This One-Pot Lemon Chicken and Orzo is a quick and easy way to brighten up your menu any time of year. Vibrant, colorful ingredients and super easy prep make this a great choice for a busy weeknight.
If you love one-pot pasta recipes, be sure to try my Chicken and Spinach Skillet Pasta and Tuscan Chicken Pasta too!
Despite how grey the skies are or how much rain or snow is falling in your part of the world, we can do a lot to brighten things up with a vibrant, fresh meal like this Lemon Chicken and Orzo. It has a summery feel but utilizes ingredients we can easily find anytime of year.
I really love to include a bright, cheerful dish like this on my menu during the winter months when lemons are at their peak and we could all use a little sunny pick-me-up.
This fresh and light meal is low in calories and a great source of lean protein and a bounty of other nutrients.
It’s all done in one skillet and the best part, it’s on the table in about 30 minutes!
Table of contents
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken: It’s important to use thin-sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts. They should be an even thickness of about ¼-inch to ensure they will cook quickly and evenly. Pound them lightly with the flat side of a meat mallet between sheets of plastic wrap, if needed.
- All-purpose flour: For dredging the chicken before it’s seared in olive oil.
- Orzo pasta: You’ll find orzo in the dry pasta section of the grocery store. It’s a small pasta that resembles fat grains of rice.
- Seasoning: I’m keeping it simple with a little garlic powder, salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
- Broth: Low-sodium chicken broth.
- Veggies: Fresh baby spinach and bright red grape tomatoes.
- Lemons: Regular lemons will do the trick but I always pick up Meyer lemons when they’re available.
- Herbs: A little fresh basil.
- Parmesan cheese: For that lovely salty bite!
How to Make Lemon Chicken and Orzo
- Flour the chicken: Season the pieces of chicken with a little salt and pepper and dredge the through a mixture of flour and garlic powder. Shake off any excess and transfer the coated chicken to a large sheet of foil or other work surface.
- Cook the chicken: In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and sear the chicken on both sides, in batches until golden brown and chicken is fully cooked through. Transfer cooked chicken to a plate and tent with a piece of foil to keep warm.
- Cook the orzo: Return skillet to the heat and add the broth and orzo. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, 8-10 minutes or until tender.
- Add the veggies and lemon: Stir in the spinach, tomatoes, the juice of one lemon, basil and remaining salt. Remove the skillet from the heat. Return the cooked chicken to the skillet and sprinkle with about half of the Parmesan. Serve with Parmesan and lemon wedges, on the side.
Serving Suggestions
A loaf of French bread or my Cheater Garlic Bread are both great choices to serve with this tasty pasta dish and round it out into a nice meal (don’t forget the wine!).
To bulk up the menu even more, you can add a Simple Italian Salad or Lemon Parmesan Salad.
More Orzo Recipe You’ll Love
There are so many wonderful ways to incorporate orzo into a variety of recipes from soups, to side dishes, to entrees. It is fabulous in both warm and cold dishes. Take a look at my other orzo recipes to see the versatility of this rice-like pasta.
- Creamy Orzo with Mushrooms and Parmesan – a super tasty side dish choice.
- Orzo Salad with Roasted Red Peppers, Spinach, and Feta – potluck perfection. Easily transform this into an entree with some grilled chicken or shrimp.
- Orzo, Grape, and Feta Salad – the first recipe that made me fall deeply in love with orzo.
- Almond Rice Pilaf – I LOVE this pilaf! It is on our menu at least a couple of times a month.
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One Pot Lemon Chicken and Orzo
Video
Ingredients
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1½ pounds boneless skinless thin-sliced chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1½ cups orzo pasta
- 2 cups roughly chopped fresh baby spinach, packed
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 2 lemons, divided
- ¼ cup thinly sliced fresh basil
- ¼ cup finely grated Parmesan, divided
Instructions
- In a shallow bowl, mix the flour and garlic powder. Pound thicker pieces of chicken to ¼-inch thickness with the flat side of a meat mallet, if needed. Cut each piece in half (to make smaller serving sizes) and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt and pepper.
- Dip both sides of chicken in flour mixture to coat lightly and shake off excess. Transfer to a large sheet of foil other work surface and repeat with remaining chicken.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over MEDIUM heat. Add half of the chicken and cook 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and fully cooked through to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate and tent with a piece of foil to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining oil and chicken. When finished, lightly wipe the excess oil from skillet.
- Return the skillet to the heat and add the broth and orzo. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to LOW and simmer, covered, 8-10 minutes or until tender. Remove the cover and stir in the spinach, tomatoes, the juice of one lemon, basil and remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Remove the skillet from the heat. Return the cooked chicken to the skillet and sprinkle with about half of the Parmesan.
- Cut the remaining lemon into wedges. Serve the chicken and orzo with the remaining Parmesan and lemon wedges on the side.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
More One-Pot Meals
Adapted from Taste of Home
Do you use shredded or grated parmesan? In one place you say one and in another place you say the other.
Grated.
This recipe is easy and delicious. I might try it without the chicken and add more spinach.
So happy it worked out well for you. Thanks, CJ! 🙂
Fantastic dish
This is an easy and delicious recipe! Everyone loved it and it is something I will make again! Thanks for sharing this!
So glad you loved it! Thanks for your comment, Sharon 🙂