This simple and delicious One Pot Italian Chicken with Orzo pasta is full of flavor from fire-roasted tomatoes and herbs. Add a side of vegetables and your dinner is ready in 30 minutes.
I live in a house with people who love potatoes. Any form of the spud. Doesn’t matter if they’re baked, fried, roasted, or mashed. Most nights they will ask for POTATOES.
Now, I love potatoes too – but not every night of the week!
Sometimes, I have to just put my foot down and tell them – no more potatoes in my in best Joan Crawford voice (“No more wire hangers”) from the movie Mommy Dearest.
That usually is followed with silence. I’m sure they are mourning the fact there will be no potatoes for dinner. Life goes on, right?
This meal is my way of rebelling. Ya’ll know how I love one pot meals. This Italian Chicken with Orzo pasta is so good and cooks up in 30 minutes. I love using fire-roasted tomatoes in recipes because they give dishes so much flavor. If you haven’t tried them, this is a great recipe to use the tomatoes in. Of course, regular diced tomatoes work very well, too.
In case you were wondering, the family loved the recipe despite there wasn’t a potato in sight.
Tips for this Recipe:
The thickness of your chicken breasts will be a factor in how long they need to cook. I use Springer Mountain Chicken breasts and they are the perfect thickness for most 30 minute recipes. If you have thicker chicken breasts, you can slice them in half lengthwise to help the cook time be less.
When you toast the orzo, remember to do so in a hot dry skillet. No oil or butter is needed. Be sure to watch it closely as it can go from not brown to burnt fast. Give the orzo a stir a few times while it’s toasting.
Never used orzo before? It’s a short cut pasta, shaped like a grain of rice. Cooks up fast and is great in this recipe. Orzo is also good in soups.
If you don’t have fire-roasted tomatoes, regular diced tomatoes are great to use.
If you don’t like to mince fresh garlic, use already minced garlic in a jar. I like this one.
One Pot Italian Chicken with Orzo
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 1 15 oz can Fire-Roasted diced tomatoes
- 1-1/2 cups unsalted chicken stock or broth
- chopped fresh basil for topping
Instructions
- Season chicken with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Heat a large skillet over med-high heat. Add in the dry orzo and toast until the orzo begins to turn golden brown. No oil needed for this step. Give the orzo a stir a few times while it's toasting.Watch the orzo carefully, it can toast quickly. Once it's golden brown, remove from skillet and set aside.
- Using the same skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil until hot.
- Add the chicken to the skillet and brown on each side, about 2-3 minutes perside.
- Remove chicken from skillet and set aside for a moment.
- Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in pan until hot once again, then saute onion until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Add the can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes and chicken stock to the skillet; stir and bring to a boil.
- Once the sauce is boiling, stir in toasted orzo and reduce heat to medium-low. Place browned chicken breasts in the skillet with the orzo and tomatoes.
- Cover pan and let cook at medium-low 15 - 20 minutes or until orzo is tender and chicken is cooked throuhg and registers 165F.
- Garnish with chopped fresh basil before serving.
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Enjoy!
This looks delicious and I love one dish meals. I have never tried orzo before but it looks wonderful. TFS