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!
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Notes
Nutrition
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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.
I made this last night for my boyfriend and I and we both loved it. I used salt-free lemon pepper, so I salt bae’d those boneless chicken thighs with a good bit of kosher salt and they were delicious. Eating leftovers for lunch! If I were to tweak, I’d probably marinate my chicken in a bit of lemon juice to really drive home that lemony taste.
This is amazing! I thought I had orzo but I didn’t. I wound up using very small shells like the kind you would use in soup. When the it was done, the shells held a nice amount of the thick sauce.
I will be making this again on a regular basis.
Great recipe Beth! Thanks for posting it.
Delicious!!! My family loved it and I will definitely make this again!
This is a winner! Thank you— my whole family loved it. Delicious flavor! I had a box of ditallini pasta that I needed to use up so I subbed that in place of the orzo. It worked!
We have been eating this for months and is one of our favorite meals. At the last 3 minutes we throw in baby spinach leaves and grape tomatoes and it makes it even tastier!
Thanks for the idea! I was planning on cooking a veggie for the side but this makes it even easier!
I made this tonight and it was a delicious! I did not change a thing, except my lemon pepper season was from Trader Joe’s! (New to me to use in this recipe!!) I have more of your recipes & ingredients ready to go for the week. I am a teacher and school starts soon – I will use your recipes to meal prep many of my meals this year. I am glad I found your site for easy, delicious recipes that don’t break the bank.
Thank you!
I am in Canada and i used to but that exact lemon pepper seasoning for my chicken until they no longer sold it here. I have tried numerous others and there is no comparison. Are you still able to purchase it where you are?
Yes, luckily it’s still available here.
This was really good and easy to make! I added a tablespoon of butter but changes nothing else and it was cooked perfectly and looks exactly like the photos!
This was so good! I cut a couple of corners – used dried parsley flakes and used water to make up for the missing amount of chicken broth. It still tasted like heaven and I’d definitely make it again! :)
Hey. Can you use quinoa instead of orzo?
You would need to experiment with the liquid to quinoa ratio to get it right. I don’t think it would be a 1:1 substitution for the orzo.
Tasted delicious, but the chicken was NOT done after just browning it and letting it simmer. Had to finish the chicken in the oven.
This is the first recipe I made from this site, and it came out great! Right after adding the chicken broth, I realized I didn’t have any orzo, so I used elbow macaroni. I can’t wait to try it again with the orzo! Next time I might try adding a vegetable – like broccoli or zucchini – to make it a complete meal.
This was amazing! I’m making my second batch in under a week, because I’ve been craving it since we scarfed the first batch. I definitely recommend what others have said – check your lemon pepper seasoning and make sure salt is NOT the first ingredient. The feta also really makes the flavors pop, so I would recommend trying a batch with the feta before doing without.
This was delicious. It had a lingering peppery heat to it that was nice on a wintery day. The orzo was delicious—wish we had more leftover!
I like to add some onions and lemon juice, but it was delicious even without those. Definitely one of my favourites.