Tender chicken and orzo come together with a creamy, dairy-free lemon sauce for the perfect weeknight dinner-turned-date-night recipe. Introducing my Creamy One-Pan Lemon Chicken Orzo, a delicious, flavorful recipe that you'll want to keep in your back pocket. This one-pan dish has it all, and comes together in just 20 minutes. Truly, what could be better than that?
Ingredients
- 1.5 Pounds Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast cut into cubes
- 1 Teaspoon Paprika
- ½ Teaspoon Cumin
- 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Small Yellow Onion finely diced
- 4-5 Cloves Garlic mashed
- 2 ½ Cups Chicken Broth
- 3 Teaspoons Dijon Mustard
- 1 Cup Orzo
- 2 Large Handfuls Spinach
- ½ Cup Full-Fat Coconut Milk or Heavy Cream
- 3 Lemons 1 lemon zested, 2 lemons juiced (this is approximately 1/4-1/3 cup), and 1 lemon cut thin, into slices
- 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. Add them to a bowl alongside the paprika, cumin, kosher salt, and ground black pepper, and toss until the chicken is fully coated in the seasonings.
- Next, 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 4-5 minutes, until the edges start to cook.
- Then, remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside.
- Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan. Then, dice the onion, mash the garlic, and add them to the hot pan.
- Cook the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes, being sure to scrape down the sides of the pan so that none of the onion or garlic burns.
- Then, add in the chicken broth and mustard, stirring well, followed by the orzo.
- Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally so that the orzo doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Once the orzo is cooked through, add in the spinach, the coconut milk or heavy cream (if using), lemon zest, lemon juice, and parmesan cheese to the pan.
- Stir the ingredients together for about a minute, until they're fully combined and the spinach is wilted.
- Then, taste and adjust the kosher salt and black pepper as needed.
- Finally, add the chicken back in the pan, stirring until it's fully incorporated into the orzo and everything cooks through. Depending on what brand of orzo you're using, it may need a few more minutes to cook through - that is okay!
- Once it's done, plate it and enjoy!
Calories: 384kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 1125mg | Potassium: 718mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1253IU | Vitamin C: 34mg | Calcium: 201mg | Iron: 2mg
Did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see what you made - tag @kalejunkie
in your posts and I’ll re-share!
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