Chicken and Orzo Bake (Easy One-Pan Recipe)
Chicken and Orzo Bake is an easy one-pan recipe that combines juicy chicken, tangy lemons, and briny olives with orzo pasta and a savory sauce to create a Mediterranean-inspired taste explosion.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 572kcal
Equipment
- large oven-proof skillet
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pounds chicken pieces skin-on, bone-in, can use thighs, drumsticks, or breasts
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ preserved lemon rinsed and sliced into thin strips
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 cup green olives pitted
- 1 cup pasta small, like orzo or pastina
- ⅓ cup dry white wine I used chardonnay
- 2½ cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley, optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F.
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken until golden brown on both sides, then remove it from the skillet and keep warm.
- In the same skillet, add the lemon peel and green olives. Cook for about 2 minutes until fragrant, then remove and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Melt butter in the skillet, add minced garlic and orzo pasta, stirring for 2-3 minutes until the orzo is lightly toasted.
- Pour in white wine, scraping up any browned bits from the skillet. Add chicken stock, stirring to combine. Return the seared chicken, lemons, and olives to the skillet.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then transfer the skillet to a preheated oven. Bake uncovered for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the orzo is tender. Your chicken is done when it reaches 165°F, as measured by an instant-read digital meat thermometer.
- Once the dish is out of the oven, sprinkle it with fresh parsley if desired for a pop of color and freshness. Serve hot, perhaps with a side of my Texas Toast Garlic Bread to soak up the delicious sauce.
Video
Notes
Browning the chicken adds depth to the dish. Don't skip this step! If you use different cuts of chicken, be sure to use skin-on and bone-in for the best results. If you use large chicken breasts, cut them in half so they will cook in the same amount of time as the pasta.
Orzo absorbs liquid as it cooks. If the mixture looks dry, add more stock to keep it loose and saucy.
You may notice that I used orzo in the process photos shown in this post and pastina in the how-to video. You can use any small pasta you have on hand, including orzo, pastina, or Israeli couscous, in this recipe.
For the lemon strips, peel a fresh lemon using a vegetable peeler and cut the peel into thin strips. If you are using preserved lemons, scrape the lemon flesh off of the peel and rinse the peel before slicing.
Let the dish sit for a few minutes after removing it from the oven. This allows the flavors to meld and the orzo to set.
Nutrition
Calories: 572kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 131mg | Sodium: 1142mg | Potassium: 400mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 606IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 2mg
