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In an effort to satisfy everyone who loves chicken, creamy pasta, and easy one-pan dinners, this recipe was created. This Baked Chicken Orzo recipe has a block of Boursin cheese that coats everything in a creamy sauce, plus plenty of baby spinach to make it a one pan meal. Read on to grab this easy dump-and-bake dinner idea.
If Mackenzie can add a block of feta to a baking dish with pasta and create a viral trend of creamy baked pasta, then surely we can riff on it and get even more dump and bake dinner ideas! Iโm pretty sure her recipe is the most viral recipe of all time, and with good reasonโitโs delicious and simple!
This chicken orzo bake has everything a delicious, easy chicken dinner recipe needs:
- Itโs creamy from the block of Boursin in the pan. Yes, a cream sauce without opening a jar or making a roux! Weโre using the garlic and herb Boursin cheese pyramid that almost every grocery store in the country has, I promise!
- This recipe uses affordable and always tender boneless skinless chicken thighs. You can use chicken breasts if thatโs what your family prefers, but I recommend cutting them in half to ensure the same cook time.
- Weโve got the greens! The chicken casserole contains several handfuls of baby spinach, so I consider this a one pan meal because we have protein, pasta, and veggies right in the same recipe! I love when this happens.
Ingredients
- Olive Oil. Two tablespoon of olive oil to make sure the mixture doesnโt stick to the dish. Weโll mix one tablespoon in with the chicken broth, and the other tablespoon over top before baking.
- Orzo Pasta. One and a half cups of regular orzo pasta. I havenโt tested this with any other type of pasta.
- Chicken Broth. Three cups of chicken broth.
- Garlic. Four fresh cloves of garlic finely minced.
- Italian Seasoning. One teaspoon of Italian seasoning blend, which is usually made up of oregano, basil, rosemary thyme, and marjoram.
- Garlic Powder. For extra garlic flavor, add one teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Salt and Pepper. We need one-half teaspoon of salt and one-half teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.
- Baby Spinach. Three big handfuls of baby spinach is about 3 loosely-packed cups.
- Chicken Thighs. For this chicken orzo bake, I used 4 boneless skinless thighs. This is about 1.5 pounds of chicken. Use scissors to quickly trim them of any excess fat or skin.
- Boursin Cheese. One 5.3 ounce (150 gram) package of Boursin garlic and fine herb flavored cheese. No, I havenโt tested this recipe with any other type of cheese.
How to Make Baked Chicken Orzo
- In a 9ร13-inch or even an 11ร9-inch rectangular oven-safe baking dish, add 1 tablespoon of th olive oil, orzo, chicken broth, garlic, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
2. Mix everything very well, and then sprinkle the baby spinach evenly on top.
3. Evenly space the chicken thighs on top, and nestle the Boursin cheese in the center. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over the top.
4. Bake at 400-degrees F for 30-35 minutes, testing the thickest part of the chicken to ensure itโs done.
5. Just before serving, stir everything together. It will seem like thereโs too much liquid at first, but it absorbs as it cools slightly. Serve immediately.
Storage/ Leftovers
Store any leftovers in the fridge, but please note that the mixture will thicken considerably as it cools. The cheese essentially returns to its solid state. When reheating, it will soften and melt again.
Baked Chicken Orzo
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
- 1 1/2 cups orzo
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 big handfuls of baby spinach
- 1-1.5 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs trimmed of any excess fat
- 5.3 ounce package of Boursin cheese garlic and herb flavor
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F, and have ready a 9ร13 or 11ร9-inch baking dish.
- Directly in the baking dish, add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, orzo, chicken broth, garlic, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Sprinkle the baby spinach evenly on top.
- Place the chicken thighs evenly on top.
- Place the Boursin cheese wheel in the center. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over everything.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the chicken is done. Stir everything together before serving. It might seem like thereโs too much liquid at first, but it will absorb as it cools.
I follow you on IG and have made several of your recipes but never have rated any of them. Made this for dinner tonight for my family of 7. I used 2.5 lbs of chicken thighs but kept everything else the same. I did have to bake for slightly longer. After baking, and mixing in the boursin I added a fresh basil chiffonade over top of everything and it was such a tasty comforting dish full of herby fresh flavors to go along with the creamy orzoโฆ Suitable for grown ups but easy for my crazy busy life! I can see adding in some cherry tomatoes on top before baking, with the spinach and chicken.
this is the nicest comment, thank you so much! and thatโs a great idea about the tomatoes! :)
I usually add cherry tomatoes because Iโve done this with just boursin in place of feta and no chicken and mixed in with other pasta Iโve cooked on the stovetop. Love that this is a one pan dish and includes a protein!
We donโt eat chicken thighs. Could boneless skinless chicken breast be substituted?
Suuuper easy and very tasty!! This is great.
Easy peasy and helped with using leftover spinach salad mix, tomatoes and chicken thighs. Quick to throw together and into the oven it went. Liked this variation much better than the viral feta tomato pasta bake.
Yum! My 13 year old wanted his allowance increased this summer, and one of his new chores is making dinner once per week. He made this tonight! It was delicious and he was so proud of himself for making such a tasty meal ๐ He used chicken breasts cut into thin tenders. Itโs a very rich dish, and with three of us there were at least two lunch portions left over.
This was awesome! A quick and delicious dinner that will definitely enter our rotation. I added cherry tomatoes just dropped over the top right before I popped it in the oven, and some torn up basil when it came out of the oven. And since we each only at one chicken thigh, I have two lunches leftover โ yay! Thank you.
This was so good! I made 1/2 recipe and it was the perfect amount for my husband and me. I used cubed chicken breast instead of thighs. Super easy and very tasty. I will definately make it again.