Quick and delicious Creamy Parmesan Orzo with Chicken and Asparagus that can be on your dinner table in only 30 minutes! Cheesy, creamy, delicious goodness!
This creamy, cheesy, Parmesan orzo is my kind of dish and the kind of dish I could have every single night for lunch or dinner. What’s not to like? You’ve got your proteins, your veggies, and my favorite part, the Parmesan orzo.
This dish is everything. This is all I need to be a happy girl.
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But you know what’s great about this Parmesan orzo? Is how easy it is to make and how quick. Orzo takes only about 10 minutes to cook! And yes, orzo is a pasta, not rice as some may think. But this dish could be made with rice as well, it will just take a little bit longer to cook.
Orzo is perfect for when you want a quick dinner, or a quick side dish and don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, because who does? As much as I love cooking, I still always look for quick and easy meals. Baking on the other hand, is a different story which I’ll leave for another time.
Give this Parmesan Orzo with Chicken a try, you’ll love it!
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Creamy Parmesan Orzo with Chicken and Asparagus
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast boneless and skinless (about 3)
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp pepper or to taste
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup asparagus chopped
- 1 large onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups orzo uncooked
- 2 cups half and half
- 3 cups chicken broth low sodium, or water
- 1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese grated
- 2 tbsp parsley chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper and paprika on both sides.
- In a large skillet heat the 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken for about 5 minutes per side, or until golden brown and cooked through. Depending on the thickness of your chicken you might need longer time. Transfer the chicken to a warm plate; set aside.
- In the same skillet add the asparagus and saute for about 3 minutes, just until it starts to soften and starts to brown a bit. Transfer to a plate; set aside.
- In the same skillet add the onion and garlic and saute for about 3 minutes until the onion is translucent and the garlic becomes aromatic. Add more olive oil if needed.
- Add the orzo to the skillet and saute for just one minute, to get it a little toasted, this will give it a nutty flavor. Add the half and half, chicken broth and stir.
- Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a medium-low, cover with lid and let it cook for 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid and stir in the Parmesan cheese. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper.
- Add the asparagus back and stir it in. Slice the chicken into thin slices. You can either add it to the skillet and stir it in, or as seen in the photos, arrange over the orzo.
- Garnish with more Parmesan cheese if preferred, and parsley. Serve warm.
Notes
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Just came across this recipe and I can’t wait to make it. Looks Delicious! What pan did you use? It looks like a great pan from oven to table.
It’s a Le Creuset brainer, you can find it here: https://amzn.to/2SNsxfQ
This was the bomb! I didn’t have asparagus so I used long green beans instead. I also used the thin sliced chicken breast from the store instead of regular breasts only because they cook faster. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. Next time I’ll have to see if I can double the recipe to have leftovers for lunch the next day!
This is a delicious recipe to add to our cooking nights! I used Alfredo sauce instead of the half and half as I had leftover Alfredo in the fridge. For some reason, half and half is also hard to find in my area!
We also had zucchini that needed to be used so we used this instead of the asparagus. It was delicious but also interested in trying with spinach or asparagus.
Made four servings and only a tiny bit leftover. Between our 17-year old and my husband, not much leftover! And for someone that doesn’t enjoy leftovers, I would have been interested in taking to work tomorrow. Thanks for a great recipe!
The only downside is the amount of cleanup from auger-omg the chicken and zucchini. The stove was a mess!
This was really good. It was a hit with the kids as well. I substituted asparagus for broccoli. Will be adding this one to my favorites.
Can you replace the orzo with rice?
You can, but you’ll need to adjust to amount of liquid to suit the type and brand of rice you’re using. Use the package as a guide!
Made this tonight. It was over the top good. Will definitely make again.
I made the orzo in a separate pan to cut down on cooking time and only used 2 cups of chicken stock. It turned out great and is a recipe we all loved and want to keep in the rotation
I added lemon juice to asparagus as it was cooking and dried theyme to sauce while cooking orzo. Lemon cuts the richness nicely. Family loved it!
I halfed the receipe for the fiancé and I. I was tasting it while cooking and felt like it was missing something so I added red pepper flakes and it came out sooooo good. Thank you for a new recipe!
This was delicious! Easy weeknight meal, that the family loved…definitely a keeper! I served it with Caesar salad and garlic naan bread. Thank you for sharing!
I forgot to grab half and half, would milk work? Also couldn’t find orzo for some reason, would regular pasta work or a different type of rice?
Orzo is a pasta, so yeah I suppose you could use a different pasta. Milk would work, I suppose you could add a bit of butter to it as well.
I didn’t have half n half either so mixed about a cup of milk to a tablespoon of butter- so for every extra cup of milk add a tablespoon of butter
Hi,
Just wondering if this could be made dairy free? Like would it work with almond or coconut milk? If not, I will certainly be making for the rest of the family but it looks so good I want to try it too!
Thank you
Sorry, but I’ve never tried with almond or coconut milk, if you do try it I think coconut milk might be the best choice.
For the cream Parm orzo with chicken could I use 1% milk instead of the half n half
You could but it won’t be as creamy.
All I can say is WOW!! I’ve been trying recipes on Pinterest for years and I have to say this tops them all! Amazing! Thank you for sharing this <3
This was absolutely delicious! Thank you!!
I’m so happy to hear that!
Really delicious recipe! Not too much prep work but did take a bit of time to cook everything. It was worth it though! Will make again!
Hi Jo! This recipe looks delicious and I’ve put it on the menu for next week. Wondering if you think I could sub in fat free half and half for the regular half and half? Generally I have good luck making that substitute in most recipes but wanted your opinion.
Thanks!
Absolutely, that should be just fine!
This was delish! made it last eve, and it went together pretty quickly…It will stay in my recipe folder! I also added a couple of things, because I had them, and it was me! a tsp of dried thyme, some fresh spinach and some jarred roasted yellow peppers, chopped-about 1/4 cup…Just added a little bit of another flavor-not too much, as we are not big pepper fans. Plus added more veggies in there…Hubs loved it, as did I. It made a lot, have another meal for another night-yay! Thanks for the great dinner! 🙂
This was absolutely delicious and super easy to make! The orzo was SO creamy and cheesy. This will definitely become one of my go to’s for an easy and tasty dinner.