Mediterranean Chicken Recipe with Orzo
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Healthy Mediterranean Chicken Orzo is an easy and delicious dinner! Made with simple ingredients, packed with flavor and done in under 30 minutes!
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This Mediterranean Chicken Orzo is one of our favorite weeknight dinners. It’s easy to make (in almost one pan!) and seriously tastes like a restaurant quality dish.
Sweet grape tomatoes, white wine, briny olives + salty feta all combine with orzo (the most underrated pasta) and pan seared chicken for the most epic dinner that is easy and tastes amazing!
This ]couldn’t be easier to make, and it is incredibly yummy. The combo of ingredients is just DELISH!
Why you’ll love this Mediterranean Chicken Recipe
- Simple Ingredients – Many of these ingredients are pantry staples that you probably already have on hand!
- Packed with Flavor – This mediterranean chicken recipe is loaded with absolutely delicious Mediterranean flavors!
- Made in *Almost* One Pan – This means fewer dishes at the end of dinner, which everyone loves! You may also love our one pot Chicken Orzo or Italian Wedding Orzo!
Ingredients
To make this dish you’ll need:
- chicken breasts
- whole wheat orzo (or regular/gluten free orzo)
- kalamata olives
- pine nuts
- grape tomatoes, spinach
- olive oil
- garlic
- feta cheese
- fresh basil, fresh parsley, pepper, dried oregano, red pepper flakes
- white wine
We love this instant-read thermometer for checking the internal temperature to make sure your meat is cooked thoroughly!
How to make Mediterranean Chicken Orzo:
Making this recipe is very easy to do, but requires a few steps.
- Brown chicken breasts in a pan. Remove from the pan and set aside. While chicken is cooking, cook orzo.
- Once you’ve removed the chicken breasts from the pan – add cherry tomatoes into pan and sauté until they start to soften.
- Stir in olives, spices + cooked orzo.
- Garnish with feta, plate + serve with juicy chicken!
The orzo salad on its own (without chicken) also makes an absolutely delicious pasta ‘salad’. It’s great cold or warm!
Substitutions
This easy mediterranean chicken recipe dish is very versatile and easy to customize.
Olive Oil: You can substitute olive oil for avocado oil or butter
Chicken– You can use chicken breasts, chicken thighs or even chicken tenders.
Orzo/Gluten Free– I haven’t tried this recipe with gluten free orzo, but I think it would be delicious. You could probably make this with another short grain pasta like pastina, but I highly encourage orzo!
Tomatoes- This is best with grape or cherry tomatoes, but you could use cubed regular tomatoes too. If you’re looking for another veggie loaded orzo dish, try this Broccoli Cheddar Orzo with Chicken.
Kalamata Olives: If you don’t like olives, you can omit them. Capers would also be a great addition to this dish.
White Wine – Wine is optional but adds a nice flavor to the recipe. You can sub chicken broth, or skip it.
Spinach- You can double the amount of spinach in this recipe. Arugula is also delicious.
Fresh Herbs – If you don’t have fresh herbs you can substitute 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs with 1/2 teaspoon dried herbs.
Feta– You can substitute feta with goat cheese, or omit it to be dairy free. Parmesan cheese is also good!
Orzo Pasta Salad – For another Orzo recipe with similar flavors, try this Feta Orzo Salad
Serving this Mediterranean Chicken and Orzo Recipe
This dish is a meal in itself, but if you want to add more veggies you could serve it alongside some Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts, or Healthy Green Beans Almondine
Storage
Storing: This meal will last up to 4 days in the refrigerator making it perfect for meal prep.
Freezing: I wouldn’t recommend freezing this mediterranean chicken recipe. Orzo does not freeze well.
Reheating: You can reheat this mediterranean chicken recipe in the microwave or on the stove. You can also enjoy the orzo salad cold.
Mediterranean Chicken Recipe FAQs
Orzo is technically pasta. It’s a short grain pasta that is similar in texture to rice.
You can substitute orzo pasta with rice or other grains in most recipes. Cook according to the package directions.
Other delicious healthy dinner recipes:
Looking for other easy meals? Check out these 40+ Healthy Dinner Recipes. Click here to grab our free healthy 30 minute dinners cookbook.
Mediterranean Chicken and Orzo
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts sliced thin + pounded
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
For the orzo:
- 1 1/2 cup whole wheat orzo 9.5 oz
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic minced
- 2 cups grape tomatoes halved
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives pitted + sliced into small pieces
- 2 cups spinach chopped
- 1/4 cup pine nuts (optional if nut free)
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1/2 cup feta (optional)
Instructions
- Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a large sauté pan. Heat over medium high heat for 3 minutes or until the olive oil starts to shimmer.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the preheated pan and cook for 5 minutes. Flip and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- While the chicken cooks, bring a small pot of water to a boil. Cook orzo per directions on the package.
- Remove the cooked chicken from the pan and set off to the side on a clean plate. Make sure to keep the oil and browned bits in the pan. Add an additional tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and heat for 2 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic to the pan and cook over medium heat for 1 minute. Stir in cherry tomatoes and white wine. Cook for 5 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft and the wine begins to reduce.
- Once the tomatoes are cooked, stir in cooked orzo, kalamata olives, spinach, fresh herbs, dried spices, pine nuts and feta together in the pan. Stir until combined.
- Slice the chicken and serve on top of the orzo, garnish with feta + enjoy!
Delicious! I used sun dried tomatoes, skipped the spinach and pine nuts and added in a can of drained artichoke hearts. Everyone loved it.
Hi!😊
Can I use Apple juice instead of wine?
I would just skip the wine. Apple juice isn’t really a sub for wine!
absolutely love this! Quick to prepare as I used a rotisserie chicken I needed to use up. Also, as my daughter ate all of my spinach, I chopped and substituted a zuchinni that I added with the tomatoes. The seasoning is spot on and I can see this being prepared often! Thanks for this recipe. I have been looking for a post that provided interesting, easy, healthy meals and I think I have found it here!
Can this meal be frozen?
I wouldn’t recommend it. Pasta doesn’t freeze well!
I’m going to try this tonight with shrimp instead of chicken because that’s what I need to use up. Sounds like a winner
This was delish!! My only comments: the tomatoes on high for 10 min would’ve burned them beyond eating on my stovetop. I am so glad I checked around 4 min because they were already charring. Also I had to add salt- which I should’ve figured since I left out olives and tried to stay reasonable with the feta. SO yum and I found a new white wine I like out of this :). Thank you for sharing!!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was a hit! Thank you for another great recipe!
What kind of white wine would you recommend?
Any white wine is fine. I usually cook with whatever I have leftover.. pinot grigio, sauv blanc, etc.
Do you think I can make this but sub the chicken for your crock pot whole chicken meat and follow the rest of this recipe to the T? I know a lot of the flav from this must be from browning the chicken so I wasn’t sure !
Yes that will work!
Hello! Thanks for the recipe. I was just wondering where I could find the original one! It had artichokes in it…
This one is good too but just not quite the same as the old one.
Hi Mary – This recipe never had artichokes in it – maybe you’re thinking about someone else? We do have a recipe on our site that you might like!
I have made this recipe multiple times, it has become one of my favorites! I always add capers, it think it adds a little more acidity. It’s super fast and easy to make too, so I tend to go to it in a pinch.
So happy you like it, Morgan! Thank you so much!
I made this recipe without the fresh herbs, substituted for dry herbs, and divinia green olives for kalamata olives and it was DELICIOUS. A MUST try for any Mediterranean lover!!
Thank you so much, Marissa! I’m so glad you liked it!
Haven’t made this yet, but it looks so delicious and my mouth is watering!
Thanks, Heather! Hope you love it!
I love the flavor of this recipe! This was the first time I’d ever had orzo and I thought it was more of a rice consistency. I wasn’t a huge fan, so next time I would swap it for some zoodles, brown rice, or chick pea pasta making it like a pasta salad.
Thank you so much!! You can easily swap out the orzo for whatever you like 🙂
This was so good! Highly recommend!
So glad you liked it, Starr!
I’ve mad this recipe twice and it is so good, the perfect fast meal after a long day. We had it as leftovers a few days at work too and it was very good. I didn’t use the pine nuts because they’re $$$ I wonder if any other nut would work! Thanks for the recipe
Thanks, Lauren! So glad you like it. Walnuts or pecans might work, but they also might be a little weird here. we make it without the pine nuts all the time and it’s just as tasty!
This was fabulous so full of flavour. I could not believe that my husband ate it, what a plus 😉. I can’t wait to make it again
I’m so glad you both liked it, Deb! That makes me so happy to hear!
So delicious!! A recipe that is a great quick and easy dinner! The flavors all come together so well and it’s so yummy! We will definitely be making this again soon!!
I made this last night and my husband and I both loved it! Neither of us like olives or feta cheese, so I left those out, but we loved the flavors in this dish, and I appreciated the easy-to-follow instructions! 🙂
I’m so glad you liked it, Joni!! If you like goat or parmesan cheese that would be a good substitute for this – but it’s totally fine without cheese or olives 🙂
Loved this!!!! Super easy and delicious. I omitted the olive oil and used a garlic butter for the chicken instead. I could’ve eaten the whole portion… But you know, trying to stay healthy. I will definitely make this again. Obsessed thanks for the recipe.
Oooh that garlic butter sounds delicious! Glad you liked it, Camille!
What a burst of flavors! I spiced it up with a little more black pepper and red pepper flakes but wow! Another amazing quick, delicious and healthy recipe! The kids even enjoyed eating this with us which is a plus! Delicious!
I’m so glad you liked it, Missy!! And that your kids enjoyed it 🙂
So easy to make and SO yummy! We make this all the time in our house – it’s part of the weekly rotation!
So glad you like it, Leanne!! It’s one of our favorites too!
Delicious recipe! We skipped the pine nuts. Just curious how this has almost 6,000 mg of sodium per serving though?!?
Wow, I’m so sorry about that! It was definitely a typo! Sodium will vary depending on which types of olives/sun dried tomatoes/cheese you use, but it’s definitely not that much! I adjusted to nutrition facts and they are much more accurate 🙂 Thanks for calling it out!
No problem, we just ate it and my mouth dropped when I saw the sodium. Thanks for updating! Great recipe – will share with family members. Can’t wait to try some of your other recipes- we have been clean eating for a couple years now and always like to find new recipes.
When I read your comment my mouth dropped too! I was like OMG that is a biiiig mistake! LOL! If you like this one you would love our Whole30 Greek Chicken Zucchini Noodles!
I have made this at least ten times since discovering this recipe! I love the flavors, and it’s so easy to make! Sometimes for parties I’ll make the orzo salad and leave out the chicken for a side dish and people go crazy for it! Pine nuts can be expensive, but they’re worth it for this recipe! (I’m weird and love fresh tomatoes but not cooked tomatoes, so I don’t cook the tomatoes and just throw them in fresh at the end. No one’s ever noticed, and I’m allowing myself this creative license since I’m the one doing the cooking! Hah!)
Love the idea of doing the raw tomatoes!! They totally can be weird if they’re too mushy so I get that 🙂 I’ve never made this as a side without the chicken but I’m TOTALLY stealing that idea!
Can you use broth instead of wine? And if yes,would the time in cooking at that stage change.
You can just skip the wine, it adds flavor. if you want to sub with chicken broth you can. Doesn’t change the cook time!
Dropping by to say thank you for sharing the recipe. We tremendously enjoyed this Chicken Orzo. It was my first time to make one and love the combination of flavors. Definitely delicious.