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.
We thought this was really good, and I love one skillet meals. Plus, I had everything except the feta on hand…winner, winner, chicken dinner!
My husband is picky about food, and he really liked it too.
The only thing I did different, was add garlic and onion powder to the lemon pepper.
This was a delicious recipe that is going into regular rotation now! I had no idea lemon pepper seasoning could taste so good with chicken. Thank you!
Hi, I tried this and it was tasty and kids loved it. However A lot of the orzo stuck to the pan. Was it because I did not stir it often enough when I added it? As well is it ok if the fond leaves black bits and pieces or should it all dissolve after adding the broth?
Thanks!
Those bits are definitely okay and when you add the broth it’s okay to scrape the pan a bit with a spatula as it adds great flavor! You can stir it a little bit here and there, but your temp may have just been a little high.
Can I use chicken breasts for this recipe?
You certainly can!
I have made this at least ten times now – I love it so much!! It’s quick and easy, inexpensive and is just so yummy! We love the saltiness along with the tang of the lemon pepper! Plus, hardly any dishes to clean! Seriously in love! I think next time I might add some chopped spinach.
Happy to hear it Katie! Thanks for sharing.
This is a really good recipe with a lot of room for improvisation. My grocery store didn’t have orzo, so I used brown rice. Since hearty rice takes more like ~45 minutes to simmer, I started it simmering and then at around minute 35 I added my cooked chicken thighs, as well as a drained can of black beans. I also used some paprika and cayenne pepper since I like my rice/beans mixtures to be spicy. Amazing!! No extra salt necessary haha, it all comes from the chicken broth and feta.
This is fantastic to know for those who want to maybe use what they have on hand! Thank you for sharing Lauren.
On the app there is a crazy glitch that requires 20x the amount of the lemon pepper seasoning which destroyed my meal, please fix!
Oh no! I’m so very sorry to hear this. We’ll get this corrected right away.
Love the recipe, but I think the prices are a little out dated.
Delicious! My thighs were pretty big so I fried them an additional 5 min. And I cooked another 10 min longer at the end with lid off. I didn’t use the feta cheese bc I didn’t have any on hand. The dish came out perfect. ❤️
Been making this recipe since you posted it and while I use less lemon pepper to account for personal preference, it’s great and simply.
On a technical note, though, you don’t seem to have this recipe on the ingredient index page for orzo.
Thanks for catching that! Fixing now. :)
I left a review in the BudgetBytes app but I don’t think those transfer over to the website. So I’ll make it short and sweet: This recipe was phenomenal! Very easy, fast, and cheap! Thanks Beth! Love your website!
Thank you!!
Have tried this dish, and we LOVE it !!! Beth you are the BOMB ! We’ve tried several of your recipes, and all of them have been great. I’m an older lady who has stuck to the same’o recipes, now I try to make a new recipe from your collection at least 3 times a week. Appreciate you, and keep them coming!
Thank you!
I’m not sure what kind of chicken broth to use, I went with my usual Better Than Bouillon nut maybe I used too much because my end result was pretty salty. I used the same lemon pepper seasoning as the example above, so I’m thinking it had to be the broth.
It was super easy though and I will definitely give it another shot.
I used better than bouillon too and found that it was just a little too salty. I wish BTB came in a low sodium version!
I followed the recipe exactly, but the chicken was still pink in the middle, and the whole dish turned out very greasy. The flavors were good though. If I make it again, I would use boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
This was absolutely delicious and came together in no time at all. This meal has all my favorite flavors, and I love recipes with just a few ingredients that taste elegant & special. I’ll definitely be making this regularly – as a long-time reader I’m actually shocked I haven’t tried this one yet. Thank you!