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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
I cook this recipe for so many times and they love it
Hi Resty,
Yay! Love to hear this:) Thank you so much for making this recipe and your comment! Have the best day!!
What seasonings do you use for the chicken? The recipe only calls for salt and pepper but video one looks like you use more. Thank you
Hi Joanna,
I just use salt and pepper for this recipe, the wrong video is linked here. Sorry about that! xx
This recipe has been in our regular rotation for a few years. Love the limited clean up and leftovers are just as tasty!
Hey Cat,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, love to hear it turned out nicely for you! xx
Yummy, except too much lemon! And I left out the lemon juice, only included the slices. Super tart.
Hey Kristine,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! So sorry about the lemon. Let me know if you try again! xx
This was great! I have a big family so I doubled the chicken and lemon but left the rest of the ingredients as listed. It came out great and my family loved it!
Hey Katie,
Awesome! So glad to hear this recipe was a winner, I appreciate you making it! xT
Did anyone make this and it almost makes your house smell like pho? It tastes fine but something about the cooking process smells like pho soup?
Hey Brooke,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try! Hmmm, I’m not sure where that smell would come from. Hopefully it’s a good smell:) xxT
How can I add asparagus to this recipe?? Sounds just divine!!!!
Hi Shelby,
I would add chopped asparagus to step 3 with the lemon. I hope you love this dish, please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Wow! I made this tonight and it is incredible! The perfect weeknight dinner. And perfect for a crowd.
Hi Kimberly,
Happy Thursday! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your feedback, love to hear it turned out nicely for you! XxT
Just made this and it was delicious – I doubled the time in the oven and let it sit to cool after so it wasn’t soupy like others said.
Hi Jessica,
Happy New Year!🥳 Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, love to hear it turned out well for you! xx
silly question, but the orzo has to be cooked before using it in this recipe right?
Hi Meg,
Nope, the orzo is going to cook in the dish:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
I adapted this recipe for our tastes – adding the juice of lemon was way too tart for us – but removing this step created the most perfect & delicious meal ever – (i’m a bit more generous with the butter & wine too) A genius dish & one I have made 100’s of times & will forever continue to make. Thank you Teighan.
Thanks so much, Fiona!! So glad to hear you have been enjoying this recipe, thanks for making it so often! xT
This recipe got me hooked on all of halfbaked harvest! It was so good. I was considering making this for a large crowd (15+). I need a recipe that I can make ahead and just reheat. Do you think this recipe would be good frozen and reheated? If not, do you have any recommendations or even another one of your recipes? thank you so much!
Hey Michelle,
Awesome! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! Sure, you could totally make ahead and reheat, I don’t think freezing would be the best for the orzo. Here are some other freezer friendly options:
https://fett-weg.today/category/recipes/type-of-meal/freezer-friendly/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> Have a great weekend! xT
Followed the directions and it was super bitter, near inedible. And soupy. I made another similar recipe years ago (from another website) and couldn’t find it which is why I used this one. Disappointed. The chicken was fine so my kids could at least eat that.
Hi Taylor,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! x
Shows you using what seems to be shallots, mustard and paprika as well as a few other spices in the tiktok video, but no mention of it in the recipe. Can you elaborate on how you made it in the video? Thanks!
Hi there,
So sorry about that! Unfortunately, that video is from another recipe, we will need to move it to the correct dish. You can follow the instructions as written:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Can you link that recipe? I made a similar recipe like that with cream and few weeks ago and cannot find it on the website
Hey Peter,
You bet!
https://fett-weg.today/lemon-butter-dijon-chicken-and-orzo/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> I hope you love this dish! xT
My husband and I just had this for dinner and it was so tasty! We loved the lemon flavor with the chicken and the orzo. Definitely will be in the dinner rotation going forward!
Hey Tess,
Yay!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, I appreciate you making it! Have a great week! xT
If you could add a third lemon to the recipe or to zest the lemon before you juice it that would really make it great