Tender chicken breasts paired with a creamy sun-dried tomato sauce and hearty orzo is such a good combination, it’ll make you want to marry the person who made it for you! Introducing my One-Pan “Marry Me” Chicken Orzo, an easy, delicious take on the classic “Marry Me” chicken. This dish is the perfect weeknight dinner: it comes together with just one pan and and in a matter of minutes, making it the perfect cozy and comforting weeknight dinner.
Friends, have you heard of “marry me” chicken? Rumor has it that it began with Ina Garten’s “Engagement Roast Chicken,” but since then, it has been recreated hundreds of times. The lore behind this recipe is that it’s so good, that if you make it for you boyfriend, he will want to marry you. Who knows if that’s actually true, but one thing that is true? This recipe is DELICIOUS!
My take on the classic “marry me” chicken pairs it with one of my favorite ingredients: orzo! Orzo is a thin, rice-like pasta that can be a little easier to digest than traditional pasta. And, when paired with this creamy, sun-dried tomato sauce and chunks of tender chicken, it is truly an unbeatable combination. Talk about comfort food! This recipe is so warm and cozy, and I love making it on a cold night to instantly warm me up!
What You Need to Make This Creamy Chicken Orzo
- Chicken Breast: Boneless, skinless chicken breast is the key to making this recipe!
- Olive Oil: To cook the chicken, I like to choose a better-for-you oil such as olive oil.
- Garlic: I always recommend using fresh garlic, whenever possible. The flavor is truly unbeatable!
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes: Make sure that the sun-dried tomatoes are packed in oil, so that they have the best flavor.
- Seasonings: To perfectly season this chicken, we’ll be using a blend of italian seasoning, paprika, kosher salt, and ground black pepper.
- Orzo: Orzo is a short-cut pasta that looks like a large grain of rice. It’s a delicious form of pasta to eat when you don’t want to feel super full and sluggish!
- Chicken Broth or Water: While I love using chicken broth to add flavor to the orzo, you can also use water, if you prefer.
- Full-Fat Coconut Milk or Heavy Cream: I prefer to use full-fat coconut milk to keep this recipe dairy-free, but heavy cream also works well, here.
- Fresh Spinach: Spinach is packed with vitamins and minerals and is the perfect way to sneak extra veggies into this recipe.
- Parmesan Cheese: There is nothing better than taking a bite of creamy, cheesy pasta, and freshly grated parmesan cheese is the perfect addition to this recipe!
How to Make This Perfect One-Pan Chicken Dish
To make this recipe, start by preparing the chicken. Pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel and slice them into cubes. Set them aside while you prepare the skillet.
Heat a skillet, on the stove, over medium heat, and add in the oil. Once the oil is hot, add in the chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the edges start to cook. Then, add in the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, italian seasoning, paprika, sea salt, and black pepper, and cook for 3-4 more minutes.
Then, add in the orzo and broth and stir well. Reduce the heat to medium, then cover the pan and allow it to cook for 12 minutes. Remove the cover every few minutes and stir, to ensure that the orzo doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
Once the orzo is cooked through, add in the coconut milk or heavy cream and spinach and stir until the spinach is wilted. Finally, add in the freshly-grated parmesan cheese and stir one last time.
Once it’s done, remove it from the heat, serve it immediately, and enjoy!
If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a review and rating below! To see more recipes and behind the scenes, follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube! I’m also now on Pinterest, so stop by and take a look at what’s new.
** Photography by Gayle McLeod
Ingredients
- 1.5 Pounds Boneless, Skinless Chicken breast, cut into cubes
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 4-5 Cloves Garlic, mashed
- ¾ Cup Sun-Dried Tomatoes , packed in oil and drained
- 2 Teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 Teaspoons Paprika
- ½ Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Cup Orzo
- 2 ¾ Cups Chicken Broth or Water
- ¾ Cup Full-Fat Coconut Milk or Heavy Cream
- 2 Large Handfuls Fresh Spinach
- ¾ Cup Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated
Instructions
- To make this recipe, start by preparing the chicken. Pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel and slice them into cubes. Set them aside while you prepare the skillet.
- Heat a skillet, on the stove, over medium heat, and add in the oil.
- Once the oil is hot, add in the chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the edges start to cook.
- Then, add in the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, italian seasoning, paprika, sea salt, and black pepper, and cook for 3-4 more minutes.
- Then, add in the orzo and broth and stir well.
- Reduce the heat to medium, then cover the pan and allow it to cook for 12 minutes. Remove the cover every few minutes and stir, to ensure that the orzo doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Once the orzo is cooked through, add in the coconut milk or heavy cream and spinach and stir until the spinach is wilted.
- Finally, add in the freshly-grated parmesan cheese and stir one last time.
- Once it's done, remove it from the heat, serve it immediately, and enjoy!
Rate & review
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What others are saying
Awesome dish, as a care giver and husband this was simple to cook up thank you for sharing
Love this recipe – it’s easy and delicious. However, if made with 2 3/4 cups stock, it is very soupy. I reduce it to 2 cups and it’s perfect. Not sure if the amount written is a mistake but it’s definitely too much stock for one cup of pasta.
Made it for my husband who absolutely loved it. Pretty sure if he wasn’t already married to me he’d marry me again lol. Had a few adjustments: Used chicken thighs instead of breasts, a whole 8.5 oz jar of drained sundried tomatoes (used the oil from the jar instead of the olive oil listed), low sodium broth, & 5 oz of spinach. Also cooked the orzo 2-3 minutes less. Delicious! Will be keeping this recipe in our dinner rotation.
I’ve made this a few time and it’s so easy and yummy. I’ve added cottage cheese the last few times to add protein and it’s a great addition.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. The only change I made was to use 2 cups of chicken broth. Delicious!
Thank you for sharing this recipe
This was absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe, except used a rotisserie chicken because I wanted to use it up. (Made it one-step easier!). I gave half to our daughter-in-law who just had a baby and she loved it as well! Thank you so much for this recipe. It was easy and delicious. You can’t beat that!
The amount of seasoning was overbearing as written.
I’m not shy, but this wasn’t good.
I’m sorry to hear that, Charles!
This was absolutely delicious! It was easy and tasted like I cooked all day.
Woohoo! Thank you so much, Leslie!
Made this and it was really good. Leftovers the next day tasted even better as the flavors kind of marinated even more.
I never have cream so I used greek yogurt instead, same amount. I also added some lemon zest in with the garlic and juice near the end because I like my pasta to have some acid.
I read the reviews about it being soupy and added a bit less broth and kept an eye on it to see if it needed more while cooking but it didn’t need any more liquid so I think less broth is the way to go.
My family loved this!
Woohoo!
I never ever read the reviews on these recipes so I was disappointed when I noticed the broth/liquid in this did not cook down at all. You should edit the recipe as that is definitely off! Otherwise good recipe. Used coconut milk nutritional yeast instead of Parmesan just because we didn’t have any on hand. That definitely affected the end texture I’m sure but not enough to bother us, the taste was good. Just waaaaay too soupy.