One Pot Garlic Butter Chicken Orzo.
This one pot garlic butter chicken orzo is a super simple weeknight meal that is ridiculously delicious. Golden chicken thighs, buttery orzo, all cooked together until tender and juicy. Top with fresh herbs and enjoy a delightful meal!
Throw everything into one pot tonight for dinner!
This is the chicken dinner that you need right now. Easy to throw together, all made in one pot, tastes buttery and heavenly and so flavorful. It’s a hit all around. Juicy chicken thighs cooked with tender toasted orzo is the comfort food that hits the spot.
If you haven’t noticed, we adore orzo in this house. We make a lot of it! My parmesan orzo is a highly requested side dish but if I have an option to make the entire dish together in one pot… I’m game.
And this is a GOOD one pot recipe. We’re not throwing raw vegetables in there or anything and just hoping they turn out. We’re searing the chicken until golden and delicious, toasting the orzo with all the flavor bits, then adding stock and cooking it all until tender and juicy and ridiculously flavorful.
I.love.it.
My garlic butter shrimp and orzo is hugely popular. After making it over and over again, I figured that we’d try it with chicken one night. We LOVED it. We prefer chicken thighs for this because they are so juicy and cook quickly. The method is almost foolproof. But you can try with small pieces of chicken breast and judge the doneness by taking the internal temperature. It’s super simple. This is the meat thermometer I have and it’s the best.
The best part about orzo is that it’s nearly as versatile as rice. It can be made into a baked pasta, served as a side dish, made into a cold pasta salad – the options are endless. It does all the things and is one of my kitchen all-stars for sure.
This is how I do it! The garlic butter chicken and orzo is actually quite easy and doesn’t require a ton of ingredients. I do like to serve some sort of roasted vegetable on the side. I’m sure it will come as no surprise that I do my parmesan roasted broccoli more often than not. Shocking, I know.
To start, I season the heck out of the chicken – salt and pepper all over. Then I brown it in a cast iron or ceramic pan until very golden. After it’s seared on both sides, I transfer it to a plate.
There is usually a good amount of butter (and now chicken flavor bits) left in the skillet, so I stir the orzo right into it. YES! Pour the uncooked, dry orzo into the pan. Stir in the garlic too. I toast this and toss it for a few minutes until it gets golden and very fragrant. Then I add in the stock!
Once the stock is in the pan, I nestle the chicken back in with the orzo. I bring it to a boil, reduce it to a simmer then cover and let it cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Just until the orzo has absorbed all the liquid and the chicken is cooked through.
Finally, I toss the mixture with a bit more melted butter and sprinkle on some fresh parsley. Parmesan too, of course.
OH MY GOSH! Cue all the exclamation points.
This is easy, delicious, very tender and flavorful.
Make it tonight!!
One Pot Garlic Butter Chicken Orzo
One Pot Garlic Butter Chicken and Orzo
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- kosher salt and pepper
- 1 pound uncooked orzo
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 32 ounces chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- chopped fresh parsley, for topping
- parmesan cheese, for topping
Instructions
- Heat the 3 tablespoons of butter in a large cast iron or ceramic skillet over medium heat. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper.
- Add the chicken to the skillet and cook on both sides until deeply golden, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Once both sides are done, transfer to a plate.
- There should be a bit of butter or chicken grease left in the skillet. If not, add a tablespoon of butter or olive oil. Add the orzo and stir, so it’s all coated. Stir in the garlic. Cook, stirring often, so the orzo toasts and turns a bit golden. It will also be very fragrant.
- Pour the stock in with the orzo. Nestle the chicken thighs back into the pan with the stock and orzo. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce it to a simmer and cover. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the chicken reaches 165 degrees F internally. I suggest checking about 12 to 15 minutes and going from there - because this will differ based on how high your “simmer” is.
- Drizzle with the extra melted butter. Top with chopped fresh parsley and parmesan. Serve immediately!
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
Look at that toasty goodness!
84 Comments on “One Pot Garlic Butter Chicken Orzo.”
So good I couldn’t stop eating the orzo. I “hid” some cooked shredded zucchini in the orzo after it was done and my 3 year old gobbled it up. I also mixed in Parmesan cheese instead of using it as a topping.
Such an easy meal to throw together on a busy weeknight. This is in my weekly dinner rotation!
I LOVE LOVE ORZO!!! ;) I’m def making this tonight!!! About to head to the store in a min. My boys are having friends over to watch the fight. So, I have a fam of 7. Is there anyway u might be able to modify ur recipes so there’s a button to increase ingredients for larger family portions ? I find this’s super helpful for ditzy ppl like me w/bigger families & voracious eaters -lol. I’ve noticed i can’t always double or triple a recipe depending on what’s being made but having this option’s so helpful. I know i won’t be needing it this recipe but I have a feeling I’m going to be using this website often now that I’ve read thru some posts. Either way, hello everyone- I’m excited for dinner tonight! :) yum! 😋 ❤️🥰
Made this last night and we all loved it. I’ve never made orzo but this was so easy and fast. I added some additional seasonings (salt, garlic powder, dill, parsley flakes, and dried thyme).
This was very easy to make and cooked up perfectly.
This was super easy and so good! I garnished with fresh parm and a sprinkle of hot pepper flakes. I might reduce the amount of orzo next time but that’s 100% a personal preference. This was really good.
Can you use skinless boneless chicken breasts?
I did last night, a little bit on the drier side but still just as great with a bite of the orzo each forkful
Excellent recipe. I quartered the recipe for just me and the hubby. Used 4 thighs, Followed the recipe exactly with one change. After I browned the chicken , removed it and toasted the orzo and garlic, I deglazed the pan with white wine. I allowed the orzo the absorb then added the chicken stock. DELICIOUS. One of my go-to recipes since I normally have al the ingredients on hand on any given day!!
Was amazing and so easy!! Will be a frequent dinner for me during the week with leftovers 🙂
Question – can we use water instead of chicken stock for this recipe?
Thanks
This was so delicious! I added broccoli for some crunch and veggie. A definite repeat!
This was super delicious! I used halved chicken breast (my husband doesn’t like thighs) and also added a half packet of ranch seasoning and it was delicious! 🤤 I love how customizable the flavors can be! I also added fresh chopped spinach right at the end and everyone, even my 2 year old, loved it!
So great! My chicken was a little dry but and will next time cook it in a cast iron like the instructions suggest (I was just too lazy to clean it after). I added raw carrots at the same time as orzo and garlic and then tossed in peas at the the end. I also split the orzo + liquid in half to make it more carb friendly!
Cannot wait to make again
Chemo hoe does this recipe work if I use bone in
My autocorrect!!!!
I meant to type,
How does this recipe work with bone in skin on chicken thighs…
🤦
Can you share a link to the pan you used or something similar? Thank you!
I added two large thinly sliced and caramelized onions, a sweet red pepper and some mushrooms.
And a bay leaf and fresh thyme.
And extra garlic.
My family devoured it.
This is a great recipe. Easy to follow. The dish is delicious.
Pretty fantastic for a dinner that takes as less time as it does. The only thing I did different was to add a tablespoon of capers and the juice of a half lemon to thhe butter to give it more of a Mediterranean ‘oomph’ to it.
My only question: Once everything is together should it be cooked with or without a lid? I cooked your version in a dutch oven on to of the stove.
I made this twice in one week! The first time, I followed the recipe but left out the butter. It was amazing! It tasted great and was comforting and warm. The second time I made this I added half a pound of baby Bella mushrooms. It was fantastic! I’m going to keep on making this! It’s so good!
Because I am a tad lazy. I would like to double the recipe. After toasting the orzo can I transfer to a 9×13 pan and toss it in the oven? I know I am dirtying an additional dish but I would not have to watch it. Thank you
stop using imperial and Fahrenheit or at least including the conversation, then at least you’ll understand why changing to metric make so much more sense!
This is so good.
Dang, It’s actually good.
So bland. Will not make again.