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Say hello to your new favorite dinner — Creamy One-Pot Lemon Feta Chicken with Orzo!
I know I’ve shared a lot of orzo skillet recipes on the blog before, but that’s just because they’re so easy and so delicious. And this one is no exception. It features deliciously spiced chicken served over a brightly flavored orzo that gets its creaminess from crumbled feta. The combination of warm spices, fresh herbs, and tangy feta cheese works so well together. Aside from the flavor, I also love how this is all made in one pot, which makes for super easy clean-up.
ingredients:
- Kosher Salt
- Turmeric
- Smoked Paprika
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Cayenne Pepper
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Shallot
- Garlic Cloves
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- Dijon Mustard
- Dry White Wine
- Orzo
- Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
- Lemon Zest
- Lemon Juice
- Fresh Oregano
- Fresh Parsley
- Crumbled Feta Cheese
- Lemon Wedges
step-by-step:
step one: preheat the oven
Preheat oven to 375℉.
step two: make the spice blend
In a small bowl, combine the salt, turmeric, smoked paprika, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.
step three: season and sear the chicken
Pat the chicken dry, then season both sides generously with the spice mix. Heat the oil in a large, deep oven-safe skillet set over medium-high heat. Working in batches as needed, add the chicken and cook until browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the skillet to a separate plate and set aside.
step four: add the aromatics and wine
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the shallots, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the Dijon and wine, stirring and scraping up any brown bits. Cook until the mixture has reduced by half.
step five: add the orzo and cook
Add the orzo, chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, oregano, parsley, and 1/2 cup feta crumbles. Stir to combine, then nestle the chicken (and any juices) into the skillet. Transfer to the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, until orzo is almost cooked through.
step six: top with more feta
Carefully remove the skillet from the oven and top with the remaining 1/4 cup feta crumbles. Transfer back into the oven and continue to bake until the orzo is cooked through and the feta has softened, about 5 more minutes.
step seven: serve and enjoy
Remove from the oven and garnish with more oregano. Serve with lemon wedges.
recipe faqs:
Any sort of dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay will work well!
Absolutely! Although I haven’t tested it with anything other than chicken, my readers love to make it with salmon!!
I hope you all love this Creamy One-Pot Lemon Feta Chicken with Orzo!
want more cozy chicken recipes? try these!
One-Pan Roasted Chicken Ratatouille
Spinach, Artichoke, and Chicken Orzo Skillet
One-Pan Roasted Chicken with Lemony White Beans
Creamy Ricotta Chicken and Orzo Skillet
Creamy One-Pot Lemon Feta Chicken with Orzo
Ingredients
For the Spice Blend:
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
For the Chicken:
- 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
For the Orzo:
- 1 large shallot, halved and thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup orzo
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- zest of 1/2 lemon
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves, plus more for serving
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese, divided
- lemon wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉.
- In a small bowl, combine the salt, turmeric, smoked paprika, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.
- Pat the chicken dry, then season both sides generously with the spice mix. Heat the oil in a large, deep oven-safe skillet set over medium-high heat. Working in batches as needed, add the chicken and cook until browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the skillet to a separate plate and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the shallots, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the Dijon and wine, stirring and scraping up any brown bits. Cook until the mixture has reduced by half.
- Add the orzo, chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, oregano, parsley, and 1/2 cup feta crumbles. Stir to combine, then nestle the chicken (and any juices) into the skillet. Transfer to the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, until orzo is almost cooked through.
- Carefully remove the skillet from the oven and top with the remaining 1/4 cup feta crumbles. Transfer back into the oven and continue to bake until the orzo is cooked through and the feta has softened, about 5 more minutes.
- Remove from the oven and garnish with more oregano. Serve with lemon wedges.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography by Eat Love Eats.
I’ve left a review for this after the first time I made it, but just wanted to jump back on and say how my girls request this home cooked meal every time they come home from college/grad school over the last couple of years. We have decided buying the “good” fresh feta – especially the block in brine that we crumble ourselves if we can find it, makes such a difference. Thank you for your creative recipes, and hope you and yours have a wonderful Easter weekend!
Being gluten free, unfortunately I can’t find gf orzo in my area. Can this be made with rice and what substitutions need to be made?
Orzo cooks faster than rice so you may need to adjust the cook time a bit, but otherwise I’d use a long-grain white rice like basmati or jasmine.
We made this last night and it was delicious! I added in some grape tomatoes and we loved it!
I’ve made this before and it’s delicious as is … but could you swap quinoa for the orzo?
This looks so tasty! If one were adding asparagus, would you cut and add to the skillet before putting in the oven? Do you think 15-20 min would be enough time?
Thank you!
I’ve made this dish twice now and the flavor never misses!! One thing, how do I get the wine to reduce by half? I also feel like I’m using too my broth because after about 25 minutes in the oven it is still very soupy. Any thoughts?
You just need to make sure you cook it until it has mostly evaporated, but the flavor locks in! Maybe you need to reduce it a bit more so it’s not too brothy!
My coworker’s wife made this and he brought in some leftovers for both of us. He said it was his favorite chicken dish and I can see why. It was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten! So flavorful and so delicious!!
Wow! Thank you so much for sharing!
This is a winner! I love recipes where I have most of the ingredients on hand and just need to buy the protein. I didn’t have fresh oregano, so I used dry. Everything else had so much flavor, I didn’t miss it.
Any alternative to poultry? A seafood or cut of beef?
I haven’t tried it with seafood or beef, but I bet it would be delicious with salmon, cod, or shrimp.
I make this with salmon all the time – it is great!!
Yum!!
can you add some fresh green beans in with the orzo or do you think they would overcook in 20 min in the oven?
I think they’d be fine!