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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
Loved this recipe! Made it tonight for the first time. The lemon and dill combination was great.
I am so glad you loved this Rose! Thank you!
One of my new favorite recipes! Thinking about modifying the recipe and replacing the chicken with turkey meatballs. Would that work?
I am sure turkey meatballs will be great, but I have not tried it so I can’t say for sure how it will work. Let me know how it goes!
This is absolutely delicious and will be a staple dinner in our household. Everyone loves it!
Thank you Kelly!
This was yummy. What would have made it better would be toasted slivered almonds for a little crunch!
YUM! I hope you try them with almonds the next time! Thank you Tammy!
Delicious! I didn’t have orzo, so I just used white rice and it turned out great.
Thank you so much Michelle!
Made this recipe for dinner last night. Yum! Thank you for a tasty yet very easy one pan dinner. My small town grocery didn’t have orzo (what?, you have no idea the struggles of a really small town life and cooking) but they did have a box of tiny spaghetti noodles. It was the closest thing, so I tried it and it turned out great! As my hubby says, this is definitely a keeper. Thanks Tieghan for another great recipe.
I am so glad you still made this and it turned out amazing Paula! Thank you so much!
Hello! I’m going to try it looks yummy!! Instead of kale what else can i use?
Thank you
Hi! I recommend using spinach or roughly chopped broccoli or just omit the greens if you prefer. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
I made this for dinner this week. So easy, and such a hit! I also liked that clean up was really simple! Thanks!
Thank you so much Jackie!
I’m excited to make this tonight but our oven safe dishes are out of commission as of late – could I use a nonstick and continue to cook on the stove?? xo
Hi Elaine! Yes, that will be just fine, just be sure the chicken is cooked through before serving. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! x Tieghan
LOVED this recipe! This was my first time cooking with a cast-iron skillet and it was a huge success, thank you! Recipe was delicious and easy to follow. My husband was super impressed by the beautiful presentation as well 🙂
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you so much Elisabeth! I am so glad both you and your husband loved this!
Is 1 pound of chicken breast all that you used? In the video it looks like way more than one pound.
HI! It’s just 1 pound, but you can use up to a 1 ad 1/2 pounds if you’d like more chicken in the recipe. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! ?
Made this tonight and it was very good! I think it was a bit too lemony (perhaps because we used large lemons). I also used 4 large bone in chicken thighs without skin, which totaled two pounds. I omitted the dill, because the grocery store ran out, but otherwise, I cooked this recipe to the tee. I did have to transfer the orzo mixture into a baking dish, as I do not own a cast iron skillet and have an induction cooktop. Lastly, I cooked for closer to 20 minutes and everything was cooked through just fine! I probably will omit the juice of the lemon next time and didn’t end up using the lemon zest because it had enough lemon flavor, but overall, a very easy dish to make, directions were thorough, and I will definitely make again!
Oh, do you happen to have the nutrition facts on this dish? Thank you so much!!! :+D
Hi Asha! I am so glad you loved this dish! Thank you! Unfortunately I do not have the nutritional information just yet, but am working on adding it to my blog! So sorry about that!
This recipe is so so easy and turns out absolutely delicious every time!!
I am so glad you loved this! Thank you Taylor!
I made this for my family last night with chicken thighs and it was SO GOOD! Both my husband and son raved about it. My son even asked me to pack it for his lunch….he liked it so much.
Thank you for such a great recipe.
Thank you Rebecca! I am so glad you loved this recipe!
I made this back when it was first posted! I have made it a few times since! Very delicious! The entire family loved it. Love how simple it is!
Thank you Jes!