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Tender chicken, orzo pasta, tomatoes and spinach come together in a lemony cream sauce for a delicious dinner made all in one pan. This one-pot lemon chicken and orzo will become a weeknight dinner favorite in no time!
We love one-pot dinners around here. There’s nothing better than minimal cleanup and having a meal that my family will happily gobble up.
One-pot spaghetti and one-pot beef stroganoff are big hits around here. I wanted to add to my list of one-pot dinners with something around chicken and orzo (one of my favorite little pasta shapes) and this one-pot lemon chicken and orzo was born.
Between the chicken, the orzo, and the spinach and tomatoes, this is truly a full meal in one pan. Talk about a weeknight dinner win!
What is orzo?
If you’ve ever eaten orzo at a restaurant or seen it in prepared salads at places like Whole Foods, you might think it’s a type of rice because of the shape.
But orzo is actually pasta! You can find it in the grocery store with the other small, shaped pasta.
Orzo is great in pasta salad recipes like my Greek orzo salad and herbed shrimp orzo salad. It’s also delicious in soups and one-pot dishes like one-pot orzo with chicken sausage and this one-pot lemon chicken and orzo.
Just like most pastas, you can often find whole wheat orzo in addition to regular orzo. Feel free to use the whole wheat version in this recipe if you’d like to up the fiber and protein content.
There are even gluten-free orzo options available for anyone who adheres to a gluten-free diet.
My savory one-pot lemon chicken and orzo
This one-pot lemon chicken and orzo has so many great things packed into one dish.
Tender chicken is nestled into a pot of creamy orzo. A pop of lemon and dijon mustard bring tons of flavor and brighten the dish.
Add in the spinach and the tomatoes for color and extra flavor and you’ve got a whole lot of goodness in this meal.
The entire recipe cooks in one pot, so you have fewer dishes to clean when dinner is over. The leftovers also make great lunches later in the week!
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Pin ItHow to make lemon chicken and orzo
This one-pot lemon chicken and orzo seems fancy, but it’s actually pretty easy to make. Let’s talk through it!
Ingredients you’ll need
Don’t be intimidated by the long list of ingredients for this recipe. Once you get into the recipe, you’ll see that it’s actually not that bad.
To make this dish, you will need:
- 2 pounds boneless/skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large diced
- 4-5 minced cloves of garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 cups dry orzo
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 10 ounces halved cherry or grape tomatoes (optional)
- 5 ounces fresh baby spinach
- Salt and pepper to taste
I created this recipe so that you can use chicken breasts or thighs, whichever you prefer or have on hand.
I like to add cherry or grape tomatoes to my lemon chicken and orzo. I like the added acidity and the pop of color they add, but feel free to omit them if you don’t like tomatoes.
Technically you could omit the spinach, too, but I like having it in here so that this is truly an entire meal in one pot. If you want to leave it out, I suggest having another vegetable side, such as air fryer green beans or honey glazed carrots.
Prepping the chicken
Before you get started on this recipe, you will want to prep your chicken.
If you are using chicken breasts, I recommend butterflying them. To do this, lay the chicken breast on a cutting board with your hand flat on top of it.
Use a sharp chef’s knife and, starting at the thicker side, cut the meat in half so that it will open like a book. But make sure to stop just before you cut all the way through on the thin side!
Now you can open up the chicken like a butterfly!
If you’re using thighs, you can skip this step.
Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels – this will help you get a better sear on the chicken. Season all sides of the meat generously with salt and pepper.
Making the chicken and orzo
In a large dutch oven or a deep saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken pieces and cook until they are golden brown on both sides and the internal temperature reads 165°F on an instant-read thermometer.
This will take about 5-7 minutes per side. Work in batches if you need to! Once the chicken is cooked, remove it to a plate, but leave the pan over medium heat.
Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes, then add the garlic, thyme, and italian seasoning and cook for 1 more minute.
Sprinkle the flour over the cooked onions. Stir to combine and cook for 1 minute, then add the chicken stock and the mustard. As you stir, use your spoon to scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
Once simmering, add the orzo along with the cream, parmesan, lemon juice and lemon zest, and the halved tomatoes. Season with a heavy pinch of salt and pepper and stir to combine.
Turn the heat down to low. Cover and simmer the mixture for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the orzo is cooked through.
Once the orzo is done, taste for seasoning. Add additional salt and pepper as needed, then stir in the spinach and nestle the chicken back into the pot.
Let the spinach wilt and the chicken to warm back through before serving with additional parmesan cheese and a squeeze of lemon.
Ways to change up this recipe
So that’s how to make this lemon chicken and orzo according to the recipe. But like so many of my dinner recipes, you can change up some things to fit your family’s tastes!
Make it gluten free by swapping the traditional orzo for gluten-free orzo. Omit the flour and reduce the liquid ingredients by ¼ to ½ cup. The sauce may not be as thick, but it will be delicious!
Use whole wheat orzo to get some extra fiber and protein into the dish without your family even knowing it.
Use rotisserie chicken instead of chicken breasts or thighs. Start with sauteing the onions in the olive oil; continue with the recipe as written, stirring in a few cups of shredded rotisserie chicken at the end.
Swap the cherry tomatoes for sun dried tomatoes. Roughly chop a jar of oil-packed sun dried tomatoes and add them to the recipe in place of the cherry tomatoes or wait to stir them in at the end with the spinach.
One-Pot Lemon Chicken and Orzo
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless/skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion diced
- 4-5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 1 ½ cups dry orzo
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 10 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes halved (optional)
- 5 ounces fresh baby spinach
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- If using chicken breasts, butterfly them. If using thighs, you can skip butterflying the meat.
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season all sides generously with salt and pepper.
- In a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the chicken (working in batches as needed) and cook until golden brown on both sides and fully cooked through (the internal temperature should read 165°F), 5-7 minutes per side. Remove the chicken to a plate.
- Keeping the pan over medium heat, add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and herbs and cook for 1 additional minute.
- Add the flour to the pot; stir to coat the onion and garlic and cook for about 1 minute before adding the chicken stock and mustard. Stir well to combine, using your spoon to scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pot as you do. Bring to a simmer.
- Add the orzo, cream, parmesan, lemon juice and zest, and tomatoes (if using), along with a heavy pinch of salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Reduce the heat to low; cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until the orzo is cooked through, stirring occasionally.
- Once the orzo is cooked, taste for seasoning and add additional salt and pepper as needed.
- Stir in the spinach and nestle the chicken back to the pot. Allow the spinach to wilt and the chicken to warm back through before serving. Serve with additional parmesan cheese and a squeeze of lemon if desired.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Great flavor. Dinner was a hit. I will be making this again….and again.
While the list of ingredients seems like a lot this went together pretty quickly. Fast enough for a weeknight meal, fast enough and “fancy” enough that you can make it for dinner guests.
Delicious!!!! We loved it!! I used chicken tenderloins that I had on hand, cherry roasted tomatoes and spinach. That sauce is SO good!!!
I substituted 1/2 LB. crimini mushrooms for the cherry tomatoes. Flavorful dish!
So happy to see that you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
Very tasty dish! I tried this last night for the first time. We loved it. I would cut back the lemon to half next time as we found it quite acidic. Made a huge amount…lots for lunch today.
So happy to see that you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
5 STARS
This recipe is definitely a keeper. It was a lot of work the first time I made it as it had 16 different ingredients to assemble and use to prepare the dish.
Love the sound of this, I can’t wait to try it out. Thank you