This delicious one-pot lemon orzo and chicken dinner is creamy, easy, and surprisingly light.
This recipe for a one-pot lemon orzo and chicken dinner came to me after suddenly being inundated with orzo recipes online. I rediscovered orzo back in the summer and I feel like I am seeing recipes with it everywhere all of a sudden. So, I jumped on the bandwagon.
After seeing @erekav’s reel of a one-pan salmon and orzo dish I just had to put my own spin on it to make sure my family would eat it. This recipe is super simple and it all cooks up in one pan on the stovetop making it the perfect weeknight meal.
You can easily switch up the veggies or add whatever you like. Try adding frozen peas or edamame for even more colour and protein.
Preparing One-Pot Lemon Chicken Dinner with Orzo
Ingredients
Olive oil: I use olive oil for this recipe because of its mild flavour. Olive oil is the fat extracted from olives. The least processed is extra virgin olive oil, which I use in this recipe.
Chicken thighs: Use boneless skinless chicken thighs for this dish. They are easy and quick to cook and keep their moisture well.
Parmesan: Grated parmesan cheese is perfect for this recipe, and I don’t mean freshly grated. The relatively inexpensive pre-grated type is just right here. The flavour is perfect and I always find it a bit of a waste to use the freshly grated stuff in a sauce where it just melts away. Save the expensive fresh stuff for topping your pasta.
Stock: Stock adds the base for this delicious sauce so the flavour it brings is very important. Make sure you don’t have one that’s too salty. If it is, reduce the amount of salt you add to the recipe.
Sage: Sage is part of the mint family and has a very strong earthy smell and flavour. It’s native to the Mediterranean and is used in cooking both fresh and dried. It’s very commonly used as a flavouring in sausages as well as with poultry and pork. We use the dried form for this recipe.
Lemon: Lemons are citrus fruit loaded with vitamin C. These somewhat oval, yellow fruit are packed with flavour. They are sour and sometimes tart and add freshness to recipes. For this recipe, we are using the juice and zest of a lemon.
Orzo: Orzo is a small rice-shaped pasta. It is often made of semolina, a flour made from durum wheat or all-purpose flour. It’s deceivingly similar to rice but only in its shape and size. Since orzo is actually pasta not a grain, its nutrient content does not resemble that of rice.
Garlic: Garlic is a bulb that is edible and is grown in soil. Though the green shoots it sprouts, called garlic scapes, are also edible, we are referring to the actual bulb that the scapes grow from. Garlic bulbs are made up of multiple cloves and depending on the
Heavy cream: Cream is one of the main stars of this dish. Ideally, you want to use heavy whipping cream or heavy cream which has between 36% and 40% fat content. I find that this isn’t typically available in the grocery stores near me so I settle for whipping cream which is usually between 30% and 35% fat. This cream will thicken nicely and create that almost fluffy texture in the sauce.
Spinach: Spinach is a leafy green vegetable. It is loaded with nutrients and antioxidants and is often sold pre-washed and ready to eat.
How to Make One-Pot Lemon Orzo and Chicken Dinner
All the prep for this dish happens while we cook so the first step is to get all of your ingredients out and ready. Don’t forget the measuring cups and spoons. Start by warming up the oil in a pan on medium-high heat.
We use a large pan with a lid to make sure we can cook up this recipe all in one go.
While the oil is heating up, season the chicken thighs with 1/8 tsp salt, and all of the sage on each side.
Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 4 minutes on each side. This should brown the chicken nicely and give it a delicious flavour.
While the chicken is cooking peel the garlic, squeeze and zest the lemon. If you don’t have a garlic press, mince the garlic as well.
Once the chicken is done cooking, remove it from the pan and set it aside.
Now, press the garlic into the pan and sauté for 30 seconds making sure not to burn it.
Pour in the stock, lemon juice and lemon zest. Also, add the orzo and put the chicken back in the pan.
Reduce the heat under the pan to medium-low, cover it with a lid and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until the orzo is al dente.
Once the orzo is cooked, add cream and spinach and stir. Cover and cook for another 3 minutes or so to let it thicken.
Lastly, turn off the heat under the pan. Add the grated Parmesan and stir until it is fully melted.
Substitutions
Chicken thighs: You can use any cut of chicken that you like however you will have to adjust the cooking time accordingly.
Cream: If you’re all out of cream, try substituting it with a milk slurry. Combine 1 tablespoon of flour and ¼ cup of milk in a bowl before adding it to the pan.
Serving One-Pot Lemon Orzo and Chicken Dinner
Since this is a one-pot meal you really don’t need to serve anything with it. I do however recommend that you top it with some freshly grated parmesan, and crushed red chili peppers if you want some heat.
As with any pasta, a slice of freshly baked ciabatta is always a welcome, though unnecessary addition.
Let us know in the comments if you have any questions. And if you like this recipe be sure to leave us a five-star rating below.
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One-Pot Lemon Orzo and Chicken Dinner Recipe
Equipment
- Cutting board and knife
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp oil
- 4-6 boneless skinless chicken thighs 1/2lb per person
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan
- 2 ¼ cups stock (chicken or vegetable)
- 1 tsp ground sage
- ½ tsp salt
- 25 ml lemon juice (approx. 1 lemon)
- Zest of one lemon
- 300 g orzo
- 1 garlic clove
- ¼ cup cream
- 1-2 cups spinach
- Fresh parmesan for serving
Instructions
- Warm up the oil in a pan on medium-high heat.2 tbsp oil
- While the oil is heating up, season the chicken thighs with 1/8 tsp salt, and sage on each side.4-6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp ground sage
- Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 4 minutes on each side.
- While the chicken is cooking peel the garlic, squeeze and zest the lemon.25 ml lemon juice, 1 garlic clove, Zest of one lemon
- Once the chicken is done remove it from the pan and set it aside.
- Press the garlic into the pan and sauté for 30 seconds then pour in the stock, lemon juice and zest. Add the orzo and put the chicken back in the pan.2 ¼ cups stock, 1 garlic clove, 300 g orzo
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 6-8 minutes.
- Once the orzo is cooked, add cream and spinach and stir. Cover and cook for another 3 minutes or so.¼ cup cream, 1-2 cups spinach
- Turn off the heat under the pan. Add the grated Parmesan and stir until it is fully melted.¼ cup grated Parmesan
- Serve.Fresh parmesan for serving
