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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
New to your site and I am already in LOVE with it! I am GF and am thankful for the easy and naturally GF recipes!
Thank you Holly!! I am so glad this turned out so well for you!! xTieghan
Hi there
Do you think this recipe could be made with a thick piece of cod or haddock?
Thanks!
HI! I am sure either would be delicious. Great idea!! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and happy holidays! xTieghan
Loved this! Easy and delicious. A light dinner with lots of lemon flavor. I used 2 lbs boneless chicken breasts. There was enough liquid that I may use 1 1/2 – 2 cups orzo next time…and there will be a next time!
I am so glad you enjoyed this! Thank you Deborah! xTieghan
Would love to try this but my family absolutely hates kale and won’t touch spinach, asparagus, Brussels sprouts or broccoli. Can it be fixed with nothing green? Or is there something else you can suggest? Thanks!
Hi! Yes, just make this minus the greens. It is still great.Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! xTieghan
Loved this recipe- agree it is super pretty coming out of the oven. We are not a dill loving family so I used thyme instead – was so good! I’ve also made a vegetarian version eliminating the chicken and adding more kale and artichoke hearts was equally delicious –
Thank you so much Meg! xTieghan
I just made this tonight after buying your new cookbook last week. However, I dont have an oven safe pot so I covered sbf simmered it all on the stove too. Perhaps that’s why my orzo was more risotto like? Anyways, I still brought it to a boil, then covered and reduced it to low for 15 mins (since my thighs seemed to be thinner than I realized and thus almost cooked), and then turned up the heat for few minutes uncovered to bake off some of the liquid. It was too lemony for me so I made note to half the lemon. I also added some slivered almonds for some crunch at the end, and a dash of red pepper. But I have to say this recipe was very simple. Simpler than the meals I’ve gotten from places like hello fresh and every plate, so it definitely followed the theme! I can’t wait to try more!
I am so glad this turned out so well for you Ellen! I hope you love more recipes of mine and of course I have a whole section for under 30 minutes, just like hello fresh would be. Thank you! xTieghan
This was so good! I added some sun dried tomatoes because I wanted to use them up. I also used boneless skinless chicken thighs because that’s what I had! Love a one pot meal
Thank you so much Debbie! I am so glad you loved this! xTieghan
We’re going “car camping” with a tent. We won’t have an oven. Can the last step (cooking in the oven) be achieved if I just cover the cast iron skillet with the lid and cook?
Hey Kate! Yes, I am sure covering the skillet will cook the chicken just fine. That will be great and so fun for camping! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
You don’t indicate whether the pot should be covered when it goes into the oven. I covered it the first time and it was sort of soupy. Uncovered works better. I also replaced the kale with spinach but since it’s more delicate than kale I add it at the end with a dash of nutmeg. This dish is so lemony and buttery—yum!
Hi Donna! I am really glad you loved this recipe! Thank you so much for trying it again! I usually just do not say anything when it is supposed to be uncovered, but I will try to be more clear in the future! Thank you! xTieghan
THis recipe has become a staple at my house. I’m wondering if you have any tricks to get the chicken so dark/crispy as in your pictures? Thanks for a great recipe.
Hi there! A cast iron skillet over high heat and deep pan sear really helps and is KEY! Don’t flip the chicken until it is deep golden brown. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I so glad you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I just made this and it came out sososoooo good! I didn’t have dill so I sprinkled thyme and rosemary on the chicken before cooking it. I also didn’t have kale so I just steamed some broccoli on the side. The orzo was the star, in my opinion. It was buttery and lemony and decadent, cooked perfectly. Definitely will make this again. Thanks for the amazing recipe!!
That is so amazing Aimee! Thank you so much Aimee! xTieghan
I have a large group to feed. Would it be detrimental in any way to double this recipe?
HI! You can double the recipe, but I recommend using 2 skillets. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Really good! I’m eating this for lunch at work right now, in fact. I made two minor changes that don’t change the overalI “sprit” of the dish: first, I used two packages (the small bricks, not a large bag), of frozen spinach instead of kale, since that’s what I had on hand. I thawed one box in the microwave and added it when the kale would have gone in. Later, I cooked the second box on the stove top and added it in to the finished pot, thinking a little more spinach wouldn’t hurt. Second, I didn’t feel like making a special trip for meyer lemons, so I very thinly sliced half a regular organic lemon, and sauteed it in the butter. I zested & juiced the other half, and added in in. I’ll definitely try this again as originally written, too.
Thank you so much Amy! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Love this recipe! My son shared it with me. I added mushrooms and substituted spinch for Kale and Gnocchi for Orzo. So yummy!
I am so glad you both loved this! Thank you Heather! xTieghan
As always her recipes do not disappoint. Loved the caramelized lemons. There were too many comments to read through but mine was a bit overcooked at 15 mins in the oven. I would check it sooner. I will make this again. The family asked to put it in the rotation.
You are so sweet! Thank you so much Jennifer! xTieghan