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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
Scale
- 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
