Home > Dinner > Creamy Orzo Creamy Orzo June 10, 2019 | 46 Comments SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Jump to Recipe This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy. One-pot Creamy Orzo Pasta with plenty of veggies and an easy Parmesan cream sauce is kid friendly and simple to make! Pair this one-pot creamy pasta entree with a light side dish such as this Italian salad or this cucumber salad. The Best Creamy Orzo When I’m not sure what to make for dinner but know I need to get some veggies in my kiddos, this is the dish I make. It’s loaded with veggies, and is still such a kid-friendly meal, thanks to the creamy sauce and orzo pasta. Creamy Orzo is also a dish I love making because it’s inexpensive, simple to make, and keeps my dishes to a minimum, (just like this One Pot Spaghetti!) A one-pot project, that is. Ingredients Olive Oil, Onion & Garlic: Base aromatics for sautéing and flavor. Chicken: Provides protein and heartiness for creamy orzo. Salt, Pepper, Italian Seasoning: Seasonings for enhanced taste. Frozen Vegetables & Broccoli: Adds color, texture, and nutrients. Butter & Flour: Thickeners for creamy sauce. Chicken Stock/Broth & Milk: Liquids for a rich, creamy base. Orzo Pasta: Absorbs flavors, adds texture. Parmesan Cheese: Adds salty, nutty taste and creaminess. Parsley: Optional for garnish. How To Make Creamy Orzo Sauté: Onions and garlic in olive oil. Cook Chicken: Add chicken, season, and cook. Add Veggies: Include frozen vegetables and broccoli, cook until tender. Make Sauce: Melt butter, whisk in flour, then gradually add stock and milk. Add Orzo: Stir in uncooked orzo and Italian seasoning, simmer until nearly tender. Combine: Return chicken and veggies to pot, add Parmesan, season to taste. Serve: Creamy, garnished with Parmesan and optional parsley. Variations Veggies: Swap with fresh ones; they need more prep and cooking time. Chicken: Use thighs in your creamy orzo for darker meat. Cheese: Replace Parmesan with sharp Cheddar; use about 1 and 1/4 cups. What To Serve With Creamy Orzo Olive Garden Salad Roasted Cauliflower (Two Ways!) French Bread Fruit Salad Recipe Focaccia FOLLOW ALONG! Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates, recipes and content. Creamy Orzo 4.85 from 19 votes - Review this recipe One-pot Creamy Orzo pasta entrée with plenty of veggies and an easy Parmesan cream sauce is kid friendly and simple to make! SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe Creamy Orzo 4.85 from 19 votes - Review this recipe SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe One-pot Creamy Orzo pasta entrée with plenty of veggies and an easy Parmesan cream sauce is kid friendly and simple to make! Course Dinner, Main Course Cuisine American Keyword creamy orzo pasta Prep Time 15 minutes minutes Cook Time 15 minutes minutes Total Time 30 minutes minutes Servings 4 servings Chelsea Lords Calories 666kcal Author Chelsea Lords Cost $4.52 Ingredients▢ 1 and 1/2 tablespoons olive oil▢ 1/2 cup yellow onion finely diced▢ 2 garlic cloves finely minced▢ 12 ounces (~1 large) chicken breast cut into small bite-sized pieces▢ Fine sea salt and freshly cracked pepper (or use lemon pepper if desired)▢ 1 bag (16 ounces) frozen diced vegetables (I use the blend of carrots, sweet peas, corn, & green beans)▢ 1 and 3/4 cup broccoli (~1 floret), chopped into very small pieces▢ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter▢ 2 tablespoons white all-purpose flour▢ 2 cups chicken stock or chicken broth▢ 2 and 1/4 cups whole milk▢ 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning▢ 1 and 1/2 cups dry orzo pasta▢ 1 cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated, divided▢ fresh parsley optionalUS - Metric USMetric InstructionsPREP: Cut veggies and chicken before starting to cook; the process goes quickly! Finely chop the onion and garlic, cut the chicken breast into small pieces, and chop the broccoli into small pieces. Set out the rest of the ingredients.COOK: Heat olive oil in a large (nonstick) pot over high heat. Add onion and stir around for 1-2 minutes and then add in garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add the chopped chicken, season with salt and pepper; cook until mostly cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add in all the frozen vegetables (no need to thaw) and finely chopped broccoli. Stir for 2-3 minutes or until veggies are thawed and chicken is cooked through. Broccoli should be crisp-tender. Transfer this entire mixture to a plate and cover with foil.COOK CONT.: Return the pot to burner. Melt the butter, whisk in the flour and cook and stir for 1 minute. Gradually add in the stock, whisking constantly. Add in the milk and all the uncooked orzo. Add in the Italian seasoning.FINISH COOKING: Bring mixture to a simmer, then lower the heat until it is just barely and gently bubbling. Cook for 7 minutes without a lid, stirring occasionally and making sure to scrape the bottom so the orzo does not stick. After 7 minutes the pasta should be almost tender (mixture will still be soupy). Add the plate of veggies and chicken to the pot and stir. Add 3/4 cup Parmesan and stir to melt. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Don't be afraid to add a bit more-- the salt and pepper really pull all the flavors together.SERVE: Consistency should be similar to risotto and very creamy. (Add a splash of milk if needed to thin consistency a bit.) Serve with additional 1/4 cup Parmesan if desired and some freshly chopped parsley. Enjoy while hot. Nutrition FactsCalories: 666kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 104mg | Sodium: 749mg | Potassium: 925mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 879IU | Vitamin C: 39mg | Calcium: 505mg | Iron: 2mg We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed. DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? I love hearing from you when you've made one of my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @ChelseasMessyApron or leave me a comment below.
Beautiful! I think broccoli is terribly unterutilized. It’s kale this and that. But broccoli is a marvelous vegetable! Love this dish!!! Reply
That looks delish! So creamy and comforting. 🙂 Broccoli and cheese are one of my fav savory combinations too. Reply
I’m a big fan of orzo!! However, I never buy it 🙁 This looks like a great way to eat it! Throw yourself a grilled chicken breast on top?? Or even steak would be nice! This post also made me realize, I haven’t bought broccoli in ages! Haha, thanks Chelsea! Hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day!! You seem like a great mama! Reply
You could try it! I’m not really sure exactly how it would taste not having it tried it myself, would love to hear the results! Reply
This might be a stupid question, but when you say freshly (and finely) grated Parmesan, do you mean grated fine like powder, or grated like strips (shredded)? Reply
No thank you so much for clarifying! I mean small grated strips like when you grate the cheese on the small grate side of a cheese grater! Thanks for your comment! 🙂 Reply
I haven’t tested anything else in this so I really can’t say for sure, I’m so sorry! You could try ditalini pasta, but not sure exactly how it would end up. Reply
I try tons of recipes and usually don’t leave a review, but this recipe quickly became a favorite of mine. I have made this several times with a variety of vegetable combinations (my favorite is peas and mushrooms). I’ve even swapped 1/2 cup of milk for 1/2 of heavy cream (it doesn’t make a difference so it’s not worth doing unless you ran out of milk like I did). Nevertheless, this recipe turns out amazing every time I make it. The leftovers are great and I look forward to eating them every time. Reply
Thanks so much for your comment Hannah! I really appreciate you sharing some of the vegetable substitutions that have worked for you, they sound amazing! 🙂 Reply
I made this tonight for supper and it was delicious!!! My husband ate three helpings and continued to pick out of the pot. That’s a huge win in our house! Reply
This is such a win! I’m so happy you guys loved this creamy orzo so much! Thanks for your comment! 🙂 Reply
I stumbled across your website recently and I’ve been trying a lot of your recipes. I made this one for dinner tonight because I had half a box of risoni in the back of my pantry that I needed to use. Quite easy to make with staple ingredients I always have on hand – plus a great opportunity to use up some frozen veg lying around. Will definitely make again. Reply
I’m so happy to hear this Amy! So glad you were able to work with what you had! Thanks so much for your kind comment! 🙂 Reply
This is a great recipe. Thank you so much. I’ve been making it with leftovers from a whole baked (crockpot) chicken and steamed broccoli. I just make the orzo and stir in the frozen veg, broccoli, and chicken. Thanks so much. Reply
Do you think this would freeze well? I made this and have a lot of left overs. It was really good! Reply
Are you thinking of Arborio rice that goes in risotto? Unfortunately rice won’t work in this recipe, it’s a much longer cook time! Reply
Delicious. We call this condensed chicken soup at my house. I used all fresh veggies instead of frozen but the roux was on point and I suggest using a high quality or homemade bone broth or stock cuz the author is right most of your flavor comes from there. Though the Parmesan at the end REALLY adds the salty punch it needs. Will put into our regular dinner cycle for sure. Reply
OMG. This was so good and so easy to make. I used 2% milk and it worked fine…had some leftover spinach so threw that in too. It’s really a “ kitchen sink” recipe that you can put anything in… Reply
