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This Herby Chicken and Orzo Skillet has all the cozy flavors of chicken noodle soup, reimagined as a hearty one-pan dinner.
I absolutely love to make this comforting dish for my family. It features juicy chicken thighs, sautéed veggies, gluten-free orzo, chicken broth, a bundle of fresh herbs, and a bright squeeze of lemon. I promise you that it comes together SO easily, but honestly, one of my favorite parts is that everything happens in one skillet, which means clean-up is a breeze.
When it comes to picking out a good gluten-free pasta, trust me when I say that I’ve pretty much tried them all, and I always come back to Jovial Foods. I swear their brown rice pasta—including their orzo–tastes just as good as traditional pasta and it works so well in this cozy recipe. But if you do not need gluten-free, this works great with regular orzo!
Ingredients:
- Kosher Salt
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Ground Turmeric
- Dried Sage
- Paprika
- Cayenne Pepper
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Unsalted Butter
- Celery
- Carrots
- Yellow Onion
- Garlic Cloves
- Gluten-Free Orzo
- Dry White Wine
- Chicken Broth
- Lemon Zest
- Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
- Fresh Thyme
- Fresh Rosemary
- Bay Leaf
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
step-by-step:
step one: preheat the oven
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
step two: make the spice mix
In a small bowl, add the salt, pepper, ground turmeric, dried sage, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine.
step three: season and cook the chicken
Pat the chicken dry then season both sides generously with the spice mix. In a large oven-safe deep skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. In a single layer, add the chicken and cook until browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side, then remove from the skillet and set aside. The chicken will finish cooking in the oven.
step four: sauté the veggies
Reduce the heat to medium, add the butter, and let melt. Add the celery, carrots, onion, and garlic and cook, stirring, until tender, about 4 minutes.
step five: add the orzo and wine
Add the orzo and toss to toast, about 1 minute. Pour in the wine and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until reduced by half, about 3 minutes.
step six: add the remaining ingredients and cook
Add the chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf. Bring to a gentle simmer, then nestle the chicken (and any of its juices) into the skillet. Transfer to the oven and bake, uncovered, until orzo is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, 20 to 23 minutes.
step seven: rest, garnish, and serve
Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes to allow the juices to settle a bit more. Garnish with grated Parmesan and fresh thyme, if desired.
recipe faqs:
Yes! Feel free to just use more chicken stock in place of the wine.
You can, but just note that the cook time may be different since chicken breasts tend to cook more quickly than thighs.
The next time you’re looking for a satisfying dinner that the whole family will love, I hope you’ll try this Herby Chicken and Orzo Skillet! Let me know what you think of the recipe in the comments below!
looking for more chicken dinner recipes? try these!
One-Pan Roasted Chicken Ratatouille
One-Pan Roasted Chicken with Lemony White Beans
Chicken with Herby White Wine Gravy
Herby Chicken and Orzo Skillet
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
For the Orzo:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup medium diced celery
- 3/4 cup medium diced carrots
- 3/4 cup finely diced yellow onion
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup uncooked gluten-free orzo (I use Jovial Foods)
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 2 cups chicken broth
- zest of 1/2 lemon
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme (from 8 to 10 sprigs), plus more for garnish *see note
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary (from about 1 sprig) *see note
- 1 bay leaf
- grated Parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)
- chopped fresh thyme, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper, ground turmeric, dried sage, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine.
- Pat the chicken dry, then season both sides generously with the spice mix. In a large oven-safe deep skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. In a single layer, add the chicken and cook until browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side, then remove from the skillet and set aside. The chicken will finish cooking in the oven.
- Reduce heat to medium, add the butter, and let melt. Add the celery, carrots, onion, and garlic and cook, stirring, until tender, about 4 minutes.
- Add the orzo and toss to toast, about 1 minute. Pour in the wine and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until reduced by half, about 3 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf. Bring to a gentle simmer, then nestle the chicken (and any of its juices) into the skillet. Transfer to the oven and bake, uncovered, until orzo is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, 20 to 23 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes to allow the juices to settle a bit more. Garnish with grated Parmesan and fresh thyme, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Food Photography and Styling by Eat Love Eats.
Thank you! This is such a clever dish with amazing flavors. There’s a really fun contrast between the spice on the chicken and the orzo. They are working in unison, but they both have their own personalities. I am so glad I decided to make this tonight. It was a perfect elevated weekday meal.
This was absolutely incredible. I wouldn’t change a thing. Everyone in the family loved it, and I’ll be adding it to my meal rotation
This was SO good. Perfect to make for guests. Could prep all ingredients before and quick to make once youve done that!
Wow! This was so simple to make, yet so flavorful!!!
Loved this. Super easy and flavorful. AND the whole family ate it, including my two young children (18 months and nearly 4 years) – major win.
Made this dish for dinner tonight and it was absolutely delicious. Your recipes are consistently fantastic.
I just made this for dinner tonight for my husband and I and WOW! 10/10 so good and would recommend to everyone!
Outstanding! This and the Thai Braised Chicken are my two favorite one skillet meals of yours
I happen to have the Jovial cassava orzo and was wondering if it would work in any of your one pot orzo recipes. Do you know if the cassava version would work ok too?
I was just noticing in the Sausage & Orzo one dish recipe, specifically there is a mention of Jovial so I’m thinking just check these two recipes against each other to see if there is anything you’ll need to do different when using it.