This Creamy Orzo with Chicken and Sun-dried Tomatoes is a one skillet meal the entire family will love. The components are not all cooked in one skillet but everything comes together in the skillet to create a delicous, insanely creamy and comforting meal. The sun-dried tomates brighten the heaviness of the cream sauce while the chicken thighs balance all the carbs.
There are a couple reasons this doesn’t all come together in one skillet. After making Halfbaked Harvest’s One Skillet Creamy Sun-dried Tomato Chicken and Orzo (which this recipe is an adaptation of) I didn’t like how the orzo became brown from picking up the coloring left behind from the chicken. I also had to babysit the skillet because the orzo would stick to the bottom. To remedy this, just boil the orzo. I also cook for a big family and one cup of orzo and one pound of chicken wasn’t going to cut it.
The recipe had so much potential that with a few adjustments it became just right. This recipe uses an entire package of orzo and quadruples the chicken. My preferred method of making chicken thighs is actually in the oven. All of my recipes that call for chicken thighs start with my Easy Oven Baked Chicken Thighs recipe. Once you make it this way, you can’t make it any other way. What’s nice is you can prep the chicken well in advance or even use leftovers for this recipe. That will take out a lot of time in the kitchen. The thighs are juicy, flavorful and have an immaculate crust on the outside. I don’t put all four pounds in the skillet with the orzo, I’ll add about 2/3 and let people add more chicken to their plate (I’m looking at my football player son).
The cream sauce begins with butter, shallots and garlic. White wine is added for flavor while chicken stock is added to help thicken once reduced. Finally, heavy whipping cream goes in with seasoning and grated parmesan cheese. The sauce gets thick and bubbly. The sun-dried tomatoes, fresh spinach, cooked orzo and sliced chicken thighs get added and mixed in. It’s a glorious skillet of creamy perfection. Everyone will love this one.
Creamy Orzo with Chicken and Sun-dried Tomatoes
Ingredients
Chicken Thighs
- 4 lbs chicken thighs trimmed of excess fat
- 3 packs Italian dressing mix Good Seasons
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Orzo
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 2 medium to large shallots diced
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 1/3 c dry white wine Sauvignon Blanc
- 1 c chicken stock Kitchen Basics
- 2 c heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 c parmesan cheese grated
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 c sundried tomatoes in oil removed from oil and sliced if they’re bigger and packed into the measuring cup
- big handful of spinach leaves
- 1 lb orzo
Instructions
- Make the chicken by trimming excess fat, tossing in the olive oil and Italian seasoning mix in a large bowl. Bake on a lined baking sheet at 375 for 45-50 minutes. Slice and set aside. This can be done well in advance or use leftovers.
- Place a large pot of water over high heat. While that heats up, start the sauce.
- In a separate large skillet melt butter just under medium heat.
- Add shallots and cook 7 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and cook 2 minutes more.
- Add white wine and allow to simmer for 3 minutes.
- Add the chicken stock, stir and allow to thicken and reduce for 10 minutes.
- Your water should be boiling by now, salt the water and add the orzo. Cook per package instructions for al dente. If using the brand Delallo, it needs 11 minutes. Stir occassionally. Strain once done.
- To the skillet pour in the heavy whipping cream, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Stir together then add the parmesan cheese. Whisk until the cheese is melted into the sauce and allow to thicken for a couple minutes.
- Once thick and bubbly add the packed sundried tomatoes, fresh spinach, cooked orzo and sliced chicken thighs. Stir and serve.