One Pot Chicken and Mushroom Orzo
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Amazingly creamy orzo with juicy chicken, mushrooms and baby spinach. All made in one skillet, even the uncooked pasta!
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The creamiest orzo with all the fix-ins and the juiciest, golden brown chicken thighs all made in one. single. pot.
It’s quite possibly the easiest dinner one can ask for, and you can easily substitute chicken breasts if dark meat is not your jam. (You know we love our boneless, skinless thighs!) Kale and/or arugula can also be substituted for the spinach. And if you hate mushrooms, you can omit them altogether. IT IS ALL GOOD.
Side note: I throw in extra mushrooms + spinach for myself to make sure I get in ALL my veggies because that creamy orzo goodness is just too good to pass up.
tips and tricks for success
- Use a heavy pot. A heavy bottom pot, such as a Dutch oven, is ideal here for even heat distribution and a better sear.
- Use good-quality stock. The better quality your stock, the better your dish. Many brands love to pack in the salt so always opt for unsalted or a lower-sodium variety. Homemade stock is even better.
- Add in leafy greens. This is a great recipe to sneak in leafy greens for those picky eaters. Spinach, kale, collard greens, swiss chard, or arugula are all great options.
- Add the cream slowly. Always add the heavy cream at the very end, pouring very slowly to prevent curdling.
what to serve with chicken and mushroom orzo
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
One Pot Chicken and Mushroom Orzo: Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, chicken breasts can absolutely be used here but chicken thighs have more dark meat and a higher fat content which will yield juicier, more flavorful chicken.
Mushrooms can be omitted completely if it’s not your thing. Eggplant, zucchini, or tofu can be substituted, if desired, as it can absorb all the good flavors and mimic the texture of mushrooms.
Absolutely! But because dried herbs are often more potent/concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. The correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh herbs to 1 teaspoon dried herbs.
Kale, cabbage, swiss chard and collard greens are all great subs.
Heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream) has one of the highest fat contents with about 36-40% fat. Half and half or whole milk are suitable substitutes, but will yield a lighter result.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
One Pot Chicken and Mushroom Orzo
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, halved
- 2 large shallots, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 cup orzo pasta
- 4 cups baby spinach
- ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Equipment
Instructions
- Season chicken with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
- Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Working in batches, add chicken to the Dutch oven in a single layer and cook until golden brown and cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 4-5 minutes per side; set aside.
- Add mushrooms and shallots, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- Stir in chicken stock and Dijon, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the Dutch oven. Stir in orzo; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pasta is cooked through, about 6 minutes. Stir in spinach, Parmesan and heavy cream until the spinach has wilted, about 3 minutes. Return chicken to the Dutch oven.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley.
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I followed the recipe exactly as written and it was outstanding!
My husband and I deemed it “company worthy.”
With just the two of us, we had leftovers that we will have tonight. I can’t wait!
Loved this dish!
Couldn’t have been easier to make and so delicious! Followed recipe exactly. Will make this again for sure!
I made this dish for my husband and I and we both loved it! We actually fought over the spinach and mushrooms! Think I will add a little more spinach next time…it was just that good!!
*The only thing I added was some paprika and Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning to the chicken before sautéing it. Louisiana proud
Really delicious!! I used boneless chix breast (halved and pounded thin) about 4 lbs (I have big eaters!), so I used a mixture of butter and olive oil to brown it and added a little more of everything, i.e. 3 shallots, 4 garlic cloves, 2 tsp. dried thyme, 4 cups stock, 1 1/2 cups orzo, etc. I saw what the other reviewers wrote, so I also added some white wine to the mushrooms. The flavor was so good, it was easy to put together and I love one pot meals! Not one drop left!
Mom s a white meat eater. Chicken breast work?
It was very tasty. I did not have Dijon, shallots or heavy cream. I used Leeks and half & half instead. I ate 2 bowls. Thank you for the recipe
Simple week night meal that came together quickly and with lots of flavor. I also added some white wine to the mushrooms and served with steamed broccoli! I will be looking forward to lunch leftovers tomorrow!
Very yummy! Didn’t have shallots so I used some red onion was a crowd pleaser.
This was absolutely delicious!!
I doubled the mushrooms & added white wine when the mushrooms were cooking.
Can you make this ahead and serve a couple of days later?
Real comfort food. I used mom’s souffle dish. 1 pkg costco chicken thighs, fried on stove. Cooked pasta 30 min, then added asparagus and then browned chicken for additional 10 minutes. Cooked perfectly. So good, I will be making this again. Peas, bacon, spinach? So many possible variations!
This was delicious and decadent, my family loved it
I added 3/4 of a cup white wine…I added more mushrooms and greens…definitely making this again! Thanks
so good!! quick and the taste was awesome!!
This was the bees knees
This is absolutely delicious! Quick and easy to prepare.
Is there any nutrition info available? I try to cook low carb for my dad because he’s diabetic- he loves mushrooms and chicken thighs tho! Thanks!
I don’t have a Dutch Oven and want to try recipe tomorrow! Any suggestions on what pot I can use instead??
I would use an iron skillet. I am thinking same, just because I don’t want to scratch my Dutch Ovens.
Lovely recipe. Really creamy and quite flexible as I’ve made it with cavolo nero rather than spinach and it worked well. Definitely becoming one of the winter go to recipes – thank you!
Delicious! This is on our meal rotation. Easy, delicious, and packed with veggies! I double the spinach and cream, addine veggies and making it a little more decadent!