Broccoli Cheddar Orzo with Chicken
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Broccoli Cheddar Orzo with Chicken is an easy one pot meal that your whole family will love. Secretly healthy, high protein and super cheesy!
This broccoli cheddar chicken orzo is an easy weeknight dinner that we absolutely love. Made in one pan, it’s quick to make, healthy and delicious!
We love one pot chicken orzo, and love our healthy broccoli soup so we figured.. why not combine the two? The result is a cheesy, creamy dinner that is absolutely delicious!
If you love broccoli cheddar soup, you’re going to love this recipe!
It’s simple to make with basic ingredients, is a one pot meal (easy clean up!), and has over 55g of protein per serving and 1.5 cups of vegetables per serving!
liz’s top tip for broccoli cheddar orzo
- To save time, you can heat your chicken broth in the microwave before adding it to the pot!
Ingredients
You’ll also need a large skillet for making this recipe. This is our favorite pan for one pot meals. You could also make this in a dutch oven!
Substitutions
Olive Oil: You can substitute avocado oil or melted butter
Chicken Breasts: You can substitute with boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenders. To make this an even faster dish, you can skip the first 2 steps and use pulled or chopped cooked chicken folded in at the end.
Broth: Broth and stock are the same thing! You can use any broth or stock interchangeably. Beef Broth, Chicken Broth, or vegetable broth all work interchangeably. I always use low or no salt broth.
Orzo: I have only tried this recipe with orzo pasta. I’m not sure how gluten free pasta will work in this recipe. You can’t omit the orzo completely, because you need something to absorb the chicken broth. You can usually find orzo in the pasta isle or near the rice. If you prefer rice, try this Broccoli Cheddar Chicken Rice.
Milk: You can use whole milk, skim milk, or dairy free milk in this recipe.
Parmesan Cheese: We haven’t tried this with any other cheese and wouldn’t recommend swapping anything for the parmesan! It wouldn’t have the same flavor. Feta can be sprinkled on top of this dish but would give it a totally different flavor. If you like cheesy orzo, this Pesto Chicken Orzo is also delicious
Gluten Free: We only tested this recipe with regular pasta. Gluten free pasta cooks very differently, and we find that it can get very gummy/mushy. It’s hard to know if it will work in this recipe without trying it. Because the orzo cooks in the pan with everything else, the ratios in the recipe would need to change. You could try reducing the broth and cooking it in a separate pot, but I really don’t know how it would come out. If you try it, let me know.
Dairy Free: While I personally have not made this recipe, readers have made our other One Pot Chicken Orzo dish and used dairy free milk + cheese with success!
Veggies: I used precut fresh broccoli florets in this recipe that I roughly chopped. I think frozen chopped broccoli might be too mushy in this recipe. For the carrots – you can use the precut matchstick ones or grate them with a cheese grater. We also love Lemon Chicken Orzo with Peas.
How to Make Broccoli Cheddar Orzo
- Brown chicken in oil over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add onions and garlic and sauté for about 3 minutes.
- Add the spices, orzo, broccoli, carrots and chicken broth. Stir to combine and cover with a lid. Simmer for 6 minutes covered, then remove cover and cook for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the milk and both kinds of cheese. Stir over low heat for one to two minutes more until heated through. Serve immediately.
Serving Suggestions:
This is a complete meal as is, it’s got protein, veggies and carbs! But if you’re looking for a side dish to make you could try one of these salads:
- Peach Salad with Goat Cheese
- Quick Marinated Vegetable Salad
- Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad
- Apple Walnut Salad
It would also be yummy with some bread on the side – we love this bread brand!
Storage
Storing: This cheesy broccoli orzo makes for great leftovers and high protein meal prep! It will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
Freezing: We don’t recommend freezing this recipe. Pasta does not freeze well, and can often get mushy when thawed/reheated.
Reheating: You can reheat this recipe in the microwave or on the stove. I recommend adding a splash of chicken broth to the pot when reheating.
Other one pot dinner recipes:
If you like one pot meals, check out these Healthy One Pot Dinner Recipes. Or click here to get our free one pot dinners cookbook.
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Broccoli Cheddar Orzo with Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in ½ inch square pieces
- 1 cup yellow onion chopped about ½ a medium onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic about 3 garlic cloves
- 4 cups fresh broccoli spears cut into 1 inch pieces 10 oz bag
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 ¼ cup dry orzo 8 oz
- 3 teaspoons garlic powder
- 3 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoon dried parsley
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 bay leaf
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1 cup freshly grated cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large high sided pan over medium high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add the chicken. Brown the chicken and let it cook for about 10 minutes.
- After the chicken has browned for 10 minutes, add the onions and garlic and sauté for about 3 minutes, until they start to soften.
- Add the broccoli, carrots, chicken broth, orzo, and spices. Stir to combine.
- Cover the pan with a lid and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to prevent the orzo from sticking to the bottom of the pan. (Tip: You can microwave your broth before adding it to the pan to speed up cooking time) Cook for 6 minutes covered, then remove cover and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Stir in the milk and cheeses. Stir over low heat for one to two minutes more until heated through.
- Serve immediately.
Video
This recipe was top notch- it came together quick after a long day and my teenage son wanted seconds and made sure I saved all of the leftovers for him.I loved that it had lean protein and lots of veggies. We have a new weeknight favorite.
Made this tonight for my family and everyone loved it. It was pretty easy, I chopped and shredded everything earlier today so all I had to do was prepare! Will definitely make again.
Can this be frozen once cooled and reheated later on?
We have a beige storage section on all of our blog posts where we covered this. Pasting what I wrote here 🙂 Freezing: We don’t recommend freezing this recipe. Pasta does not freeze well, and can often get mushy when thawed/reheated.
It was really good an easy to make. Since I’m not a cook my first mistake was adding too much oil to brown the chicken (I think). It released too much water which caused it to be too liquidly. I think I over cooked the chicken. My kids said this “prison looking food is really good”. Next time I think I’ll brown the chicken and set it aside and cook everything else then add the chicken to it lat. I definitely would make this again.
Next time just take a paper towel and dab the extra liquid out while the chicken is cooking. Hope that helps!
Delicious! Prepared exactly as described, thank you!
That makes me so happy to hear 🙂 Glad you enjoyed!
A wonderful comfort meal to make. The longest part is the prep, which is super easy. This will be add into our weekly dinner rotation.
So glad you liked it, Katie! This makes me so happy to hear!
Easy, delicious, and nutritious!
So glad you liked it Claire!
I’m always looking for easy recipes and this one was a hit with the hubby and I! Definitely will be making this again in the near future!
So glad you liked it!
Made this recipe yesterday with left overs tonight. Considering all the spices we thought it was a bit bland.
Sorry you felt that way!
Tried this and loved it! Didn’t have broccoli so loaded up on carrots instead and still worked out great!
So happy you liked it, JB!
This recipe is YUM! Easy to make and creamy, happy with the protein count too!
So happy you liked it, Jordan! Thank you so much for trying it!
It was a quick and easy meal to make ! I added a knorr bouillon cube and that was the only change I made. So delicious! Everyone enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing your recipes !
This was easy, quick and full of veggies. My daughter loved it.
Thanks, Jan! I’m glad you both enjoyed it!
So easy and delicious- a hit with my entire family! Will make again!
So glad you liked it 🙂
This looks so good. Will definitely make this dish and pass on to our daughters who both have families and work. Without tasting, I still would have to give high ratings. Nothing bad here. Most likely, I will cut down on the pepper items. I don’t like tasting pepper. I like probably any kind of spice but that. Just me.
So delicious and flavorful! It came together so quickly. The orzo pasta is fun. What a great recipe to meal prep for lunches and dinners. Thank you for another yummy recipe.
Absolutely delicious! Easy to make and my whole family (including my 2 year old) loved it! Will definitely be making this one again!
That makes me so happy to hear Nicole!! Thank you!
I’ve been searching for some new, healthier and easy recipes. This one was so good! I prepped everything in the morning and threw it all together for a quick and delicious dinner. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
So happy you liked it, Katie! Thank you so much!!
This broccoli cheddar chicken orzo was a 10/10 on all aspects! It was quick and easy. It was healthy as its chock full of protein and veggies. And it was DELICIOUS. I am lactose intolerant so I swapped for lactaid milk and dairy free cheese – my boyfriend had no idea and thought it was cheesy and delicious. I will definitely be adding this to our weeknight dinner rotations. Thanks for the awesome recipe!!
So glad you liked it Heather!! Thank you so much!
I made this after seeing it on TikTok and it was delicious. It’s simple to make, and reheats nicely too.
So glad you liked it!!
You know how we get in ruts & make the same dinners every week? I am trying to throw some new recipes in there to make it interesting. My family loved this! The flavor was great & I liked that it called for orzo. This is the first recipe I have tried from your site. I will be trying more soon! Thank you!
I’m so glad that you enjoyed it, Lynda! Thank you so much for giving it a try! This Unstuffed Peppers Skillet is another great one pot meal if you’re looking to try something simple
My husband and I really enjoyed this. Though for my palate it was more peppery than I like, so next time I’ll cut that in half. Otherwise, it was a great, easy healthy dinner! Yum!
Sorry you felt that way but I’m glad you enjoyed it refardless!
I made this recipe tonight and it was awesome! The whole family including my kids LOVED it! Easy to make and so creamy and full of flavor! This one is a keeper going into the dinner rotation 👏🏻
So glad you liked it, Stephanie!! Thank you!
Delicious and super simple recipe!!
So glad you liked it, Kyle! thank you!!
I made this for supper tonight after seeing the video. I think the leftovers will be really good for work lunches and I will absolutely make it again. I really appreciate your fast, easy, healthy and delicious recipes. Thank you for another good one!
So glad you liked it, Sarah! Thank you so much! The leftovers are great, I had them for lunch today too!