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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 needed something quick for dinner tonight and this was perfect! Everyone loved it! It is going in the regular rotation!
Thank you Alicia! xTieghan
Been wanting to try this for a while now – finally did it last night. Absolutely incredible flavours! Instead of kale I threw in some mushrooms & Italian herb seasoning. Loved the idea of toasting the orzo in butter & garlic – smelled amazing! Now I just need to get that char on my chicken right!
That is so amazing! Its kind of the best when you wait to try something and you love it right? I am so glad you did! Thank you Navin! xTieghan
This is an amazing recipe! I marinated the chicken with a little bit of olive oil and fresh garlic along with salt and pepper for a few hours before hand.
Love love love!!!!
It will be a regular dinner at my house now!
Thank you Pamela!! xTieghan
Easy and Delicious! My husband and I were driving home to Connecticut from Baltimore and as I was wondering what we would do for dinner, I saw the Instagram post for this recipe. We stopped at the store on the way home and in short order we had a fantastic dinner! Thank you for solving my “what to do for dinner problem”!
That is so great! Thank you Hall! xTieghan
Absolutely loved this recipe. One pan , easy , and delicious. It certainly is a keeper.
Thank you for sharing. I did try to download a photo but didn’t know how?
Thank you Heather! So glad this turned out amazing! xTieghan
Excellent and quick, used spinach instead of kale and turned out wonderful
Thank you Michelle! xTieghan
Can I substitute spinach for the kale? If so when do you suggest that I add it in and should I added more since it wilts down so much? Thank you !
Spinach will be so delicious! No need to adjust the recipe, add the spinach when I direct you to add the kale. It will wilt, but it works well. I have done it! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Tieghan, what could I substitute for the white wine and the kale? Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
Hi Peggy! You can use an equal amount of chicken broth and spinach (or your favorite leafy green). Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Hands down one of my favorite recipes I’ve ever pulled from the internet. It was a hit for both me and my husband, and the toddler even had some! Thank you for such an easy, quick and delicious recipe!!
Thank you so much Christina! I am so glad your whole family could enjoy this! xTieghan
Made this for dinner last night. Was so easy and delicious! Thank you so much. Will be adding it to my dinner recipes again.
Thank you Stefanie! xTieghan
This was perfect. Swapped broccoli for kale and fresh rosemary for dill. Wonderful.
Thank you Kristen! xTieghan
Made this tonight. A family favorite! Especially easy when I did all the prep during the day, ran carpools, then threw it all together when I returned home.
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you Kate! xTieghan
A friend brought me some Meyer lemons so had to try this recipe. It was fabulous. Super easy for a weeknight dinner, yet so elegant would be perfect for a dinner party. Love so many of your recipes! Keep them coming!
I am so glad these turned out perfectly for you, Teri! Thank you so much! xTieghan
Could I use a normal lemon? or better to use a mandarin or orange?
HI Gemma! I would just use a regular lemon! That will be great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Everything about this recipe was perfect! Except it was bitter – I’m not sure if that’s from the Meyers lemon. The lemon juice I used was from another Meyers lemon. I’m not sure where I went wrong with the flavours.
HI! Sounds like you maybe just had some not so sweet meyer lemons. About how much just did you use? You can add 1 tablespoon honey or just use a little less lemon juice. Either should solve the bitterness issue. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan