❤️ Chicken Orzo Bake

Our One-Pan Chicken Orzo Bake is the ultimate comfort food—creamy orzo, sun-dried tomatoes, and seasoned chicken, ready in just 28 minutes!

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine American, Americanized Italian, Italian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 18

Total Time 28

Servings

Calories 509.3kcal

Author Marcie & Julie

Equipment

1 oven-safe skillet or pan

Ingredients

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into small cubes
3 tablespoon olive oil divided
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
3 galic cloves finely chopped or minced
¾ cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and julienned or cut into strips
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup orzo
½ cup heavy cream
2 cups spinach
¾ cup parmesan finely shredded or grated
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Instructions

Set oven to 425°. In a small bowl, mix paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper. Toss the chicken in the seasoning mixture to coat evenly.
Heat 2 tablespoon of the olive oil in large oven-safe pan over medium heat. Add chicken to pan and brown for 4-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove chicken and set aside.
Reduce heat to low. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the same pan and sauté garlic and sun-dried tomatoes for 2 minutes, or until fragrant.
Pour chicken broth into the pan and bring to a boil on medium heat. Add orzo and cook "al dente" according to package directions (around 7 minutes). Note: Stir orzo occasionally as it cooks to ensure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
Return chicken to the pan. Stir in cream, spinach, red pepper flakes, and parmesan cheese until combined.
Place pan in the oven and bake for 5-8 minutes until slightly browned and chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.

Video

Notes

Use an oven-safe sauté pan or fry pan. The pan should be large enough to contain all the liquid; the vertical sides of a sauté pan are ideal for this purpose.

Remember to cut chicken into small pieces for faster browning/cooking. Sometimes a butcher can do this for you to save time.

Stir orzo occasionally as it cooks to ensure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Monitor cooking times. When baking your chicken orzo, note that the 5-8 minute time frame is subjective. It could take more or less depending on the efficiency of your oven and the thickness of your chicken.

Use a reliable meat thermometer to check the temperature of the chicken. Chicken is fully cooked when it reaches 165°F.

Skip the oven. If short on time, you may also continue to cook chicken mixture on the stove until warmed through and until chicken is fully cooked.

Make this dish dairy-free by swapping heavy cream for coconut milk and omitting the parmesan.

To plate...serve this chicken orzo dish topped with extra parmesan cheese or red pepper flakes.

Nutrition