One skillet Creamy Orzo Chicken with Artichoke Hearts- a deliciously cozy dinner, made with simple pantry ingredients, perfect for busy weeknights. Video.
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This Creamy Orzo Chicken is so homey and comforting, it just doesn’t seem possible that it comes together so easily! My husband constantly asks for this one and honestly, I love making it, because it is so simple to make.
Creamy Orzo Chicken Video
Ingredients in Creamy Orzo Chicken
- Chicken Thighs – bone-in, skin-on, or sub chicken breasts or skinless thighs, see notes.
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
- onion- or sub leeks or shallots
- garlic cloves
- thyme (or sub sage, or rosemary)
- orzo pasta
- dijon mustard
- chicken broth
- sour cream, or sub-full-fat yogurt
- artichoke hearts- jarred and packed in water, or use frozen. Or sub other veggies- peas, cooked mushrooms, etc.
- fresh spinach, or sub other wiltable greens.
- lemon zest
How to make Creamy Orzo Chicken
Step one
- Preheat oven to 400F
- Season the chicken on all sides generously with salt and pepper. A good rule of thumb is one scant teaspoon of salt per pound of chicken.
- Pan-sear each side until perfectly golden, and the skin is crispy- then set aside on a plate.
Step two
- Saute the onion, garlic and thyme.
- Add the orzo and toast in the pan for 1 minute.
- Add the chicken broth and salt.
- Stir in the mustard.
- Cover and simmer for 4-5 minutes.
Step three
- Stir in the sour cream.
- If it seems dry, stir in more broth- a good rule of thumb is when you shake the pan, the mixture should level out.
- Stir in the spinach and artichokes.
- Nestle in the chicken thighs.
Step four
Bake uncovered until the chicken thighs are cooked through (170F) and the edges are bubbling about 20 minutes. Broil the skin for extra crispy.
Step five
Garnish the Creamy Orzo Chicken with lemon zest.
Serve this meal on it’s own or with roasted asparagus, or 15-Minute broccoli, Green Beans with Hazelnuts and Lemon!or a tasty green salad.
More chicken recipes you may like:
- 35+ Chicken Breast Recipes
- Baked Rigatoni with Butternut Squash and Kale
- Chicken Cacciatore
- Gorgonzola Chicken with Mushrooms & Sage
- Chicken Mole
- Chicken Marsala
- Lemony Broccoli Chicken Orzo Bake
One Skillet Creamy Orzo Chicken
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 45
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main, chicken recipe
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Description
One Skillet Creamy Orzo Chicken with Artichoke Hearts- a deliciously cozy dinner, made with simple pantry ingredients, perfect for busy weeknights.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on, or use chicken breast, see notes)
- salt and pepper (1 scant teaspoon salt, per pound of chicken)
- 1–2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme ( or one teaspoon dried, or sub sage or rosemary)
- 1 cup orzo pasta
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth, more as needed
- 1/4–1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup sour cream; add more for extra creamy- sub-full-fat plain yogurt or heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cup artichoke hearts, packed in water, drained. Or sub frozen artichoke hearts, peas, edamame, etc.
- 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
- 4–6 thyme sprigs
- Lemon zest for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F
- Pat chicken dry and season both sides with salt and pepper.
- Sear the chicken: In a large (10-11 inch) oven-proof skillet, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Sear the skin side first 4-5 minutes, until beautifully golden and crispy, turn over, and sear the other side 3-4 minutes. Set chicken aside on a plate.
- Saute: Lower heat to medium-low, and to the same skillet, add a tablespoon of olive oil, onions, garlic and thyme. Saute 4-5 minutes until lightly golden and fragrant. Add the orzo, stirring 1-2 minutes. Add 2 cups of broth, scrape up any brown bits, stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt and mustard and bring to simmer, and cover for 4-5 minutes, or until orzo is al dente and has soaked up most of the liquid.
- Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup of broth and adjust the salt to taste (I added another 1/4 teaspoon.)
- Stir in sour cream, spinach, and artichoke hearts. Give the pan a shake, it should level out nicely. If it’s too dry to level out, then add more chicken stock or water to loosen it up.
- Nestle in the chicken, arrange some the artichokes, so they are showing, and place in the oven and bake uncovered until the chicken registers 170F and the very edges of the pan are bubbling, and the orzo is tender – about 20 -25 minutes. Add the sprigs of thyme. Broil the chicken for a few minutes for extra crispy skin.
- Garnish with fresh lemon zest.
Notes
Feel free to use 1 lb chicken breasts. I recommend cutting the breasts into 1-inch bite-sized pieces, seasoning and browning them, then stirring them into the orzo mixture, rather than nestling them on top. They’ll need less baking time- check at 10-15 minutes.
If using heavy cream instead of sour cream, add few drops of lemon juice to give it a tanginess.
Leftovers last 4 days in the fridge.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 508
- Sugar: 5.9 g
- Sodium: 969.7 mg
- Fat: 26.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 7.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 42.1 g
- Fiber: 8.3 g
- Protein: 26.9 g
- Cholesterol: 119.8 mg
EXCELLENT! Another outstanding recipe…easy to prepare and incredibly tasty. My hubby and I gobbled it up, it will definitely be one of the regulars. Thank you for putting together an amazing website, what a treasure of information. Oh…don’t skip adding the lemon zest! P.s. I am hooked on this website. 🙂
Aww…so nice to hear this Doris! Happy you are enjoying!
Another winner! So good! Thank you so much for all these wonderful recipes!
Great to hear!
This was the best recipe for our family of 4! It’s always difficult to find dinner that everyone will enjoy with a 1 year old learning to eat, and a picky 4 year old. My picky eater, 1 year old and husband gobbled it up. The orzo was definitely the star of the show. We’ll be keeping this in our rotation. Thank you for sharing!
I’m so happy everyone enjoyed! Sounds like it passed the true test of a 1-year old’s palate!
I know a recipe is a hit when my non-foodie husband says “is this hard to make”? My two teen boys approved as well!
That is the best!
This is one of my family’s favorite quick weeknight meals. I love adding mushrooms to it.
Great to hear Melissa and mushrooms sound yummy!
I love this recipe. It is absolutely delicious. I used the heavy cream and lemon rather than sour cream— it is a total comfort food. Another winner Sylvia!
Great to hear Jan!
Could Greek yogurt be used instead of sour cream?
Hi Sasha, great question and I am not sure here, as I haven’t tried it. I worry about it getting grainy? If you do try it,will you let us know?
I LOVE this and have made about 5 times! How would you adjust this for skinless boneless thighs?
I think it should cook quite similarly?
A new household go to and favorite recipe for sure! At my husband’s request, I sliced up chicken breasts and browned them instead of using the thighs. Served with a squeeze of lemon, lemon zest, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese! #delicious
Sounds perfect Katy!
This recipe is Excellent! Just a little prep ahead of time and it all comes together.
My question is, when do you add in the 4-6 sprigs of thyme?
This will definitely be in the family rotation.
Glad you enjoyed this, Richard. I usually add the thyme a few minutes before taking the chicken out of the oven.
Made this for the 1st time 5/2/23, but it certainly won’t be the last! Thank you for continuing to post EXCELLENT recipes!
Glad you enjoyed this Donna!