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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This is just so delicious! One of my favourite recipes.
Our guests loved it, so did we. The only addition: used some fresh lemon juice when sautéing mushrooms … added just a wee bit of piquancy …
Used both thighs (boneless) and chicken tenders (Trader Joe’s).
It took a little longer for the orzo to cook, so I just added more broth as the orzo softened …
I will do this again!!!
This dish was amazing and I will be certainly making it the rest of the winter season! My 8yo daughter even helped me out with prepping and cooking! Damn delicious is for sure! Love that it was one pot! Super easy!
Delicious! Winner winner chicken dinner! Thanks so much for an easy to follow and yummy recipe. My husband was gushing about it and quickly pronounced this dish as his absolute favorite one of all the dishes I’ve ever made for him. He even got seconds and said I should make this again. My brother also had seconds, and he said he wished he had space for thirds. My almost 3 year old daughter liked it so much, she started to feed herself. I did substitute white onion instead of shallots since I already had half a white onion I needed to use and whole milk and butter instead of heavy cream. I also added in more orzo and spinach since we love it. Will definitely add this to the rotation.
Super tasty and saucy – added a ton more mushrooms/onions, kale instead of spinach, dried thyme instead of fresh, and rotini instead of orzo. Orzo probably would have made it even better, just couldn’t get any at the store.
Great recipe!!! I did make a few adjustments. Used onion instead of shallot. Used baby Bella’s and a good deal more seasoning, but I’m definitely keeping this one in my rotation!! My sweetie (former chef) gave me a “very good”!! Thank you!
I followed the instructions to a “T” and it came out perfect! I’m so impressed with this dish… I’m going to have to keep in it my back pocket for times I have last minute gatherings. Minimal prep, timing suggestions of the recipe are spot on, and all done in 1 pan. Would be perfect serving size for a group of 4. Might add a splash of cooking sherry for funzies next time 🙂
Made this tonight for our supper and my husband and mother in law said its a keeper. It’s hard to decide on what to make for our evening meal and I’m so very happy I came across this recipe..Thank you for sharing!
This look amazing I don’t want to double the dish I want to do for 6 serving
Any advice!!❤️Thank you in advance
I just made this as a 1.5 batch and it was more than enough for 6 people. I used an entire pound of mushrooms (double the recipe Amy) and I’m glad I didn’t use less.
Really easy to make, and the wife loved it. Added lemon at the end, and arugula substitute for spinach was great! Will def make again!
Cooked with chicken breasts as its all I had. Delicious really comforting.
easy and luscious, comfort food!
I made this exactly as the recipe stated. It turned out GREAT! Excellent flavor! Thyme and mustard really added to the flavor! Will definitely make again!
I made double the chicken (in the oven) and still had a ton of leftover orzo/mushroom/spinach as a side. This is one of the best one pots I’ve ever had!
I wasn’t crazy about this dish. I won’t cook it again.
I followed the recipe to a T and it turned out AMAZING!!!! We will be adding this to our rotation. Thank you soooo much for sharing this!
Very good! The fresh thyme really makes it. I might throw a little white wine in next time!
Wonderfully easy to make and so flavoursome. I teamed it with fresh baked Focaccia-lovely
I really liked this a lot. Very comfort food. It was VERY HEAVY for my tastes. Next time I might lighten it up with some lemon juice?
This was an awesome recipe! I used what I had on hand to replace some ingredients, which included canned mushrooms, chicken breasts, dried thyme, chicken broth, and couscous instead of orzo. It turned out fantastic! My husband really loved it and I can’t wait to make it again 🙂