Pesto Chicken Orzo
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One Pot Pesto Chicken Orzo is the perfect weeknight dinner! Made with only 7 ingredients, it’s high protein, easy to make and delicious!
Our Broccoli Cheddar Orzo and One Pot Chicken Orzo continue to be our most popular posts on the site, so it only made sense we created a one pot chicken orzo with one of our favorite ingredients: pesto!
This pesto chicken orzo is quick to make and tastes amazing. You only need a few pantry staples and a little bit of prep time to have this dinner on your kitchen table in under an hour!
Tyler’s Tips for the Best Pesto Orzo
- To save time, you can heat your chicken broth in the microwave before adding it to the pot!
- Feel free to add veggies to this! Broccoli, asparagus, or cherry tomatoes all work well!
Ingredients
This is our favorite nonstick skillet for one pan meals!
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. If you like meatballs, try Italian Wedding Orzo.
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.
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.
Pesto: This is our favorite pesto to get at the store. You can also make your own basil pesto. We love this Nut Free Pesto Recipe.
Veggies: Feel free to add veggies to this. Broccoli florets, chopped asparagus, fresh spinach, or halved cherry tomatoes would all be delicious.
How to Make Pesto Chicken Orzo
- In a large pan, cook the chicken in oil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
- Add onions and garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Add the uncooked orzo; stir for one minute.
- Stir in the cooked chicken and chicken stock into the pan. Cover and cook over medium low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once the orzo has cooked, stir in pesto until combined. Serve warm and enjoy!
What to Serve with this Recipe:
This pesto chicken orzo is a filling meal on its own, but if you’re looking for a side dish to make, you could try one of these:
- Garlic Brussels Sprouts
- Apple Walnut Salad
- Peach Salad with Goat Cheese
- Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad
storage
Storing: This creamy pesto orzo makes for great leftovers! 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 Healthy Dinners to Try:
Pesto Chicken Orzo
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts =cut in ¼ inch square pieces
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup diced onions
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 cup dry orzo
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- ⅓ cup pesto
Instructions
- Cut chicken into ¼ inch square pieces.
- In a large sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat.
- Add the chicken to the pan and let it cook for 10 minutes until the chicken is brown on the exterior. Make sure to stir occasionally to brown all sides.
- Note: If there is some excess liquid released while the chicken cooks, remove some of the liquid by placing a few paper towels in the bottom of the pan and discarding. Removing some of the liquid will allow for a nice golden brown exterior on the chicken.
- While the chicken is cooking, chop the onions and garlic.
- Once the chicken has browned, remove it from the pot and set aside in a bowl.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add onions and garlic to the pan and cook for 3 minutes or until soft and translucent. If you need to add a splash of oil to the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking, go for it!
- Add the uncooked orzo to the pan. Stir for one minute to give the orzo a gentle toast.
- Add the cooked chicken and chicken stock to the pan. Stir well.
- Cover the pan and cook over medium low heat for 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes to make sure the orzo does not stick to the bottom.
- After 10 minutes, the orzo should be fully cooked.
- Once the orzo has cooked, stir in pesto until combined.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
This meal was so easy to make and done quickly. The best part is that it was delicious.
Thank you,