This delicious Kalamata Lemon Chicken Orzo Skillet is a flavor-packed one pan dinner that everyone is going to love! Made with tender chicken thighs, all the best Greek-inspired flavors, orzo pasta, and a sprinkling of feta cheese. Perfect for an easy weeknight dinner!
The Best Chicken Orzo Skillet Recipe
There is simply nothing better than a delicious one pan dinner recipe! We all know that busy weeknights are not the time to dirty lots of dishes, so the fact that you can make this whole meal in one skillet and in under 30 minutes is amazing. After perfecting our blog favorite, Parmesan Chicken Orzo, we knew we needed another variation but using our favorite Greek-flavors. This easy recipe definitely hits the mark. It is so good and will be on repeat at our house!
Looking for another delicious orzo recipe? You have to try our Lemon Orzo, a simple side dish that can be served with just about anything!
What You Will Need
- chicken thighs – any cut of meat would work here. We love the flavor of bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, but boneless chicken thighs or boneless, skinless chicken breasts work too!
- olive oil – just a little bit in the skillet to sear the chicken.
- butter – melt in the hot skillet to sauté the aromatic ingredients.
- garlic & shallots – a combination that really gets the flavor party started in the pan.
- orzo – a delicious pasta that actually looks like rice.
- chicken broth – option to pick-up your favorite store-bought broth or make homemade chicken broth.
- salt & pepper – simple seasonings that are always a must when cooking any meat.
- lemon zest & lemon juice – a little acidity helps to amplify all the flavors going on.
- dried oregano & dried basil – dried herbs that bring so much flavor!
- artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, & sun-dried tomatoes – classic ingredients for so many Greek-inspired recipes.
- parmesan cheese – everything is always better with some melty cheese in the mix!
How To Make Kalamata Lemon Chicken Orzo Skillet
The first steps to making this one pan meal are to pat the chicken dry with paper towel, season with salt & pepper, and then sear in a large skillet on medium high heat. Move the entire skillet to the oven to bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes.
Once the chicken comes out of the oven, remove it from the skillet and set aside on a plate. Bring the pan back up to a medium heat, add the butter to melt and then the shallots and garlic. Now add the broth, orzo, olives, seasonings, lemon zest, lemon juice, and artichoke hearts. Mix to combine.
Nestle the cooked chicken thighs on top of everything. Bring the pan to a gentle simmer and let it all cook for 8-12 minutes.
You may need to mix everything and add splashes of chicken broth as it cooks.
Remove the chicken from the skillet one more time and add in the sun-dried tomatoes & parmesan cheese (off the heat). Mix to melt and warm the tomatoes. Add the chicken back in and sprinkle crumbled feta cheese on top.
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Other Chicken Recipes You Might Like
Kalamata Lemon Chicken Orzo Skillet + Feta
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner/Entree
- Method: Stove Top + Oven
- Cuisine: Greek-Inspired
Description
A light and delicious Kalamata Lemon Chicken Orzo Skillet recipe that is perfect for a weeknight dinner! Packed with flavor and so easy!
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon shallots, minced
- 1 1/2 cup orzo
- 2 cups chicken broth, more as-needed
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, finely grated
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
- 1 cup canned small artichoke hearts, quartered
- 3/4 cup kalamata olives
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, freshly shredded
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
- Toppings: crumbled feta cheese + fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Place chicken thighs on a plate. Pat dry with clean paper towel. Sprinkle with a little kosher salt and ground black pepper. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Place a large cast iron skillet on the stove-top and bring to medium-high heat. Add oil to the pan, just enough to lightly coat the bottom.
- Once the pan is hot (it should sizzle if you flick some water on it) place the chicken thighs skin-side down into the pan and let sear 3-5 minutes or until the skin is nice and brown.
- Flip the chicken thighs over and then move the skillet to the oven (middle rack and uncovered). Let cook 15 minutes or until chicken thighs reach an internal temp of approx. 160 degrees F. Meanwhile, prep the remaining ingredients.
- Remove skillet from oven and place chicken thighs on a plate; set aside.
- Place the skillet on the stove top and bring to medium-high heat (the pan will still be nice and hot from the oven, but we want to keep it hot).
- Add butter and let melt. Add garlic and shallots, move around the pan until fragrant, approx. 30 seconds.
- Add orzo, broth, salt, pepper, lemon zest, lemon juice, dried oregano leaves, dried basil leaves, artichoke hears and olives. Stir to combine.
- Nestle the chicken thighs on top and pour in any juices that have settled on the plate. The chicken thighs will finish cooking along with the orzo and their juices will help flavor everything.
- Let orzo simmer gently, uncovered, 8-12 minutes or until the orzo is cooked al dente – try and stir the orzo occasionally and add additional splashes of chicken broth if you notice the pan drying up to avoid the orzo from sticking to the bottom of the pan or burning.
- Remove chicken thighs from pan and remove pan from heat. Add parmesan cheese and sun-dried tomatoes to the orzo. Stir to combine until parmesan cheese has melted.
- Taste and add any additional parmesan cheese, salt or lemon zest, as desired.
- Top with crumbled feta cheese and fresh basil. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
- Chicken Thighs: I prefer chicken thighs to chicken breasts and in order for them to be fully cooked they have to do a lot of their cooking in the oven before we add them in with the orzo. You can just cook them on the stove-top if you prefer – ensure they get to an internal temp of 158/160 degrees F. before nestling into the orzo, as they won’t cook a ton during that time.
- Orzo: some people have had issues with the orzo sticking to the bottom of the pan while simmering, to avoid this have a little extra chicken broth on hand and add splashes of it to the orzo, as needed, to help avoid the pan from drying out – also try and stir the orzo as best you can around the chicken thighs while it is cooking!
- Chicken Breasts: you could definitely use chicken breasts, if you prefer. If you do, just cook them on the stove top until they reach approx. 155 degrees F. and then they will finish cooking when they are nestled in the orzo.
- Internal temp of chicken: Chicken is fully cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F (use a meat thermometer).
- Lemon Zest: check out our tutorial on how to zest a lemon – 5 different ways!
- Storage: any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5-6 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6 oz
- Calories: 509
- Sugar: 2.3 g
- Sodium: 960.8 mg
- Fat: 14.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 23.7 g
- Protein: 68.6 g
- Cholesterol: 210.1 mg
Declan MacKillop says
So good!