a great meal to make ahead and freeze! Store it in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
One Pot Creamy Orzo Chicken, a one-pan meal that’s nutritious and delicious!
Enjoy! As always, if you make this recipe or any of my others, I love to hear what you think! Leave a comment below, email me, or you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
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One Pot Creamy Orzo Chicken
Equipment
- 3 quart saute pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup orzo 7.3 oz
- 1 lbs chicken breasts
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil divided
- 1 cup onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 1/4 cups condensed cream of chicken soup or one 10.5 oz can, room temperature or warmed
- 3 cups chicken broth room temperature or warmed
- 2 cups fresh spinach packed, about 3.5 oz
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved, 7 oz
Instructions
- Prep Chicken: Slice or gently pound chicken breasts to an even thickness for even cooking. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Sear Chicken: Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a 3 quart saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts and sear, for 1 minute and then turn heat down to medium and cook for 5-6 minutes on each side or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches at least 165℉. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside and cover to stay warm.
- Toast Orzo: Return heat to medium and deglaze the pan with lemon juice and add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Add onion and garlic with oregano and basil. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Add orzo and stir to toast in the pan for 1 – 2 minutes.
- Cook Orzo: Add the warm (or at least room temp) cream of chicken soup and broth. Stir to combine the soup with the broth and turn the heat up to high to bring it all to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, stirring often.
- Finish with Veggies: Add spinach and tomatoes and stir to wilt the spinach for 1 minute.
- Add Chicken: Slice chicken and return it to the pan on top of the creamy orzo.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
I love easy recipes like this. So tasty and comforting, just perfect for these chilly fall days.