Welcome to another episode of “How can so few ingredients make such a delicious meal?!” One-pot meals are a miracle, my friends, and this Lemon Pepper Chicken with Orzo is the perfect example. This dish is packed with flavor thanks to a hefty dose of lemon pepper, chicken broth, juicy chicken thighs, and a pop of feta at the end. Plus, it’s fast, easy, and barely anything to clean up afterward. :)
What’s in Lemon Pepper Chicken with Orzo
For this skillet meal, I liberally seasoned some bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs with lemon pepper, then combined it with some orzo, chicken broth, and parsley. Everything gets cooked together in one pot so that orzo soaks up all the flavor from both the chicken thighs and the broth, and not a drop of flavor is lost. It’s so simple, yet so good. Add a quick little side salad with fresh greens and you’ve got a five-star dinner (and very few dishes to clean). Victory!
Can I Use Boneless Chicken?
I used bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs for this recipe, but you can use boneless thighs or breasts if you prefer. The chicken will cook a little faster if you use boneless and you might miss out on a little bit of the flavor that comes with bone-in chicken. Also, be aware that chicken breasts do tend to dry out faster than chicken thighs, so the end product won’t be quite as juicy.
Tips for Cooking One Pot Pasta
Getting one pot pasta meals to cook just right can take a little practice, but here are a few tips to make sure your pasta cooks evenly and all the way through without leaving too much liquid behind:
- Use a heavy or thick-bottomed piece of cookware. Thin cookware doesn’t cook evenly and can leave some pasta undercooked and some pasta overcooked. A deep skillet or Dutch Oven will work well for this recipe.
- Use a burner that is close in size to the bottom of your pot or pan. If the burner is a lot smaller than the width of the pan, you may have trouble getting the outside edges to cook evenly.
- Make sure the broth is simmering the whole time. Heat settings on ranges can vary, so you may need to adjust the heat up or down slightly to maintain a simmer in the broth.
One Pot Lemon Pepper Chicken with Orzo
Servings 4Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs* ($3.74)
- 2 Tbsp lemon pepper seasoning ($0.60)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 2 cups chicken broth ($0.26)
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley ($0.20)
- 1.5 cups orzo ($1.29)
- 2 oz. feta, crumbled ($1.25)
Instructions
- Blot the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel, then season both sides liberally with lemon pepper seasoning (about 2 Tbsp lemon pepper total).
- Heat a large deep skillet over medium. Once hot, add the cooking oil. Add the seasoned chicken thighs, skin side down, and let them cook undisturbed until browned (about 6-8 minutes for bone-in skin-on thighs). Flip the chicken thighs and cook until browned on the second side. The chicken will be cooked most of the way through at this point but will finish cooking when simmered with the orzo. Remove the chicken to a clean plate.
- While the chicken is browning, roughly chop about 1/4 bunch of parsley and mince two cloves of garlic. After removing the chicken from the skillet, turn the heat down to low, add the minced garlic, and sauté the garlic in the residual fat for about a minute.
- Add 2 cups of chicken broth to the skillet and stir to dissolve the crispy browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the orzo and half of the chopped parsley. Stir to combine. Finally, return the chicken to the skillet, skin side up.
- Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to high, and let the broth come to a full boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low. Let the skillet simmer on low for about 15 minutes, or until most of the broth has been absorbed. Make sure it’s simmering the whole time. If it stops simmering, increase the heat slightly until it just starts to simmer again.
- After about 15 minutes the orzo should be tender and most of the broth absorbed but there will still be a little sauce in the skillet.
- Fluff the orzo around the chicken a bit with a fork, then top with the remaining parsley and the crumbled feta. Serve and enjoy!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
How to Make One Pot Chicken and Orzo – Step by Step Photos
Start by blotting four chicken thighs dry with a paper towel. Drying them helps the seasoning stick and helps them brown better in the skillet. I used bone-in thighs with skin, but you could use boneless, skinless if desired. Just keep in mind that boneless and skinless thighs are usually a bit more expensive and will cook faster. Season both sides of each thigh liberally with lemon pepper seasoning (about 2 Tbsp total).
Heat a large deep skillet over medium. Once hot, add 1 Tbsp cooking oil. Add the seasoned chicken thighs, skin side down, and let them cook undisturbed until browned (about 6-8 minutes for bone-in skin-on thighs). Flip the chicken thighs and cook until browned on the second side. The chicken will be cooked most of the way through at this point but will finish cooking when simmered with the orzo. Remove the chicken to a clean plate.
While the chicken is browning, roughly chop about 1/4 bunch of parsley and mince two cloves of garlic. Turn the heat down to low, add the minced garlic, and sauté the garlic in the residual fat for about a minute.
Add 2 cups of chicken broth to the skillet and stir to dissolve the crispy browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
The broth will turn a deep brown color as the drippings are dissolved into the mixture.
Add about half of the chopped parsley and 1.5 cups of orzo. Stir to combine.
Finally, return the chicken to the skillet, skin side up. Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to high, and let the broth come to a full boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low. Let the skillet simmer on low for about 15 minutes, or until most of the broth has been absorbed. Make sure it’s simmering the whole time. If it stops simmering, increase the heat slightly until it just starts to simmer again.
After about 15 minutes the orzo should be tender and most of the broth absorbed but there will still be a little sauce in the skillet.
Fluff the orzo around the chicken a bit with a fork, then top with the remaining parsley and the crumbled feta. And that’s all it takes to make this simple Lemon Pepper Chicken with Orzo. I could seriously eat this orzo all day long. ALL. DAY. LONG.
This was tasty. I did change it up a lot since I didn’t have many of the ingredients. For instance, I was out of chicken broth and didn’t want to just use plain water. I had a pouch of sauce that is supposed to be made into a mushroom stroganoff but I used it along with water instead of the chicken broth. It gave the orzo a tasty, meaty flavor. I also didn’t feel that lemon pepper would go well with that so I seasoned the chicken with garlic salt and pepper. I also skipped the feta. This recipe is really versatile and can be made into various dishes according to taste. Thanks for the recipe!
Just made this, its absolutely incredible. Feels very fancy all though it took no time at all, and very little prep! Thank you so much!
Perfect, as usual!! Yet another recipe from this site that hits a home run, my god, how do you do it? I ate way too many pieces of chicken tonight, way too much orzo but oh my goodness, sooo good! Thank you and keep em coming please :)
Does anyone know if quinoa would work as a substitute for the orzo?
Yes, I have done that before with this recipe when out of orzo. I substitute in equal measure, 1.5 cups of quinoa, and have found that it tends to absorb all the liquid nicely. It took a little bit longer than the 10-12 minutes suggested by this recipe. You should also be aware that quinoa seems to expand significantly more than orzo so plan your pot size accordingly!
I have done this recipe multiple times, both as written and with substitutions and it never lets me down.
OMG I made it tonight and it was so easy, and soooooo yummy! Even my picky teenager loved it, it’s a keeper!!
I’m going to try this tonight! Looks absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing~
Hi Beth! Still trying to dodge the soft cheeses like feta until we deliver our little girl, (ONE WEEK!!) so what cheese can I sub? Thanks!!
Hmm, I guess Parmesan wouldn’t be too bad. :)
As long as the cheese is pasteurized it’s fine while pregnant.
Just leave it out!!
Making broth with bouillon base made this, as written, WAY too salty. Next time will use my homemade broth and add salt. Seemed like it had potential to be goo, but couldn’t get past the salt. All the other recipes off this site have been great.
This looks so good! Have you tried making it with any whole grains instead of orzo? Just wondering which grain might work best.
I haven’t, but if you decide to experiment with it please share your results with us. :)
I made it with farro and adjusted the liquid and cooking time a little based on the farro cooking instructions (package said 30 mins cooking time). I ended up with too much liquid, so I just poured some off. The end results were still pretty delicious.
Just made this tonight for dinner, and it was amazing! Trying to cook more instead of eating convenience foods, and even my husband, a self-confessed fast food junkie, went back for seconds of this. I even used garlic powder instead of fresh, and the flavor was still amazing. Steamed some fresh spinach as a side and put some feta in it too- so good!
I’m trying to clean out our fridge/freezer/pantry, and found some chicken and a third of a box of orzo. A quick Google search led me to your site. I tried this last night using fresh lemons + pepper (didn’t have any lemon pepper seasoning), dried parsley, and omitted the feta (didn’t have any, and we’re trying not to spend much $ for the rest of the month), and my husband and I loved this simple and easy dish! Thank you so much for posting- we will definitely be making this again!
Just made this last night—it was fantastic! Definitely a new favorite meal in our house. I briefly considered leaving out the feta, but decided to add it since I try to make recipes “by the book” the first time I make them, and I’m SO glad I went with it–the feta added a perfect pop of flavor at the end!
This was amazing. Chicken leg quarters were on sale at my market-used those, broiled instead of sautéed and added spinach as several reviewers recommended. Delicious!
Definitely one of my favorites. Very delicious, quick, and easy!
SOOO good, and I love the one pot cleanup. One question though-how well does it freeze? I’m 8 months pregnant and trying to find a few good recipes (that are not a variation on lasagna or red-sauce pasta) to make ahead and freeze.
This one freezes just so-so. I find it slightly more difficult to reheat meat that is on the bone. If you let it thaw in the refrigerator over night, it will be easy to reheat in the microwave, but it’s more difficult to do straight from the freezer.