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South Korea Part Two: Going for Gold.
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When you need something bright, cozy, and low-effort, this one-skillet chicken and orzo hits the spot. Think crispy seared chicken, caramelized lemon, and garlicky, butter-kissed orzo that soaks up all the flavor.
It’s weeknight-easy, pantry-friendly, and pretty enough to bring right to the table. Grab a lemon (Meyer if you’ve got it), a handful of greens, and let the oven finish the work.
You guys, I am not going to lie, at this point I really don’t even know what day it is. This entire time I’ve been in South Korea, I think I have asked what day it is and what the time is over and over again. South Korea is one day and sixteen hours ahead of MST, so the jet leg struggle was, and is, real. Because of work, I needed to be going back and forth between US time and Korean time and for me, it just got way too confusing.
By the time you all read this I should hopefully be home, as I am heading out in a couple of hours with a few family members along with me. I am currently writing this post while sitting in a hotel room in Seoul, trying to catch up on work…and scrolling through all the AMAZING comments, social media tags, and press from the last three days. It’s truly amazing. Thanks for the support you all are showing my brother. He’s living up this gold medal win (well sort of, the jet lag on this quick trip cannot be fun) and traveling around with my brother Malachi, doing a quick US press tour. However, they’ll both be back on a plane to South Korea in a couple of days, as Red needs to start practice for Men’s Snowboard Big Air.
Crazy, crazy ride those two are on…
I mean, did you catch Red on Jimmy Kimmel Live Tuesday night? Here’s the link if you’d like to watch.
And that’s your quick Red and Kai update for the day. Let’s talk food, because you know, that is what I do best.
While the food here in South Korea has been awesome…there’s been a lot of Korean Beef, ramen, and we had some amazing dumplings yesterday in Seoul…I must say, I’m looking forward to heading home and cooking up some of my favorite comfort meals, like this easy one skillet chicken dinner.
I made this before we left for Korea and it was the perfect easy, healthy, cozy dinner to eat the day before a long flight. Plus, it’s full of carbs, lemon, and veggies, so very much my kind of food.
The chicken is pan seared along with some fresh lemon slices and a little butter. The chicken becomes crispy, and the lemon slices caramelize, making them sweet enough to eat. I am aware that eating the whole lemon, peel and all, is still a little odd to many of you, but try it out this way. I promise, it’s so good.
The chicken and lemon alone could be an awesome recipe, classic and delicious, but me being me, I needed to add a little more to the recipe, so in came the orzo.
I mean, obviously, you have to have the carbs, you just do.
You could certainly use quinoa or another grain, but if I were you, I’d go with the orzo. It’s just fitting with this recipe and so delicious in the lemon butter sauce.
This recipe is not only delicious, it’s also super easy…one skillet, under an hour, and uses mostly pantry staple ingredients.
Cool. Cool.
It’s a crowd pleaser, and actually comes out of the oven looking relatively pretty. I threw on some fresh dill for color and served the chicken and orzo up right out of the skillet. Perfect for easy weeknight dinners or even entertaining.
Also, I get a lot of questions about what my favorite cast iron skillet is…I always, always use Staub. The ten and twelve inch are my favorites, I used the twelve inch for this recipe.
If I wasn’t getting home so late tonight, I’d for sure be making this for dinner. Instead, this will definitely be on my table as Friday night’s meal.
Can’t wait to start getting caught up on everything at home. Sorry for being MIA with comments this past week, I will be catching up soon. Thanks for all the messages!
Watch the How To Video Here:
One Skillet Lemon Butter Chicken and Orzo
Servings: 6 servings
Calories Per Serving: 337 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound chicken breasts or small thighs
- kosher salt and pepper
- 1 Meyer or regular lemon, sliced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 clove garlic, minced or grated
- 1 cup orzo pasta
- 1/3 cup white wine
- 2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 a bunch kale, roughly torn
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.2. Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven or cast iron skillet set over medium high heat. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper. When the oil is shimmering, add the chicken and sear on both sides until golden, about 3-5 minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the skillet. 3. To the same skillet, add the butter and lemon slices. Sear the lemon until golden on each side, about 1 minute. Remove the lemon from the pan and add to the plate with the chicken. 4. To the same skillet, add the garlic and orzo. Cook until the garlic is fragrant and the orzo toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Add the wine to the skillet and de-glaze the pan. Add the chicken broth, kale, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over high heat and stir. Slide the chicken, lemon slices, and any juices left on the pan back into the skillet. Transfer to the oven and roast, uncovered for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.4. Serve the chicken topped with fresh dill and lemon zest. EAT!
Chicken dinner for the win…or the GOLD?! I dunno, but clearly I am still way too excited that my brother is an Olympic Gold Medalist. No big deal or anything…
This post was originally published on February 15, 2018
Hi there ! I found my way to this recipe after trying and LOVING your sun dried tomato and orzo chicken recipe ! So fabulous! For this recipe , would it be possible to substitute the orzo with rice, and if yes , which type of rice would you recommend , and are there any liquid/ cooking time alterations to be made ? In addition can the dish be finished on the stove , or would oven still be recommended ? Thanks so much for this lovely blog and your amazing recipes !
Hey Yan,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, yes rice would absolutely work here, it may take slightly longer to cook through. I hope you love it! Please let me know if you have any other questions:) xTieghan
The flavor in this dish was fantastic. Butter made it creamy and acid in wine was a nice balance. Don’t skimp on getting a nice dark sear on the chicken in the pan. Super easy otherwise. Can’t wait to eat it again. Only alteration was that I added another garlic clove and a big pinch of red pepper flakes. Yum.
Hey Donna,
I am so glad that the recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Have a great week:) xTieghan
Can I use spinach instead of kale?
Hey Joanna,
Yes, spinach will work well here. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
VERY good! I definitely recommend. I served with oven roasted veggies.
For me, it had about 1tbsp or so too much liquid the end of the 15 minutes in the oven, but the orzo was done. So, next time I’ll reduce chicken broth by that much and see.
Hey Allan,
Thanks so much for making the recipe, I am so excited that it was enjoyed! Have a great weekend:) xTieghan
I made this tonight and it was so good! My husband even took a picture of the end result haha. I’ll definitely make again, maybe with the addition of some artichoke hearts before I put it in the oven. 15 minute cooking time was perfect for 3 smallish chicken breasts. Thank you for the yummy recipe!
Hey Anna,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for trying it out! xTieghan
Loved it! Next time I’d add a little more orzo but otherwise perfect and delicious!
Hi Nicole,
I love to hear that this recipe worked out for you, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! xTieghan
This recipe is absolutely delicious, AND amazingly versatile. I made it for Christmas this year, and instead of chicken + white wine I swapped in lamb + red wine,, and y’all… WOW. Absolutely incredible.
Hey Sarah,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am so glad you enjoyed! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
This recipe has so much potential to be really awesome (which is why I cooked it yesterday, the smells were fantastic!). However, 1 thing completely ruined my dish and I was wondering if you have a solution for this/how you managed to avoid it. First I baked the slices of lemon in the butter (amazing), but then when you add them to the cooking of the orzo, the bitterness of the lemon (the white part I’m guessing) seeps into the dish, making mine barely edible (due to bitterness, it was def not too sour) 🙁 How to avoid this?
Hey Anne,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am so sorry the dish was bitter for you. It is key to really caramelize the lemons to take the bitterness out of them. I hope this helps for next time! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Is there an alternative to the white wine? Or can it be eliminated?
Hey Siddhi,
You can use broth in place of the white wine. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I just watched your brothers interview from a couple years ago, he’s cute and really funny. I hope poor Abigail didn’t get ruined again. Lol
Hey Michelle,
LOL too funny:) Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I have not made this yet, but it is definitely on the top of the saved recipes pile. I do have a question; the recipe says this serves six but 1 lb of chicken and 1 cup of orzo (I know it increases in volume once cooked) seems pretty skimpy. I would think this quantity for six would be a side dish size portion.
Has anyone actually served six from this exact recipe?
Made this w/o white wine bc I did not have any handy. Still delicious! Mine needed more like 20-25 to be full done.
Thank you so much! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This recipe has quickly become a staple in my meal prep! I like to add a little extra salt and pepper to contrast the lemon but other than that I follow the recipe to a T and it turns out incredible every time! Now if only I could get a char that perfect on my chicken! Any tips for that? Thanks as always, Tieghan! xo
Hey Leigha,
I am so glad you have been enjoying this recipe! I find using a cast iron skillet really helps to get the char on the chicken! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This was amazing. I highly recommend it!!!
Thank you Margaret! xTieghan
Hi!! I made this dish tonight (it’s actually from your new cookbook) so maybe a little different but i want to adapt this for fall/winter, do you have a substitute for the white wine? Or have you tried with red wine??
Hey Vanessa,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! You can use chicken broth in place of the white wine, but I would not recommend using red wine:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This recipe is so yummy! I make it at least once a month. My family loves the orzo so much that I double it and the liquids. I also use half whole wheat orzo and half regular. I have passed this on to quite a few friends who also love this recipe. Sometimes if I don’t have kale, I use spinach instead but I put it in only during the last few minutes of cooking. Thanks so much for this recipe and all of your other yummy recipes!
Thank you for trying this one, Mel! I am really glad it turned out so well for you! xTieghan