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.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 ½ pounds chicken breasts or tenders, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 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
- Sear: 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.
- Sauté: 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: 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: 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.
- Finish: 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.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Sauté
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 511 kcal
- Sugar: 1.5 g
- Sodium: 880 mg
- Fat: 28.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 16 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12.8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 17 g
- Fiber: 2.5 g
- Protein: 42.6 g
- Cholesterol: 135 mg
Keywords: creamy tuscan chicken orzo, one pan meal, chicken dinner, italian inspired