This lemon chicken orzo dish is made in one skillet in less than 30 minutes! Juicy, seared chicken thighs are nestled into perfectly cooked, lemony orzo alongside thinly sliced lemons and fresh thyme. It’s an elevated weeknight dinner that the entire family will love!
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This recipe is…
This lemon orzo and chicken dinner is divine, y’all. It’s a simple dish (done in less than 30 minutes) that will, quite literally, knock your socks off! Plus, any dinner made in ONE skillet is a win in my book because it makes clean-up an absolute breeze.
Looking for more easy dinner ideas? We’ve got a BUNCH. These sheet pan curry chicken thighs are flavorful and always a home-run in my house, this baked chicken marinara is a simple, show-stopping dish, and this beef teriyaki sheet pan dinner is a delicious Asian-inspired spin on the classic sheet pan dinner.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s made in one-skillet – one skillet dishes are always a huge win in my house. My family gobbles them up, and I’m always super grateful for the easy clean-up.
- It’s flavorful – the ingredients are simple, but WOW, the flavor is not! Fresh lemon, thyme, and red pepper flakes make this recipe unbelievably delicious.
Lemon Chicken Orzo Recipe Ingredients
You don’t need a whole lot to make this easy one-skillet dinner. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Chicken thighs – we used chicken thighs here because they stay nice and juicy once cooked, but you can totally use chicken tenders or chicken breasts, if you’d prefer.
- Orzo – we used a grain-free cassava orzo for this recipe, but you can use regular, wheat orzo if that’s what you have on hand.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Use rice – if you don’t love orzo (or don’t have it on hand), feel free to use rice instead. If you decide to go this route, we suggest using this lemon chicken and rice recipe as a go-by instead.
- Make it dairy-free – this recipe is dairy-free as-is!
- Make it grain-free – as long as you use a grain-free orzo (we used Jovial’s cassava orzo) like we did, this recipe is totally grain-free.
- Make it gluten-free – similar to above, if you use a gluten-free orzo (or grain-free, like we did), this recipe is gluten-free.
How to Make a Lemon Chicken Orzo Skillet
One-skillet meals are as easy as it gets! Follow along below for the full how-to.
Step 1: In a large bowl, toss the chicken thighs with the chopped thyme, minced garlic, olive oil, 1 teaspoon sea salt, red pepper flakes, and lemon zest.
Step 2: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add the chicken thighs to the pan, nestle the lemon slices into the pan, and sear the chicken on one side for 6-7 minutes, or until it develops a nice brown crust. Remove the chicken and lemon slices from the pan and set aside.
Step 3: Add the butter to the pan and stir until it melts. Add the dried orzo and stir for 2 minutes to toast the orzo.
Step 4: Carefully pour the broth and lemon juice into the pan, stirring to deglaze the bottom of the pan.
Step 5: Add the chicken, seared side up, lemon slices, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt, and thyme sprigs to the pan.
Step 6: Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook fro 15 minutes over medium heat. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Tip
Let the orzo sit for a few minutes – after the orzo simmers for 15 minutes, know that there’s a REALLY good chance that there will be some extra liquid in the pan. If that’s the case, let the dish sit for 10 minutes so that the orzo can fully absorb the liquid, and then serve.
How to Serve
Serve your lemon chicken and orzo skillet as is (it’s a complete meal all on its own!) or, if you’re looking for a couple of sides to serve with it, alongside crusty bread (our cheesy garlic bread would be divine) and a simple arugula side salad.
How to Store and Reheat
Store any leftover lemon chicken and orzo in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To reheat, simply pop a serving or two into the microwave for 1-2 minutes, until warmed through.
Frequently Asked Questions
Orzo is shaped like rice, but it’s actually pasta! Because of it’s unique shape, though, it finds its way into a lot of dishes that would typically call for rice (like this one-skillet meal!) vs. pasta.
You’ll know the orzo is done when it’s soft but still has a bit of a bite to it. Because it’s pasta, it’ll become mushy if it’s overcooked.
More Favorite Skillet Recipes
If you tried this Lemon Chicken Orzo or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Lemon Chicken Orzo Recipe
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1½ teaspoons salt, divided
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 lemon, zested then sliced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1½ cups (or 1, 8-ounce box) dried orzo
- 2¼ cups chicken broth
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
Instructions
- In a large bowl, toss the chicken thighs with the chopped thyme, minced garlic, olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, red pepper flakes, and lemon zest.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add the chicken thighs to the pan, nestle the lemon slices into the pan, and sear the chicken on one side for 6-7 minutes, or until it develops a nice brown crust. Remove the chicken and lemon slices from the pan and set aside.
- Add the butter to the pan and stir until it melts. Add the dried orzo and stir for 2 minutes to toast the orzo.
- Carefully pour the broth and lemon juice into the pan, stirring to deglaze the bottom of the pan.
- Add the chicken, seared side up, lemon slices, remaining ½ teaspoon of salt, and thyme sprigs to the pan.
- Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook for 15 minutes over medium-low heat.
- Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
We only had a half box of orzo so I just halved the broth. I always have a hard time keeping the gluten free orzo from getting mushy. We served with roasted green beans and asparagus which paired nicely! My husband and I love the lemon flavor in this recipe.
Totally get that orzo problem, Christine! It’s definitely a tricky on to get right! We are so happy you enjoyed it, though!
Made this in my cast iron skillet. I loved how it was all in one pan. It was so delicious, the whole family loved it. Will definitely be adding this to our regular rotation of dinners!
I forgot to add 5 stars!
You’re the best!! Thank you <3
We are so so happy y’all enjoyed it, Jena!
I used chicken breasts instead of thighs and this was a quick, easy, zesty one pan winner! We paired it with salad and grapes – it was the perfect don’t heat up the house in the summer meal that was nourishing and satiating. If F&F has no fans, I’m dead
HAHAH love you for that, Mary!!! We are SO happy y’all enjoyed it!!!
I really liked this recipe. It was super easy to make and the flavors were wonderful. I used bone in, skin on things and browned the skin side down in step 2. I think next time I will use less broth (maybe 1/3 cup less) because I had way too much liquid, even after letting it sit for an extra 15 minutes. After we pulled out a couple of liquid-y servings and the dish sat longer, the orzo absorbed what was left of the liquid. Overall, my family and I loved it.
Hmmm I am not sure why there was so much left over liquid. I am really sorry, Meagan! We are so happy you enjoyed it in the end, though <3
Smelled amazing cooking! Also so simple to throw together. Love any one pan meal.
RIGHT?! The smell is just amazing!!!! We are so happy you loved it, Kassandra!
this was a great one pot meal option, we did use chicken breast and found the recipe worked well with the substutution. my family loved the bright lemon flavor with the thyme, adding the lemon slices really upped the flavor.
we will be putting this in our regular rotation.
Aw yay! We are so happy it was a hit, Heather! Thank you so much for taking the time to share!
This was easy, fast, and tasty! Great for week nights.
We are so happy you love it, Jasmyn!
This recipe is so easy to make and so delicious! Super lemony and perfect for an easy summer dinner.
Aww yay! We are so happy you enjoyed it!
This recipe is perfection! I made it twice in one week because my family loved it so much! The fresh lemon orzo was the best light orzo flavor for a hot summer day. Such easy clean up with a one pot dinner! This will be on repeat for a while. Thank you!
Woohoo!! We are so so happy y’all love it, Jennifer!! Thank you so much for taking the time to share!
Very easy to make! I used chicken breasts instead of thighs since that’s what I had on hand. Still turned out great!
Yay! We are so happy you enjoyed it, Brooke!
Easy and super tasty! Great lemon flavor. My kids both asked for seconds!
Biggest compliment ever when the kiddos ask for seconds! We are so so happy y’all enjoyed it, Whitney!
delicious! I didn’t have any GF orzo on hand so we subbed in 1 cup of uncooked long grain rice, same amount of liquid and maybe 5 extra minutes of cooking time. worked out great, thank you 🙂
not sure where my stars went! five stars!
You are amazing! Thank you!
So so smart! Sounds delicious! We are so so happy you enjoyed it!
This was delicious! I had some cassava orzo in the pantry that I wanted to use up, hoping it would be better in this dish than when I originally tried it. (If you are able to eat regular pasta, don’t get the cassava- it cooks to a gluey texture.)
Next time I will double the recipe, we loved it that much!
Great tip on the cassava orzo, Ellen! It is defiantly a tricky one! We are so happy you loved it!!
This came together so easily and very quickly and was delicious! Will definitely be making this again.
Yay! We are so happy you enjoyed it, Nova!
This was amazing! Both my husband and 3 year old loved it and both are very picky eaters! It feels so great to make something everybody loves. Thank you!
That is so exciting, Cheryl! We are so happy y’all loved it!