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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Delicious and very easy to make I added rocket leaves as well as the spinach
so damn delicious!! i did not use the parmesan or the heavy cream… & still yummy! the dish didn’t need it & lowered the calories.
Very tasty! Came together very quickly and whole family loved it. Didn’t have mushrooms or heavy cream but just used milk and still came our creamy and delicious!
Thoughts on omitting the mustard? What about using heavy cream for thickening instead of flour? Thanks
Seriously delicious & super easy! You can’t ruin this dish even if you’re not an experienced cook. Comfort food at its best!!
My husband loved this recipe so much, he made me make it the next day again!
Made it for Sunday dinner with the fam and it was a hit! 🙂
This was absolutely delicious! My daughter told her co-workers about so emailed them the recipe today. I love all your recipes – so good, so fun, so scrumptious!
I had defrosted chicken breast so used that, thought I had rocket , but had used it so used thinly sliced courgettes instead and I cannot get orzo in Spain so used rice instead!! I also changed thyme for tarragon as it is my husband’s favourite!! It was lovely and enough left over for lunch tomorrow!
I made this tonight for dinner. It was very delicious. I’m having company in a couple of weeks. I want to make something special. I was thinking of substituting the chicken broth and using beef broth and then using beef tips instead of chicken do you think that would work?
Made this for lunch today. It’s a little bland. Needs something or maybe it’s my taste buds. It was good but no huge on flavor.
Question?
I don’t have orzo, can I use another small pasta?
If yes, this is what’s for dinner tonight
This creamy, earthy deliciousness will be added to the rotation.
I used Greek yogurt instead of heavy cream, olive oil instead of butter & my husband topped his with the parm so the dish was still dairy free. I also didn’t take the chicken out of the pan and let it all cook together which helped the chicken soak up the rest of the flavors imo. Also, my orzo took closer to 10 min
This was such a great recipe and perfect as a pantry meal to clear out some stuff I already had!
My boyfriend doesn’t like mustard so I subbed the dijon mustard for aged sherry vinegar and the dish had a perfect little kick to it. My only other change was swapping spinach for kale and using dried thyme instead of fresh. Delicious.
Delicious! Will be making this again!
Delicious! What adjustments would I need to make in order to freeze this meal?
This was delicious. I substituted olive oil in place of butter, almond flour in place of flour, nonfat Greek yogurt in place of heavy cream, and left off the parm. My husband who can smell healthy alternatives from a mile away had no idea and commented about how delicious and flavorful this dish was. Kudos to the chef!
I just made this without mushrooms or shallots bc I didn’t have, I used on medium yellow onion. I used a fresh baby arugula & spinach blend. This was absolutely delicious. I also used oat milk instead of half & half and it still came so rich and creamy. It was so fast and the flavors blended so well.
My husband could not stop raving about this dish! This is a keeper and the cleanup was a breeze!
This was soooo yummy. The whole family loved itand that is no easy feat. We will make this again and again. Thank you!