Baked Chicken Orzo with Lemon, Feta, and Dill
Every time we’ve moved, I can clearly remember our first grocery shopping trip.
In Boston, on our second day there, I was feeling unbelievably homesick for Texas. Ralphie had left me a voicemail saying she hoped we’d arrived safely and that they missed us, and I sat on the living room floor in the middle of a pile of boxes and sobbed.
Because he knows me well, Bart suggested we go grocery shopping so we didn’t have to have jam sandwiches again for dinner, and when we went to the store and it was clean and well-stocked and we came home and loaded up our fridge and cupboards, I felt 100% happier about our new life in Boston.
On Thursday afternoon, as soon as Ani woke up from her nap, we took a family trip to the grocery store and filled up the basket of our stroller with food and we’ve been eating real meals since then.
Although I haven’t shed any tears about being in London (it’s London!), it still makes my heart sing to make that first grocery store trip and feel like we’re really settled in somewhere.
This chicken orzo dish is one I’ve been making since the Boston days and it’s always a winner.
When I made it this week, I assumed we’d have leftovers. But then the girls went nuts over it and scraped the dish completely clean. I was scraping out the last bits to feed them. Obviously I need to make chicken orzo more often!
Baked Chicken Orzo
Baked Chicken Orzo with Lemon, Feta, and Dill
Delicious and full of flavor, this baked chicken orzo is one our whole family loves!
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 3 to 4
Ingredients
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 pound orzo
- 1-2 chicken breasts cut into small cubes
- 1 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill or 2 teaspoons dried dill
- 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
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In a large saucepan or pot, bring the broth, water, butter, salt, and pepper to a boil. Add the orzo pasta, stir well, and remove from heat.
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Stir in the chicken, lemon juice, dill, and feta. Stir to combine, then pour into a casserole dish and bake for 20 minutes, until the liquid is mostly absorbed (it'll be a bit sloshy still, but will firm up as it cools) and the top is golden brown.
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Top with Parmesan cheese (more to taste) and let stand for about 5 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
(adapted from Everyday Food)
If you liked this lemon chicken orzo recipe, you might also like these other recipes:
- Creamy Artichoke and Tomato Orzo
- Chicken Quinoa Salad with Feta and Avocado
- Fire-Roasted Mac & Cheese with Feta
That sounds so good. You really can't wrong with chicken and orzo!
Oh that looks delicious! Can't wait to try – and so loving all of your travels!
Haha, not to be a Downer Debbie, but my family is trying to be grain-free but definitely gluten-free for health reasons so when I see something that looks yummy like this, I feel sad I can't eat it! Enjoy it once for me!
I made it with rice when I was out of orzo and it was delicious
We discovered this recipe in the spring and have been loving it ever since. Thanks for the reminder to make it!
This looks delicious! And I agree, orzo is delicious!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
This sounds delicious, and since the boys are on a kick where they'll actually TRY things instead of reject out of habit (yesterday! spinach lasagna! both of them!) I think it will go on next week's meal plan!
This is in the oven right now. I'm using an 8"x8" pan, as well as assuming that the chicken is uncooked before it goes in the oven. Here's hoping that those two assumptions are correct. Thanks for another amazing-looking recipe!
Thank you! I just made this for dinner and it was awesome, it's definitely going into our standard rotation. It worked out well too because I don't normally have orzo on hand but I had just had a pregnancy craving for avgolemono soup so I had a huge bag of lemons and your recipe called for exactly the amount of orzo I had left- it was fate!
I also wanted to let you know I am loving reading about your travels! You're girls are adorable and it's fun to see everything you guys are up to. Thanks for sharing!
And I swear I know the difference between your and you're, sorry!
This was such an amazing dish! Thanks!
Just made this for my dad and brother who both had seconds (: yum thanks very much!
Yay!
Can this be made with pre cooked chicken? I have a rotisserie chicken that needs using.
Sure!
Did you use raw cubed chicken breast and add to the mix?
Yes!
Saw above that you subbed rice for orzo at some point? Do the amounts of broth to rice ratio stay the same? I’m dying to make this but my husband is gluten free and gf orzo sucks 🙂