Creamy Tuscan Chicken Orzo is the perfect Italian-inspired chicken dinner. Seared chicken is simmered in a decadent sauce with cream, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and parmesan cheese.
All in one pan. In 30 minutes.
Garnish the dish with basil and serve with fresh bread for a family-friendly meal. Creamy Tuscan chicken orzo feels fancy any night of the week. It’s an easy meal to share with a group of people or to serve for a simple date-night dinner. Plus, the leftovers taste amazing!
So skip the expensive Italian restaurant and enjoy this easy, creamy dish from the comfort of your own home.
Why KJ Loves
Creamy Tuscan Chicken Orzo
A one-pan creamy pasta & chicken dinner? Count me in! I love how quick this recipe comes together, but how decadent and delicious it is. It’s the perfect recipe for a date-night dinner, if you’re hosting guests, or if you are just trying to get dinner on the table. Creamy Tuscan Chicken Orzo does it all!
Level Up Your Pasta Game
If you’re tired of making regular pasta, this meal is for you. We’re mixing things up with orzo—a tiny pasta that looks like rice. It’s made of flour and is just as easy to cook as other types of pasta.
Other Creamy Tuscan Chicken Orzo Ingredients
Chicken
Boneless skinless chicken breasts cook up, slice, and serve wonderfully! Slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally to create thinner chicken breasts. This helps them cook faster and more evenly.
If you prefer dark meat, you could use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead.
Garlic
Freshly chopped or pre-minced—your choice! I always keep a jar of pre-minced garlic in my refrigerator for an easy grab-and-go option.
Heavy cream
Heavy cream makes this creamy Tuscan chicken orzo recipe rich and decadent. If you need to use half and half, you can do that. However, I recommend heavy cream to get just the right consistency.
Sun-dried tomatoes
You can find sun-dried tomatoes at your local grocery store. Trader Joe’s has a great option. These tomatoes are sweet, slightly tart, and chewier than regular tomatoes. Remove them from the oil, give them a rough chop, and enjoy the wonderfully sweet tomato flavor in your meal.
Orzo
Orzo is a tiny pasta that looks like rice. You can buy it at most supermarkets!
Parmesan cheese
Sprinkle a bit of grated parmesan cheese into the sauce to help it thicken and give a salty, cheesy flavor.
Spinach
Spinach adds a bright green pop of color (plus, you’ll barely notice you’re getting a serving of veggies in!)
Basil
Garnishing with basil adds a pop of green and rounds out the Tuscan flavor profile. You can’t go wrong with fresh basil in this recipe.
How to Make Creamy Tuscan Chicken Orzo
1
Sear the chicken.
Start off by searing the chicken in a large skillet until golden brown. Take the chicken out of the pan and set it aside.
2
Sauté the aromatics.
Then, add the onion and garlic to sauté in the skillet, and then add the sun-dried tomatoes.
3
Add in the orzo.
After the aromatics have been sautéd, sprinkle in the orzo pasta and toss to coat with all the goodies.
4
Deglaze the pan.
Then, stir in the chicken stock and the heavy cream, making sure to get any yummy bits off from the bottom of the pan. Simmer on low, not allowing the mixture to boil. If you boil the cream, it can split instead of turning into a nice, creamy sauce.
5
Nestle the chicken back in.
Nestle the chicken back into the sauce and simmer on low until the orzo is fluffy and the chicken is cooked through (165 degrees).
6
Finish the recipe.
Finally, stir in the parmesan cheese and spinach into the creamy Tuscan chicken orzo until wilted. Garnish with freshly chopped basil and enjoy!
7
Wash the dishes. How sad.
But, since this recipe comes together in one pan, that isn’t so bad is it?!
Tips for Success:
The Right Pan
Make sure you have a large skillet that can fit in all the ingredients.
The Right Amount of Liquid
When you first start to add the chicken broth and heavy cream to the creamy Tuscan chicken orzo, it may feel like it’s too much. That’s ok! The orzo soaks up a lot of liquid, so you’ll just need to let it simmer for a bit.
The Right Heat
To keep the dish creamy, make sure to simmer the sauce—not boil it! Heavy cream can split if the dish gets too hot.
Enjoy Your Leftovers
When you heat up your leftovers, you may want to add a little extra chicken broth or cream to get the texture right.
Heat your creamy Tuscan chicken orzo up on the stovetop or in the microwave for a delicious next-day dish.
Looking for other Chicken Recipes? Check these out!
Creamy Tuscan Chicken Orzo
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 5 servings 1x
Description
Creamy Tuscan Chicken Orzo is the perfect Italian-inspired chicken dinner. Seared chicken is simmered in a decadent sauce with cream, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and parmesan cheese.
All in one pan. In 30 minutes.
Garnish the dish with basil and serve with fresh bread for a family-friendly meal. Creamy Tuscan chicken orzo feels fancy any night of the week. It’s an easy meal to share with a group of people or to serve for a simple date-night dinner. Plus, the leftovers taste amazing!
So skip the expensive Italian restaurant and enjoy this easy, creamy dish from the comfort of your own home.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds chicken breasts or tenders, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons evoo
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
- 7 oz jar sun dried tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped
- 1 cup orzo pasta
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 cups fresh spinach leaves, loosely packed
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- Basil for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in the chicken, season with the salt and pepper and sear until golden brown on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
- Add the onion to the skillet and sauté for a couple minutes, or until just starting to turn translucent. Stir in the garlic and the sun dried tomatoes and sauté a couple minutes more. Add in the orzo pasta and stir to combine and coat.
- Deglaze the pan by pouring in the chicken stock, making sure to scrap up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan for flavor. Pour in the heavy cream and nestle the chicken back into the pan, gently stirring to combine.
- Simmer on low heat for 15-20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the orzo is fluffy, stirring every few minutes to keep the orzo from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Most of the liquid will get absorbed by the orzo, but if it starts to get too dry before everything is cooked, add in 1/4 cup additional chicken stock at a time until desired consistency is achieved.
- Gently stir in the parmesan cheese and spinach until the spinach leaves are wilted. Garnish with fresh basil and enjoy!
Notes
- If dark chicken meat is preferred, boneless, skinless chicken thighs can be used instead.
- Nutritional information for this recipe is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Sauté
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 511
- Sugar: 1.5g
- Fat: 28.8g
- Carbohydrates: 17g
- Fiber: 2.5g
- Protein: 42.6g
Keywords: Creamy Tuscan Chicken Orzo
Did you make this recipe?
SHARE THE LOVE
If you made this recipe and love it as much as I do, I’d love to hear from you! Comment below, rate the recipe, or share a picture tagging @kjandcompany or using #kjandcompany so that I can see your fun pictures! Thanks for following and cooking along with me.
Affiliate Links
This post may contain affiliate links, which mean that KJ and Company would receive a small commission if anything is purchased. Thank you for supporting KJ & Company in all the ways that you do.
Hi, I’m KJ!
Here you’ll find simple, delicious recipes for the home cook. I strive to make wholesome meals with easy-to-find ingredients that you feel comfortable making in your own kitchen—but I won’t shy away from a few indulgences! (I see you: butter, bacon, cookies!)
