You’ll love this comforting one-pan chicken orzo recipe, prepared Greek-style! Chicken thighs and orzo bake together in a flavorful mixture with garlic, bell peppers, and tomato. Easy and satisfying!
Chicken dinners are always a winner at my house. This chicken orzo recipe is one of my girls’ favorites! As a busy home cook, I’m always up for healthy one-pot dinners. Cooking chicken with a grain or pasta in the same pot is a recipe for success. You keep in all the flavor and have fewer dishes to wash. What’s not to like?
Chicken and rice and chicken and couscous, for example, are often on my rotation. Orzo, with its satisfyingly springy texture and rice-like shape, is the best of both worlds! And this recipe, generously seasoned with garlic, lemon, and Greek seasonings like oregano and sweet paprika, guarantees juicy, flavorful chicken every time.
Table of Contents
Ingredients for this Chicken and Orzo Recipe
Though this chicken and orzo recipe will make your kitchen smell like you’re wandering the streets of Athens, it’s made with simple ingredients and seasonings. You likely have most of them on hand! You’ll need:
- Seasoning: Dried oregano, sweet paprika, and coriander give the chicken and orzo a decidedly Greek flavor. You can stock up on these vibrant Mediterranean spices and more at our spice shop. Salt and pepper make everything more vibrant.
- Chicken: I love the ease of boneless, skinless chicken thighs but you can use any cut of chicken you’d like here. If you’re using skin-on, bone-in thighs, give them a little more time in your pan to brown. The skin will crisp up nicely. For chicken breasts, check on them about 5 minutes sooner. Make sure the thickest part of the chicken registers at 165°F.
- Fresh lemon juice balances the savory chicken thighs.
- Extra virgin olive oil: I love the richness of a full-bodied Greek olive oil with this recipe.
- Bell peppers: I like to use a mix of colors for more variety.
- Onion: I like the sweetness of yellow onions with savory chicken and orzo, but any onion you have is fine.
- Garlic: Six whole garlic cloves make this simple recipe crave-worthy.
- Tomatoes: Plum tomatoes and their juice bring a sweet-tart flavor to the braising liquid.
- Chicken broth: Use a high-quality, low-sodium chicken broth or stock, or make your own. Vegetable broth also works here.
- Orzo: This small pasta soaks up the flavor-makers like a sponge! You can use standard orzo, or whole grain if you prefer.
- Parsley–both the leaves and tender stems–adds freshness and color. Cilantro is a worthy substitute in this recipe.
- Feta adds tang and creaminess, becoming deliciously melty from the heat of the chicken and orzo. It’s totally optional, though! Leave it off to keep this recipe dairy-free.
How to Make this Chicken and Orzo Recipe
You don’t need fancy equipment or techniques to make this easy chicken orzo recipe; just make sure you have a Dutch oven or an oven-safe pot with a lid. It needs to be large enough to fit the chicken, orzo, and vegetables. Here is how it goes:
Season and Sear the Chicken
- Get ready. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Season the chicken. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 teaspoons dried oregano with 1 teaspoon each sweet paprika, coriander, salt, and pepper. Pat 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs dry, then add to the bowl and turn to coat. Add the juice from half a lemon and set aside for a few minutes.
- Get your flavor-makers ready. Core 2 bell peppers and slice them into thin rounds. Chop 1 yellow onion. Mince 6 garlic cloves (see my tips in this garlic guide).
- Sear the chicken. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or a large oven-safe pot set over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add the chicken and brown on both sides, about 8 to 10 minutes in total (it does not need to be cooked through at this point). Transfer the chicken to a plate for now.
- Sear the peppers. In the same pot, add the bell pepper and sear on each side. Remove and place with the chicken for now.
Braise the Chicken and Orzo Together in the Oven
- Cook the orzo. If the pot looks dry, add another tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until soft. Add the garlic and cook another 30 seconds, then add 2 cups canned peeled plum tomatoes (and their juice), 2 cups chicken broth, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon paprika, and a dash of kosher salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then stir in 2 cups (uncooked) orzo.
- Braise the chicken. Nestle the chicken pieces into the orzo mixture and top with the bell pepper slices. Transfer the pot to the heated oven. Bake, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the orzo is fully cooked and has absorbed most of the liquid. Remove from oven, cover, and let sit 5 minutes undisturbed (the orzo will absorb any juices.)
- Finish and serve: Drizzle everything with a little extra virgin olive oil, and garnish with fresh parsley and feta, if you like.
What to Serve with this Chicken Orzo Recipe
I typically make chicken and orzo for a simple weeknight dinner, sometimes with an easy Greek salad to carry on the theme. But if you like, you can add a starter or two like Greek baked feta or melitzanosalata with your favorite crusty bread.
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One Pan Chicken Orzo
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- Extra virgin olive oil
For the Orzo
- 2 bell peppers (any color), cored and sliced into rounds
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups canned peeled plum tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- 2 cups orzo (uncooked)
- Chopped parsley, for garnish
- Feta cheese, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Get ready. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Season the chicken. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oregano, paprika, coriander, salt and pepper. Pat the chicken dry, then add to the bowl and turn to coat. Toss in the lemon juice and set aside for a few minutes.
- Brown the chicken. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or a large oven-safe pot over medium-high, heat 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil until shimmering. Add the chicken and brown on both sides, about 8 to 10 minutes in total (it does not need to be cooked through at this point). Transfer the chicken to a plate for now.
- Sear the peppers. In the same pot, add the bell pepper and sear on each side. Remove and place with the chicken for now.
- Cook the orzo. If the pot looks dry, add another tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until soft. Add the garlic, and cook another 30 seconds, then add the tomatoes (and their juice), broth, oregano, paprika, and a dash of kosher salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then stir in the orzo.
- Braise the chicken. Nestle the chicken pieces into the orzo mixture and top with the bell pepper slices. Transfer the pot to the heated oven oven. Bake, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the orzo is fully cooked and has absorbed most of the liquid. Remove from oven, cover and let sit 5 minutes undisturbed (the orzo will absorb any juices.)
- Finish and serve. Drizzle everything with a little extra virgin olive oil, and garnish with fresh parsley and feta, if you like.
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Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including the olive oil and spices used in this recipe.
- Leftovers & storage: allow any leftovers to cool completely and store in the fridge in tight-lid containers. If stored properly, leftovers orzo and chicken will keep for 3 days or so.
Nutrition
Try Our Greek Oregano!
This dried herb straight from Greece is lemony, fragrant, and perfect for everyday use.
*This post first appeared on The Mediterranean Dish in 2018 and has been updated with new media and information for readers’ benefit.
Easy to follow and flavors were outstanding! I used a box of Orzo which was 2 cups measured. 1 cup would have been enough, as there was way too much orzo left over. But I can freeze it and use again in a soup. Love all the recipes!
This is such a yummy recipe! Thanks Suzy! Question — I need to make this ahead and take it to a cabin. Do I cook it fully first, then warm it up? Or would it be best to make it there? Thank you.
Hi, Cindy. Either will work. If you’d like to make it ahead, prepare up to the point of baking it, then store covered in the fridge. Before baking, bring to room temperature if you can so you don’t have to leave it in the oven too much. I’d add a little liquid if needed. Heat in medium-heated oven.
I love one pot/pan meals…..this one is awesome. !!!! I kept falling back on a Tuscan Chicken recipe in my Dutch Oven and then made noodles separate. I was looking for something new and found this.
I was cooking with either rice & larger noodles all the time. Never thought about Orzo. The Orzo is a great different touch. The flavors really come together in this one pot dutch oven. Its a tasty keeper for sure!!!!!!!!!!
Tony
This looks yummy. How far ahead can I make this? When entertaining I try to have everything done ahead of time so I can enjoy the company. Could I prep as directed and then just leave in a warm oven for 45 minutes to an hour or will the orzo turn mushy?
Thanks.
p.s. tomorrow I am making your spanikopita recipe for the first time – whish me luck!
Hi, Wendy! I hope your spanakopita adventure was successful! As for this dish, you could make this a bit a head and keep it warm in the oven (covered). I think 30-45 minutes or so might be okay, but it’s hard to say, as I’ve never tried that with this dish myself.
I loved cooking with this recipe. Everything turned out well seasoned and al dente!
My husband is a vegetarian, so I swapped the chicken with a block of tofu and the chicken broth for veggie broth – it turned out excellent.
Thanks, Joanne!
Hi Susie, could I cook this on top of my stove as my oven not working. Thank you!
Your simple meals are so so delicious….looking forward to your cooking book!
Thank you again for sharing with us.
Bianca
Hi!
Is there anything I could substitute the orzo with? I’m in a small town in the U.K and can’t seem to find any international foods, like orzo and I’m not sure if brown rice would make the cut.
I have made so many of your recipes and I absolutely love them!
– Much love from a clueless university student!
Hi, Raisa! I feel like rice could work here, but I have never tried personally. We have a couple of other chicken and rice recipes that might be helpful to look at for guidance: Easy Chicken and Rice & One Pot Spanish Chicken and Rice . If you give the rice a go with this recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out!
Hi Raisa, Just read your comment about not finding Orzo in the UK. You should be able to find it in most large Tesco. I struggled to find it too, until I realised it was near the pasta section and often on the top shelf or end of aisle.
Happy hunting!
My family doesn’t care for chicken thighs. How would I modify this for chicken breasts? It looks amazing and can’t wait to make it!
Hi, Melissa! It depends on the size of the chicken breasts. If they are on the larger side, they will take longer to cook. You may want to cut them into smaller pieces and cook them to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Enjoy!
Hi there,
Would this work with bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs?
Thanks
Hi, Ali! Yes, but bone-in chicken will take longer to cook. To use bone-in chicken, you may cook them first for a bit, then add them in with the orzo before you bake.
OH MY GOSH!!!! This was SO good!! Don’t forget the feta! I’m not a fan of feta, but for this, I picked out the feta freshly crumbled in the deli area of the grocery store. It had such a different taste than the pre-packaged feta. It became almost creamy!
First time cooking with coriander & wasn’t sure about the taste. Yum!
I cannot say enough about this flavorful dish!!!!
It freezes well, too!
Awesome, Amanda! Thanks so much for giving it a try!
Excellent! My husband made this tonight and it was sooo goood. Thanks for many great recipes. We love your site.
Thanks, Susan! So glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you!
I made this for the third time last week. Again, just excellent.
The coriander is ground coriander, right?
Did the recipe change or did I change it after I copied it the first time? Seems there was one green bell pepper, sliced for the top, and seared after the chicken was done, and one red bell pepper, chunked and sauted with the onions. Green was for the slices on top, red went into the orzo mixture. Now it reads like both peppers are sliced, seared, and go on the top, but that is not what the picture shows….
It is just me, but I make a full recipe because it freezes well. Never lasts in the freezer for over two months, because by then I have eaten it all.
Hi, Denise! Yes.. the coriander should be ground. Regarding the peppers, yes, the recipe may have changed a tiny bit here, but truly, either way would totally work :). Go with whichever you prefer.
Really great! Lots of flavor and the feta was a nice addition. My family asked to make sure I save this one so I can make it again. Thanks!
Awesome! Thanks, Ragna!
What size cans peeled plum tomatoes? Thank you.
I would go with a 28 oz. can for this one.
Delicious and easy. I will be making this again for certain. The flavors were so good and some feta crumbles really complimented the dish. It was so good. I’ll make this for my sister’s family when we visit. Another Mediterranean Dish winner! Thanks for the great recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it, Barbara!
One pot meals are my favorite! Loved the flavors here. This one is for sure going on my regular meal rotation!