Look no further than this One Pot Chicken and Orzo Skillet recipe if you are wanting a simple and delicious weeknight dinner.
With just one pan to clean up, this dinner is tasty and easy to prepare! Did I mention it is ready in 30 minutes?
This orzo pasta dinner gives the feel of a comfort food without being overly heavy feeling.
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I'm using tender and juicy boneless skinless chicken thighs in this recipe. I love using thighs in a meal because they don't dry out as easy as other cuts.
Some other great chicken thigh recipes to try are my Asian Glazed Chicken Thighs and my Boneless Chicken Thighs in the Air Fryer.
That being said, if you only have boneless chicken breasts on hand you can use those too.
🍽️Ingredients
The ingredient list for this chicken dinner is simple. Most items you probably have on hand.
- Chicken - Boneless chicken thighs or boneless chicken breasts
- Pasta - Orzo
- Cheese - Parmesan
- Vegetable - Peas, frozen but defrosted
- Stock - Vegetable or chicken stock
- Flavor makers - garlic, salt, pepper and garlic powder
- Fats - Avocado oil and butter
Note: Freshly grated parmesan cheese is best and usually more cost effective. Grab a cheap box grater from Amazon if you don't already have one!
🔪Cooking instructions
This is a quick visual of how to prepare the chicken and orzo dinner. If you aren't much of a visual learner, feel free to just head on down to the printable recipe card for instructions.
One: Trim and season chicken. Place in skillet with oil. Brown on one side.
Two: Flip chicken and brown the other side. Remove from skillet.
Three: Add butter, garlic and orzo to skillet. Stir and allow orzo to toast for a minute before stirring in stock.
Four: Bring the orzo just up to a boil. Add the chicken back to pan. Cover and reduce to a simmer.
Five: Simmer about 20 minutes until orzo is tender is chicken is cooked through.
Six: Remove from heat and stir in peas and parmesan.
🍳Food Safety
Chicken should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 F according to the USDA. In order to be sure the chicken is cooked through, always use a quick-read, digital thermometer.
Printable Recipe Card
Chicken and Orzo One Pot Dinner
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs approximately 5 to 6 thighs
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or similar style oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 3 ½ cups vegetable stock can use chicken instead
- 1 cup orzo uncooked
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese fresh grated is best
- 1 cup frozen peas defrosted
Instructions
- Trim visible fat from chicken. Dry surface with paper towel. Season both sides with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
- Heat oil in large, high sided skillet (see notes for recommendation) over medium-high heat. Add seasoned chicken to pan. Leave it alone for a few minutes to allow it to brown and then flip chicken over to brown the other side. Remove chicken from pan to a dish (it does not need to be cooked all the way through at this point). Return skillet to stove top.
- Add butter, garlic and orzo to skillet. Stir to coat the orzo in butter. Add stock to pan and give it a good stir. Bring mixture just to a boil. Add the chicken back to the pan, cover pan and reduce to a simmer (medium-low to low heat). Simmer about 20 minutes until orzo is tender and chicken is cooked through.
- Remove pan from heat and stir in peas and parmesan cheese. Taste for seasoning and add salt and or pepper if needed.
Optional finishing touches
- If desired, stir in an additional tablespoon of butter when adding the parmesan and peas.
- Garnish with fresh chopped parsley before serving.
Susan says
There are many recipes for chicken orzo skillet dinner. This one calls for fewer ingredients than most. Easy to make and still tastes good. I used two very large chicken breasts, 1/2C pasta and 2C broth, and 1C mixed vegetables. Extra seasonings gave more flavor. This is a very good chicken and pasta one pot dinner!
christine says
I love that this doesn't use a ton of ingredients I don't have. Sometimes I also add onion powder.