Lemon Rooster and Orzo - The Keep At Dwelling Chef

With contemporary, vivid lemon and herbs, this one-pot meal is our favourite technique to efficiently pull off a home-cooked meal in the course of the busy workweek. This simple recipe covers your whole bases—prepared in simply 45 minutes and tremendous flavorful whereas nonetheless being a lighter choice that doesn’t depart you feeling weighed down.

Love Orzo previous as a lot as we do? Strive our simple and scrumptious One Pot Italian Chicken Orzo.

Why Our Recipe

A one-pot meal that’s fast and simple to get on the desk in about 45 minutes.
Contemporary lemon and herbs loosen up this simple hen dish.
Orzo is a straightforward and filling various to your commonplace pasta dish.

Orzo pasta elevates this easy dish and pairs effectively with the lemon hen, conserving issues attention-grabbing so that you don’t need to fall again on boring, boiled pasta.

Ingredient Notes

Ingredients used to make Lemon Chicken & Orzo.

Rooster Breasts: You too can use boneless thighs when you favor darker meat. Simply be sure that to chop them into bite-size items and trim off any fats.
Olive Oil: Substitute with any impartial cooking oil, equivalent to vegetable or canola oil.
Rooster Broth: Utilizing a low-sodium choice permits you to greatest management the flavour. It’s an amazing chef tip.
Lemon Juice: Bottled lemon juice works effectively and retains prep to a minimal, however freshly squeezed all the time has the perfect taste.
Orzo: This short-cut pasta resembles rice and is discovered within the pasta aisle in a field or plastic container. Test the cooking time in your package deal for the perfect outcomes.
Parmesan Cheese: Freshly shredded or grated Parmesan all the time melts the perfect.

Rooster Choices

Rotisserie Rooster: Should you’re in a rush, rotisserie hen is a unbelievable time-saver. Since rotisserie chickens are often a loss chief for grocery shops, it’s a money-saver too! Merely shred about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of pre-cooked hen and stir it in throughout the previous couple of minutes of cooking.

Leftover Rooster: Bought leftover hen from a earlier meal? Whether or not it’s grilled, baked, or roasted, you’ll be able to simply shred it and add it to your soup. This can be a nice technique to decrease waste and provides new life to leftovers.

Rooster Thighs: Should you favor darkish meat, boneless hen thighs are a tasty various to hen breasts. They add a richer taste to the soup and have a tendency to remain extra tender and juicy. Sear and cook dinner them simply as you’d hen breasts.

Add Veggies

Simply add some colour to this one-pot dish by incorporating contemporary greens.

Asparagus, broccoli, and inexperienced beans are all nice choices that pair effectively with lemon, basil, and parmesan.

When so as to add in…

Closeup of Lemon Chicken & Orzo in a pot.

The Proper Pan

Dimension Issues: Go for a big, deep skillet (12 inches or larger). It offers the hen and orzo loads of room to cook dinner evenly and retains all the things from spilling out if you stir.

Lid Required: You’ll want a lid to cowl the pan whereas the orzo cooks. In case your skillet doesn’t have one, no worries—simply cowl it tightly with foil.

No skillet? No drawback! A large, shallow Dutch oven or braiser works like a attraction.

Storage & Reheating Directions

Refrigerate leftovers in an hermetic container for as much as 3 days.

To freeze, let the dish cool utterly, then retailer it in parts in a freezer-safe container for as much as 2 months. That within the fridge in a single day earlier than reheating.

Reheat on the stovetop in a skillet over medium-low warmth, stirring often, till warmed by way of.

Reheat within the microwave in parts in 30-second increments, stirring in between every, till warmed by way of.