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Baked Lemon Rosemary Chicken Meatballs and Creamy Orzo. Quick, easy, colorful, and delicious! Baked chicken meatballs with roasted lemon, cooked together with orzo pasta and baby spinach, then finished with melty cheese. This tasty dish is all made in one pan without even having to boil any water. Simply mix, bake, eat, and enjoy!
And we’re back with yet another one-pan dinner. I’m loving these easy all-in-one recipes this month. Fortunately, they’ve been turning out so delicious!
It’s been busy over here, and long days mean my time in the kitchen is limited. I was just saying on a call today that I always keep things like this in mind when creating recipes. Of course, that should go without saying that they also need to have great taste. My intention is for my recipes to be approachable, easy, and so delicious…while also looking pretty!
It’s the combo that makes a recipe worthy of saving!
And these cheesy, garlic meatballs fit the description to a T.
My mom mentioned that meatballs sounded really delicious with all the snowy weather and cold temperatures we’ve been having. I thought about sharing another crockpot meatball, but then I had the thought to test out baked meatballs with orzo.
I’ve been enjoying my all-in-one baked dishes so much, so I was curious to test this one out. It’s ended up working out wonderfully and turned into a recipe that everyone has really been enjoying!
Ingredients
- ground chicken, ground beef, ground pork, or ground turkey
- dijon mustard
- shallot, chopped
- garlic powder or a few chopped cloves garlic
- Italian seasoning
- dried rosemary
- smoked paprika
- kosher salt and black pepper
- grated parmesan cheese or ricotta cheese
- extra virgin olive oil
- chopped lemon peel
- chopped fresh dill
- chili flakes
- dry orzo pasta
- dry white wine
- heavy cream or canned full fat coconut milk
- baby spinach, chopped
- shredded mozzarella or provolone cheese
Kitchenware needed
- large cast iron skillet or large dutch oven
- medium mixing bowl, large mixing bowl
- 9×13 inch baking dish
- serving dishes / serving platter
These are the details
Step 1: pre-heat the conventional oven and make the meatballs
I love to use ground chicken or pork for this recipe. Sometimes I’ll mix the chicken and pork if I have both on hand.
Then, add the seasonings to the meat mixture: dijon, shallots, garlic, rosemary and smoked paprika. Then mix in parmesan cheese as well.
Mix everything together and roll it into 2-inch balls. Then, place the meatballs in a baking dish with a little olive oil, chopped lemon peel, dill, and chili flakes. Make sure you have paper towels on hand for clean-up!
Step 2: bake the meatballs
Now, bake the meatballs until they start getting crisp on top.
I like to give them a head start on cooking before adding the orzo. I think this helps them form a nice shape and develop even more flavor!
Step 3: add the orzo
Next, mix the orzo with the oil and meatballs in the baking dish. Add water and wine, and then spinach on top.
No need to boil the orzo. As everything bakes together, the orzo will soak up the water and become perfectly cooked. It’s such a simple way to cook orzo pasta!
Step 4: add the cheese
Pull the dish out, add a touch of cream, then top with either mozzarella or provolone cheese, then bake again until the cheese is all melty and bubbling up.
It’s going to smell so delicious with the lemon and rosemary, and then all that cheese on top! YUM.
Step 5: serve!
Serve the lemon meatballs over the creamy, cheesy orzo. Then I like to add fresh herbs and chili flakes on top.
Simple and quick, with very little clean-up, and minimal hands-on time too.
You can serve this up on busy weeknights, but it would be equally great for a small dinner party with friends. Everyone loves this meatball and pasta dinner. Bon apetit!
Looking for other easy weeknight dinners? Here are some favorites.
Creamy White Bean Noodle Soup with Rosemary Bacon.
Mustard Herb Chicken and Creamy Orzo
Crockpot Crispy Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Jalapeño Ranch
Slow Cooker Saucy Sunday Bolognese Pasta
Slow Cooker Herbed Chicken and Rice Pilaf
Crockpot Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Bolognese
Crockpot Garlic Butter Chicken Meatballs with Creamy Orzo
Lastly, if you make this Baked Lemon Rosemary Chicken Meatballs and Creamy Orzo, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
What are the benefits of a Dutch oven?
A Dutch oven can maintain temperatures on the stovetop and in the oven and its tight-fitting lid ensures the recipes you are preparing is cooked thoroughly. Here is a great article that shares the benefits of cooking with a Dutch oven: https://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/packages/food-network-essentials/what-is-a-dutch-oven
Baked Lemon Rosemary Chicken Meatballs and Creamy Orzo
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 679 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken, pork, or turkey
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- salt and black pepper
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped lemon peel
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- chili flakes
- 1 pound dry orzo pasta
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or canned full fat coconut milk
- 3 cups baby spinach, chopped
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella or provolone cheese
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 450° F.2. Add the chicken, dijon, shallot, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, rosemary, paprika, salt, pepper, and parmesan to a bowl. Mix to combine. Roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (will make 15-16 meatballs). 2. In a 9×13 inch baking dish, combine the meatballs, olive oil, lemon peel, dill, and chili flakes. Bake 8-10 minutes, until just starting to get crisp. Reduce the oven to 400° F. 3. To the meatballs, add the dry orzo. Pour over 2 cups of water and the wine, stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Place the spinach on top. Bake for 12-15 minutes until most of the water has cooked into the pasta, but not all of it.4. Stir the pasta around, mix in the cream, then sprinkle the cheese overtop. Bake another 10 minutes until the cheese has melted and the sauce is bubbling. If there's a lot of oil on top, drain off the excess. Top with fresh dill, basil, or micro greens.
This post was originally published on February 29, 2024
One pound of orzo pasta is 4 cups! That sounds like a lot with the amount of liquid in the recipe?
Hi Maureen,
1 pound of dried orzo should not come out to 4 cups:) It’s just once standard size box…you can follow the recipe exactly as written. Please let me know if I can help with anything else! xT
What does chopped lemon peel mean? Like not grated? Just chop it off the lemon in chunks? Seems unusual. Would we remove it after baking? Obviously can’t eat big chunks of lemon peel…
Hi Kaitlyn,
So you will remove the lemon peel from the lemon and then chop it. Does that help? Let me know if you need more clarification! xT
This was good. I would make it again. My whole family happily ate it. I used a little more than a cup of orzo instead of the whole box, used broth instead of water and wine, left out the dill and added lemon juice to the orzo.
Hi Lorie,
Happy Friday! I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it turned out well! xT
Very good! I did sub in precooked frozen chicken meatballs and it was delicious! I will definitely make the meatballs next time.
Hi Hedy,
Wonderful! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! Have a great Friday! xT
Let me start by saying – we LOVE this recipe!
It’s the perfect blend of the warm, creamy goodness of some of our favorite comfort foods with a surprising, subtle brightness complements of the lemon.
The bonus round – it’s all in one pot. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Just a few notes . . . I used my 8-quart Dutch oven, which was perfect, as I added an additional ½ pound of meat to yield more meatballs for the boys.
I chose to use ground chicken and opted for a chicken breast/thigh combo to prevent the meatballs from getting too dry.
Like one of the other reviewers, I substituted chicken stock for the water. I also increased the overall liquid content simply because my experience cooking with ground poultry of any kind, is it absorbs liquid very quickly. So, I increased the chicken stock to 2 ½ cups and the wine to ¾ of a cup.
Also, during step #3, after I packed the spinach on top of the meatball and orzo mixture, I cooked it with a lid on for 13 minutes to help keep as much moisture in the pot as possible. After 13 minutes, I took off the lid, stirred it, and covered the top with slices of smoked provolone cheese and let it brown for about 10 minutes more.
It was fabulous and it will be among my go-to one pot recipes.
Hi Laurie,
Thank you! I am so glad your family enjoyed this recipe:) I appreciate you sharing all of the notes on what worked well for you! Have a great Friday! xT
Just made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious! I love all your recipes ❤️ my only recommendation maybe add a little more water/broth. I used chicken broth and it was so good. Thank you !!
Hi Lori,
Wonderful! I am so glad this recipe turned out nicely for you, thanks so much for making it! Happy Sunday! xT
Great! I routinely cook for 2 so recipe was easily adjusted down to 4 servings. Although it was so good there’s maybe only 1 1/2 left LOL. Accidentally used more lemon peel so that was noticeable but not in a bad way. Definitely had to add more water to cook the orzo even though I used less than the called for amount. Still good.
Lol thanks so much for trying this recipe Paul! Love to hear that it turned out well for you! Have a great Thursday! xT
OMGosh, this was sooooo good and soooo easy! I always shy away from meatball recipes because I can never get them nice and rounded, but this technique solved that problem. The only thing I did different (because I had some leftover in the fridge) was to use chicken stock in place of the water. Also, I used the exact amount of ingredients you specified (using ground turkey) and then divided the meat mixture into 16 equal portions but they were well over a tablespoon size each! That was fine, I just cooked them about 3 minutes longer and they were delicious. I can see adapting this recipe to use a marinara type sauce. Thank you Tieghan for a wonderful recipe that can be put together so quickly!!
Hi Cynthia,
Happy Thursday!! Thank you so much for your kind message and making this dish! I am so glad to hear that it turned out well for you! xT
I think it would be helpful to identify how much 1 pound of orzo is in “cups”. This would clarify and help. Is 1 pound of dried orzo equal to 2 cups of dried orzo?
Hi Debbie,
1 pound of dried orzo is 1 standard size box. Sorry, I didn’t measure it in cups. I hope you love this recipe! xT
I made this with all dry ingredients and it was great! It took longer to cook, I should have had it higher up in the oven. I also used half and half because I didn’t have any heavy cream. I’ll make it again!
Thanks so much Katherine! Love to hear that this dish was enjoyed, and I appreciate you making it! xT
Didn’t love it at all. Was the Orzo supposed to be one cup or one pound? One pound seems excessive thus recipe was very dry & a buzz kill. The meatballs were good & perhaps turning them half way through might give them more crunch & pazazz. I like all the herbs, lemon zest, wine & heavy cream but it needs to be tweaked as I found it really bland. I added lemon & had crunchy French bread loaded w/butter & a glass of wine to lift my spirits from this disappointing recipe but so very much appreciate all of your hard work & dedication to your craft. Wishing you much love for all that you do!
Hi Sharon,
Thanks for your kind message:) I’m so sorry to hear this recipe wasn’t enjoyed! It is 1 pound of orzo, so typically just 1 standard size box. Again, my apologies that it wasn’t a good recipe for you! xx
The meatballs were tasty, but the orzo was dry and not much flavor. I did use my cast iron braiser since it was shown in the photos instead of a 9×13. I think the heat of the cast iron cooked the liquid out too fast, but that doesn’t help with the flavor of the orzo.
Hi Melissa,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so very sorry to hear the orzo did not turn out for you. Let me know if I can help at all! x
Also forgot to mention, I did 1 cup orzo per the comments. The chopped lemon peel was such a lovely addition and brightened up the dish with it’s freshness. YUM!
Thanks again Angelique!!
What a delicious recipe! I made the meatballs with ground turkey. Didn’t have fresh dill or white wine on hand. Definitely a yummy, wholesome recipe that I’ll be adding to my easy weeknight meal rotation.
Hey Angelique,
Love this! So glad to hear this dish turned out well for you, thanks for making it! xT
Hi! Also looking for confirmation on the amount of orzo? Thank you!
Hi Jaime,
The recipe is correct as written for 1 pound of orzo:) I hope you love this dish! xT
The ingredient list says 1 pound orzo; the comments mention 1 cup?