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If you’re a fan of risotto, I reckon you’ll love this one-pot chicken, bacon and mushroom orzo just as much. It’s equally as delicious, with a very similar taste, but is quite a bit simpler to make.
You could call this chicken, bacon and mushroom orzo ‘risotto for lazy people’!
Personally, I’m very partial to a lovingly-stirred risotto, but let’s face it, it can be a bit of a bore to make. Add the stock too quickly, or fail to stir the rice enough, and you won’t end up with that lusciously silky, creamy result that makes a good risotto so darn delicious.
But what I discovered at the weekend when I made this one-pot chicken orzo was that it ends up tasting remarkably similar to a risotto. But after pan-frying your onions, herbs and chicken for a few moments, you simply dump in your dried orzo (a sort of rice-shaped pasta, just in case you were wondering!) and stock… and leave to cook. Well OK, you stir it a few times to stop it sticking to the pan, but essentially once you’ve added everything, this pretty much cooks itself. I’ll take a bit (or a lot) of that!
There’s so much flavour in this! The juicy chicken thigh, smoked bacon, and tasty brown mushrooms (we’ll be having none of those boring, watery button mushrooms), all give a good hit of flavour for starters. Then the big half-cupful of parmesan you dump in at the end brings out the flavours even more, giving the dish a gorgeous ‘umami’ quality.
Oh, and did I mention how creamy this is? But there isn’t a drop of cream in it. Just like a risotto, the dish ends up quite creamy anyway, from the starch in the pasta I suppose, but also from the huge handful of parmesan. I like to add a tablespoon of cream cheese to this dish at the end, too. You don’t have to do that, especially if it means buying a tub of cream cheese especially, but if you happen to have some in your fridge already… well, it would be criminal not to, wouldn’t it now?
The final little ‘touch’ to my creamy chicken orzo is wilting in some big handfuls of spinach. Because, you know… extra nutrition and colour and all that. Frozen peas would do the same ‘healthifying’ job, of course.
This is one of those dishes that I could eat until I’m uncomfortably full (not that I’m speaking from experience of course).
You might think it’s a bit of a wintery-sounding dish, but I’d prefer to call it a ‘meal for all seasons’. Serve with a simple green salad and a crisp white wine and I’d say it’s also a perfect light meal for a warm summer evening.
It’s just a shame we STILL don’t have any warm summer evenings around here. We’ve had the most miserable June you can imagine, with grey skies and rain almost every day. Something tells me it must be time for Wimbledon! 😉
P.S. This is the sort of pot I always use to cook this – a heavy based cast iron pot.
Serves: 4
- about a tablespoon of butter, for cooking
- 1 onion, chopped finely
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- ½ teaspoon each dried thyme and oregano
- 4 rashers smoked bacon, chopped
- about 350 grams / 12 ounces skinless boneless chicken thighs (I used 5 small ones), chopped into pieces
- 250 grams / 9 ounces (about 1 ½ cups) dried orzo pasta*
- 1 litre chicken stock
- 150 grams / 5 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- about 165 grams / 6 ounces fresh spinach
- about ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon cream cheese (or a drizzle of cream)
- salt and pepper to taste
- a squeeze or two of lemon
- Melt the butter in a large pan on a medium heat, then add the onion. Cook, stirring, for a few minutes until softened, then add the garlic and herbs. Cook for a minute or so longer.
- Add the bacon and chicken pieces to the pan and cook, stirring, for a few minutes until cooked on the outside.
- Add the dry orzo to the pan and stir in well, then pour in the chicken stock. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally so that the orzo doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan too much.
- Add the mushrooms and simmer for about another ten minutes, or until the dish has thickened (there will still be some liquid, which is fine).
- At the last minute, stir in the spinach until wilted, then stir through the parmesan cheese and the tablespoon of cream cheese. Add salt, pepper, and lemon to taste.
- Serve immediately in bowls with more parmesan on top.
Try re-heating leftovers the next day in the microwave. It won't be quite as rich and creamy, but it still makes a darn good tasty lunch!
Add a small drizzle of cream to the finished orzo instead of cream cheese if you prefer. If you don't have either cream or cream cheese, don't worry - it'll still be lovely and creamy without.
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Cream, chicken, bacon, bliss. For real, this is everything I love in one and I cannot wait to give it a try. Looks amazing!
Hi Karly! Thanks so much for taking the time to visit and comment. So glad you like the sound of this, and hope you give it a go! 🙂
As I have a lazy-lean myself, this looks like a wonderful and quick risotto alternative. Plus, who doesn’t love chicken, bacon and mushrooms together? This looks wonderful, Helen!
So glad I’m not the only one with the lazy lean! 🙂
Helen, WOA – this looks so creamy – And, with no cream and plenty of brown mushrooms, spinach and bacon – this is my kinda chicken and orzo dish!
You are indeed right, this would be perfect any time of the year – so comforting and delicious!
Thank you, dear Shashi! I love year-round dishes!
This looks delicious, Helen. And yes, the addition of spinach to make a one-dish dinner is perfect. I do that often with my curries. This is going on my must-try list.
Hello Marlene. Thank you so much! I’ve got the left-over spinach stashed away in my freezer ready to stuff into loads of other things!
This is a delicious bowl of comfort food and very flavorful too. Lovely recipe.
Thank you so much, dear Janette!
My stomach literally just growled looking at this dish! This is genius, Helen! Get that creamy risotto texture with orzo and with way less baby sitting, is just brilliant! Not to mention those incredible flavors you’ve got going on – chicken thighs, mushrooms, BACON. I gotta make this!
So happy to have got a growl out of your stomach, Kathleen! 🙂
This would disappear in no time in our household I think! I love orzo and it’s such a quick cook sub for rice!
🙂
Ton plat me fait vraiment envie, il est parfait pour moi parce que en été, je deviens un peu plus paresseuse, je passe moins temps dans la cuisine, en plus j’adore le plats uniques, complètes. Cette recette a tous pour plaire. Bon dimanche Helen.
Merci, Eva… bon mercredi! 🙂
This recipe has two of my favourite things: one pot and orzo! Looks perfect for summer nights
Thanks Mariana… glad you like this! 🙂
Not a huge pasta fan but orzo is my one weakness! Probably because it does just feel like risotto!
Hi Chrissy! Hope you give it a go!
This is absolutely delicious food for lazy people 🙂
Hi Amy, and thanks for passing by and commenting. Hope you give this a go some time – I love it!
Cant wait to make this dish ive got all the ingredients now, its on tomorrow night, prep it tonight so that all my sesoning marinate overnight, my 17 year old high school son and his friend will truly enjoy this with brown rice and a side of corn on the cob with a warm butter milk home make biscuit.
Hi Jacquelyn! Really happy you’re going to give this a go, and hope you enjoy it!
Hi! I was googling orzo recipes and came across your blog. This was delicious and will be added to my list of go-to recipes. A couple of days later I made your pastitsio, the yogurt dressing was much easier. Looking forward to trying lots of youryr other recipes.
Hi Sarah – thank you so much for taking the time to leave your feedback. This sort of comment always makes my day. I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipes. If you enjoyed the pastitsio, you might enjoy my moussaka too. I have a lower calorie turkey one with the yogurt topping and a regular one made with beef mince. 🙂
This was amazing!! My whole family loved it. I even had a little bit left over for my lunch the next day!
Hi Tiffany. Really happy you enjoyed this – thanks so much for leaving your feedback!