If you’re a fan of risotto, you’ll love this one pot creamy chicken orzo with bacon and mushrooms just as much. It’s equally as delicious, with a very similar taste, but is simpler to make. And… there’s actually no cream in it!
Are you a fan of orzo recipes? Don’t even know what they are? Read on to find out!
Like risotto, but easier!
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 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 delicious.
But luckily for me and for you, this one-pot chicken orzo tastes remarkably similar to a risotto!
So how do you make this creamy chicken orzo?
I’m a big fan of one pot meals. Who else finds the tidying up after a meal more tiresome than making the meal in the first place?
This is all you have to do to make this delicious one pot meal:
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 chicken orzo pretty much cooks itself. I’ll take a bit (or a lot) of that on a busy weeknight!
If you like the sound of this meal, you have to try my one pot baked Greek chicken orzo, too. It’s similar, but tomato-y, and baked!
Ingredients
There’s SO MUCH flavour in this.
The juicy chicken thigh, smoked bacon, and tasty brown mushrooms all give a good hit of flavour.
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.
The final little ‘touch’ to my creamy chicken orzo is wilting in some big handfuls of spinach for extra nutrition. Frozen peas would do the same ‘healthifying’ job, of course.
How to serve it
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 purely a dish for winter, but I see it as 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.
Love creamy pasta? How about a classic Italian pasta carbonara (no cream!). Ready and on the table in just 15 minutes.
More delicious orzo recipes
- If you’re liking the one pot risotto style vibe in this post, you’ll also love this one pot baked Greek chicken orzo.
- You can make cold pasta salads with orzo too! Try this spinach, pesto and parmesan orzo salad. It’s great served as a salad side with grilled meat or fish.
- Orzo salad with feta, asparagus and chickpeas
- Did you know orzo’s also great in a soup? You have to try this creamy lemon chicken orzo soup. It’s incredible – and ready in 30 minutes!
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One-pot creamy chicken, bacon and mushroom orzo
Equipment (affiliate links)
Ingredients (UK/Australia? Click below for grams/ml)
- 1 tablespoon butter for cooking
- 1 onion chopped finely
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon each dried thyme and oregano
- 4 slices smoked bacon chopped
- 12 ounces skinless boneless chicken thighs I used 5 small ones, chopped into pieces
- 9 ounces dried orzo pasta (about 1 ½ cups )
- 4 1/4 cups chicken stock
- 5 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 6 ounces fresh spinach
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon cream cheese or a drizzle of cream
- salt and pepper to taste
- a squeeze or two of lemon
Instructions
- 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 10 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.
Angela Berridge says
Tried this tonight…delish! Such an easy recipe to follow, Keep the lovely format .
Helen says
Hi Angela, thank you so much for the feedback, and it means a lot to me that you like the simple format. I certainly do try my best to keep things clear and simple and most of all tasty. Thank you again!
Amanda says
Hi Helen would this would using rice as I don’t have any orzo pasta?
Thanks
Helen says
Hello Amanda! I think it probably would, but you’d have to add the liquid gradually and stir regularly like a regular risotto. I haven’t tested the recipe using rice and so don’t know how much rice you’d add, but it would probably be easy enough to guess by looking at other risotto recipes online. Do let me know if you give it a try! 🙂
Natalie says
I loved this recipe, I added some courgette/zucchini to mine and it was lovely! Thank you x
Helen says
So happy to hear this, Natalie, and thank you so much for letting me know! 🙂
Debra Lockwood says
We love this recipe and it has become a real favourite for myself and my husband. I have adapted it……unsmoked bacon and chicken breasts but it is still delicious. We’d never cooked orzo before and we were pleasantly surprised at how well it worked with the other ingredients. Guess what’s for Dinnner tonight??
Helen says
Hello Debra, and thank you SO much for the encouraging feedback. This is one of my older recipes so it’s wonderful to hear you’re still enjoying it. I love that you’ve made it your own, too. That’s what cooking’s all about, right? 🙂
Amanda Green says
Hi Helen. I love this recipe and have it down to a fine art now! I use chicken mince and add/reduce a splash of white wine before adding the orzo, my only minor adjustments. Many thanks, Amanda
Helen says
Hello Amanda, and thank you so much for letting me know! I love your idea of using chicken mince and am going to try that now myself. So happy you’ve been enjoying it. I love it when I find a recipe that makes it to the regular rotation!
Linda Borsey says
Lovely quick and easy dish. Didnt have spinach so added peas at the end. Will be using this recipe again.
Helen says
Hello Linda! So happy you enjoyed it! Great idea to replace the spinach with peas – most people have peas on hand but not always spinach. Thank you so much for the review!
Angela says
Flavors were great, but after 45+ mins of simmering, it was still way to soupy. I understand the recipe says ‘some’ liquid will remain, but I wasn’t expecting to eat the recipe with a spoon.
Helen says
Hmmm, not quite sure why, Angela. The consistency is usually quite like a risotto. So not soupy but not really dry either. Maybe give it another go and reduce the liquid a little?
Sue says
We all loved this, so creamy, tasty and warming. Definitely do it regularly. My husbands quite fussy about trying things like this but he gave it a big thumbs up, you can make this regularly now, fortnightly he said. . Amazing. ❤️❤️
Helen says
Hello Sue. Thank you so much for the great feedback. It’s always great when you find a recipe your family raves about, isn’t it? Another one you might like is this one: https://scrummylane.com/15-minute-skillet-chicken-with-pesto-parmesan-sauce/ I usually serve it with pasta and it only takes around 15 to 20 minutes to get on the table too 😉
Sadie says
This recipe is great, really easy to follow and super pleased with my dinner! I added some dried chilli flakes and lots of pepper just to balance out the creaminess for me, super delicious. Will definitely be making again, thanks so much for sharing. Think it’s very forgiving too as I didn’t have any chicken so added more veggies with the bacon.
Helen says
Hello Sadie! I’m so happy you enjoyed your dinner – I really appreciate your feedback. It’s useful to know it still tasted good without any meat 😉