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Baked Orzo with Chicken

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IN THIS POST

Paired with a Pilsner

 

Baked Orzo with Chicken: a comforting and simple weeknight dinner recipe that the whole family with go crazy over! Carrots, celery and onion are sauteed in a hot pan with some fresh garlic. Dry orzo pasta and tomato paste are stirred in to lightly toast the pasta. After it has been removed from heat, chicken, vegetable stock, fresh herbs and some essential seasonings are stirred in. Transferred to a large baking dish and then topped with fresh sliced tomatoes, the orzo is then baked for 45 minutes until the pasta has cooked through. Baked orzo with chicken is hearty and delicious!
 

Baked Orzo with Chicken: a comforting and simple weeknight dinner recipe that the whole family with go crazy over! | www.cookingandbeer.com

I wouldn’t want to live in a world without pasta, especially small pasta. I remember very specifically growing up on pastina tossed with a little bit of butter and salt and black pepper. I still get comforted by this simple dish to this day, and when I’m missing my family (which if you didn’t know live 2000 miles away), this is the dish I make immediately.

While orzo is slightly bigger than pastina, I still get the same vibes when I eat it. It is my go-to pasta for most soups, especially homemade chicken noodle; and it makes for the perfect backdrop when making cheesy, hearty pasta casseroles.

This baked orzo with chicken is another recipe that has been inspired by one of my favorite cookbooks. While that version is vegetarian and uses eggplant, I thought I’d change things up and use chicken instead. Zach is not a huge fan of eggplant so any time I can avoid cooking with it when he is around I do. This kind of sucks for me since I love eggplant. Oh well, you pick and choose your battles right?! Oh the joys of living with a picky eater.

Baked Orzo with Chicken: a comforting and simple weeknight dinner recipe that the whole family with go crazy over! | www.cookingandbeer.com

I hope you guys enjoy this recipe for baked orzo with chicken. It’s a great recipe as the kiddos head back to school, and you want to have something comforting on the table at the end of the day. Pair this recipe with a pilsner and have a wonderful day everyone! xo

Baked Orzo with Chicken: a comforting and simple weeknight dinner recipe that the whole family with go crazy over! | www.cookingandbeer.com


 

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Baked Orzo with Chicken: a comforting and simple weeknight dinner recipe that the whole family with go crazy over! | www.cookingandbeer.com

Baked Orzo with Chicken

Servings:

8

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 boneless and skinless chicken breasts fully-cooked and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • 2 large carrots diced
  • 2 celery stalks diced
  • 5 cloves of garlic finely minced
  • 12 ounces dry orzo pasta
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 cups vegetable stock
  • 1/4 cup fresh oregano
  • 6 ounces mozzarella cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 3 roma tomatoes sliced
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • salt and black pepper
  • fresh chopped parsley for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the veggies are just tender. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add the orzo and tomato paste. Stir to mix well and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.
  • Remove the pan from heat and stir in the chicken, stock, oregano mozzarella, parmesan and a generous amount of salt and black pepper. Mix well and transfer to a large baking dish. Place the sliced tomatoes on top and sprinkle with dry oregano.
  • Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the pasta is cooked through. Remove from heat and serve garnished with fresh parsley.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

I throw the chicken in the slow cooker on high for about 2 hours at the beginning of each week. I think this is the best way to always have cooked chicken on hand.

Recipe adapted from Plenty More – By Yotam Ottolenghi.

Baked Orzo with Chicken: a comforting and simple weeknight dinner recipe that the whole family with go crazy over! | www.cookingandbeer.com

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Justine

Justine

I’m the voice, author, creator, and photographer behind Cooking and Beer. We started things about 10 years ago and Cooking and Beer has morphed and grown into what it is today: providing hundreds of recipes to thousands of people.

55 Responses

  1. I live 500 miles away from my family and I thought that was far! Jeepers! You can count me in to eat eggplant in place of Zach :)

  2. I love orzo and sometimes think it’s the forgotten pasta! This chicken bake sounds like the perfect easy baked weeknight entree!

  3. Do you have a recipe for your pre-cooked chicken breasts that you mentioned in this recipe. Sounds like a great prep idea.

    1. Hi David! I don’t think I have a specific post for pre-cooked chicken breast recipe on the blog, BUT that is a fantastic idea! I normally just throw it in the slow cooker with about 1/4 cup of chicken broth and cook it until it shreds…about 2 hours on high (4 hours on low). I hope this helps!

  4. This would also be delicious as a vegetarian side dish, minus the chicken. I have made this before, and to enhance the tomato flavor, I roasted the 1/2 inch slices of roma tomatoes ( drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper) in a 250 degree oven for about 2 hours. Guests wanted more of the roasted tomatoes on top!

  5. Loved this – it was a great week-night gluten free dish (using gluten free orzo). To make it even easier, I cooked the whole thing using my trusty cast-iron skillet. Didn’t have any chicken on hand, so cooked these first in the skillet and then set aside. I then cooked the veggies (with the left-over flavor from the chicken!), and then added everything back to the skillet and put it in the oven to finish cooking. PS – I love that my hands still smell delicious from cutting all that fresh oregano!

    1. Hi, Sunny. I do think this recipe can be made ahead (within reason). The only potential issue you may run into is that the orzo may become overcooked and mushy upon reheating, but it doesn’t hurt to give it a shot! – Justine

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Hello! I'm Justine.

I’m a blogger and web developer from the beautiful state of Oklahoma, where my loving husband, two adorable kids, and two mischievous dogs keep me on my toes 24/7. My idea of heaven includes endless summer days, getting lost in a good book, and whipping up some delicious homemade bread.

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