This is the best recipe for Lemon Chicken Orzo that will become your favorite one pot meal for a quick weeknight dinner! The crispy chicken thighs are perfectly nestled in creamy zesty orzo pasta, creating a delicious combo of flavor and texture.
If you are looking for an easy weeknight dinner idea, try this amazing Lemon Chicken Orzo that you can make in one skillet! The whole recipe is so simple to prep and you will love the flavors!
The chicken thighs are pan seared first to get the perfect crispy top and then finished baking in the oven with creamy lemony orzo pasta. The dish comes out very light and refreshing, while being a perfect one pot comfort meal.
Ingredients and Substitution
- Chicken Thighs. This recipe requires bone-in skin-on chicken thighs. They come out perfectly cooked and juicy. Boneless skinless chicken thighs are not going to work, just because they are too thin and will be overcooked by the time orzo is done. If you don’t like chicken thighs, you can use boneless skinless chicken breast and cook it according to the regular instructions.
- Orzo. Orzo is a type of pasta in a grain shape, so make sure you DON’T rinse it before cooking! 😉
- Lemons. I love this recipe to be bright and zesty. If you don’t like a lot of lemon flavor, you can reduce it to 2 tbsp of lemon juice and skip the lemon slices.
- Chicken Broth. Homemade Chicken Stock is my favorite. But any store-bought one will work as well.
- Veggies. Feel free to add some veggies to the dish! My favorite ones to incorporate are peas, asparagus, zucchini, spinach, kale, or Swiss chard.
How to make it
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Preheat a large oven-safe skillet over medium heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides and place it on the preheated skillet skin down. Sear for 3-5 minutes on both sides or until the skin is golden/brown color. Then transfer to a plate and set aside.
Add 1 sliced lemon to the same skillet and sear it for a couple of minutes on both sides to get the char. Then transfer it to a plate and also set aside.
Add orzo to the same skillet and toast it for 1-2- minutes.
Then add chicken broth, lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.
Bring it to boil and then place the seared chicken thighs and lemon slices on top.
Transfer it to the oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through (internal temperature should be at least 165°F) and the liquid is absorbed.
Tips for best results
- Chicken thighs. I prefer to trim the excess skin, so when it cooks together with the orzo, it doesn’t release too much fat liquids to make the dish greasy.
- Lemon. I love this dish quite “lemony”, so I use lemon juice from a whole lemon (about ¼ cup). If you prefer it to be less acidic, you can use only 2 tbsp of lemon juice.
Storage and Freezing
- How to store? You can refrigerate Lemon Chicken Orzo leftovers in an air-tight container for about 3 days.
- How to reheat? You can reheat it in the oven at 350°F for about 10 minutes.
- How to freeze? The orzo usually doesn’t freeze well, so I don’t recommend to freeze this dish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Orzo is a type of pasta that’s shaped like a rice grains. It Italy it’s classified as “pastina”, which means “small pasta”.
I never tested this recipe with rice. Orzo is pasta and has different liquid/cooking ratio. If you want to cook with rice, check out my One Pot Chicken and Rice recipe.
I like to use my cast iron skillet. It does a great job searing the meat and you can easily transfer to the oven. If you don’t have one, you can use any oven-safe skillet.
More Chicken Dinner Recipes:
- Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Breast
- Cast Iron Chicken Thighs
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta
- BBQ Boneless Chicken Thighs
- Chicken Broccoli Ziti
- Baked Chicken Cutlets
- Oven Baked Buttermilk Chicken Tenders
- Hawaiian Chicken
- Dutch Oven Whole Chicken
- Cast Iron Chicken Breast
- Oven Baked Chicken Legs with Potatoes
One Pot Lemon Chicken Orzo Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 2 lemons (1 sliced, 1 juiced)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup dried orzo pasta
- 2 cups chicken broth
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Preheat a large oven-safe skillet over medium heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides and place it on the preheated skillet skin down. Sear for 3-5 minutes on both sides or until the skin is golden/brown color. Then transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Add 1 sliced lemon to the same skillet and sear it for a couple of minutes on both sides to get the char. Then transfer it to a plate and also set aside.
- Add orzo to the same skillet and toast it for 1-2- minutes.
- Then add chicken broth, lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.
- Bring it to boil and then place the seared chicken thighs and lemon slices on top.
- Transfer it to the oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through (internal temperature should be at least 165°F) and the liquid is absorbed.
Notes
- Chicken thighs. I prefer to trim the excess skin, so when it cooks together with the orzo, it doesn’t release too much fat liquids to make the dish greasy.
- Lemon. I love this dish quite “lemony”, so I use lemon juice from a whole lemon (about ¼ cup). If you prefer it to be less acidic, you can use only 2 tbsp of lemon juice.
- How to store? You can refrigerate it in an air-tight container for about 3 days.
The recipe calls for two tablespoons of unsalted butter, but the instructions don’t call for any butter. The instructions call for one tablespoon of olive oil, but olive oil isn’t on the ingredient list. Please clarify.
One of my favorite chicken recipes. It’s so simple, but so flavorful plus who doesn’t love the easy clean up!
I love one pot meals, perfect for the busy weekday nights. Love the idea of adding lemon to a chicken dish. Excited to give it a try!
This dish combined three of my favorite things- loved the lemon orzo pasta!
One pot meals are a life saver in our house and this recipe was such a winner! My kids loved it and I loved how easy it was to make!
This is the kind of dinner I love. No fuss or messy pots and pans and all that delicious lemon and chicken flavour.
This chicken was so delicious and easy to make. This made the BEST dinner and I love how it was made in one pot. Adding this to my dinner rotation.
I am all about one-pot dinners. Love using orzo in recipes. I will be making this for the grandkids this weekend. They will enjoy it for sure.