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This simple Skillet White Pesto Chicken and Orzo is the perfect winter dinner. Quick, easy, and so delicious! Pan-seared Italian seasoned chicken in a creamy sun-dried tomato sauce. Cooked together with orzo pasta for a quick dinner made in one skillet. Everyone at the dinner table loves this dish. It’s great for a weeknight but fancy enough to serve up at your next holiday dinner. It’s a hit all around!
Ingredients
- Oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
- Boneless chicken breasts or thighs
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- All-purpose flour
- Italian seasoning
- Salted butter
- Garlic
- Dry orzo pasta
- Chili flakes
- Chicken broth
- Heavy cream
- Basil pesto
- Parmesan cheese
- Fresh thyme
December is always the craziest month. It’s my favorite month of the year but also the busiest. And this December has been a lot. But I’m so thankful for it and loving every second of the chaos!
On top of multiple work trips and my day-to-day schedule, there’s been holiday fun, and most of my brothers are now in town. My parent’s house is once again full! Per usual, this means they’re all looking for dinner. I always try to have simple recipes like this skillet chicken on rotation this time of year! Easy dinners are key to keeping everyone happy and well-fed!
Lately, everyone has requested the recipe I shared for Smothered Chicken a few months ago. They love that dish, especially the creamy sauce.
When I set out to make this, I used that recipe as my base. But then I turned it into a quick-cooking spicy Italian dinner with lots of delicious basil pesto in the mix!
Here are the details
Step 1: the sun-dried tomatoes
Start with the sun-dried tomatoes. I love using a jar of oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes. Not only are the tomatoes delicious, but I also use the oil from the jar to cook the chicken. The oil is always seasoned, so it adds even more flavor. Just make sure it’s extra virgin olive oil.
Most people will discard the oil, but you must use it! It adds a lot of flavor to recipes.
Step 2: season and sear the chicken.
Sear the chicken with salt and pepper. Then, take each piece and dip it through some flour. The flour gives the chicken a coating for the yummy sauce to stick to. Additionally, the flour on the chicken will help to thicken the sauce.
Pan-sear the chicken in the oil from the sun-dried tomato jar. Then, just before pulling the chicken out of the skillet, sprinkle each piece with Italian seasoning.
It’s a delicious mix and makes the chicken very flavorful.
Step 3: the orzo
When you pull the chicken out, add the orzo and some garlic. Then toss in some butter too. Let the butter toast around the dry 0rzo and add the chicken broth and cream.
Then mix in the pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, and the chicken.
Step 4: bake
Next, add the parmesan cheese and take the whole skillet and put it in the oven to finish baking.
It’s going to smell wonderful as you pull the skillet out of the oven. Like your favorite Italian restaurant!
This dish is everything you’d expect out of a multi-step recipe, but made in way less than an hour. Plus, everything is made in one pot. Simple, simple – and we love that.
You can serve this up on busy weeknights, but I think it’s equally great for holiday dinners with friends and family. I’m sure I’ll be remaking this over the holidays; we’re having a very special Christmas this year.
Looking for winter pasta recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Pesto Tortellini Zuppa Toscana
Creamy Roasted Garlic Butternut Squash Pasta
One Pot French Onion Pasta with Crispy Prosciutto
Basil Parmesan Pasta with Crispy Chicken, Prosciutto, and Arugula
Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta
Lastly, if you make this Skillet White Pesto Chicken and Orzo, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Skillet White Pesto Chicken and Orzo
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 437 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, oil drained
- 6 boneless chicken breasts or thighs
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 cup dry orzo pasta
- chili flakes
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup basil pesto
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Drain 3 tablespoons of oil from the sun-dried tomato jar into a large skillet with sides. Chop the sun-dried tomatoes and set aside.2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the flour to a shallow bowl. Dredge the chicken through the flour and toss to coat.3. Set the skillet with oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sear on both sides until golden, 3-5 minutes per side. Sprinkle the chicken with 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Remove the chicken from the skillet to a plate.4. To the same skillet, add the butter, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, garlic, orzo, and season with chili flakes. Cook until lightly golden, 2 minutes. Add the broth. Bring to a boil, cook for 3-5 minutes, then add the cream, pesto, and sun-dried tomatoes. Slide the chicken and any juices left on the plate back into the skillet. Sprinkle over the parmesan. Transfer to the oven and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling around the chicken.5. Serve the chicken, orzo, and sauce topped with thyme. YUM.
Notes
Italian Seasoning: Mix 2 tablespoons dried basil, 2 tablespoons dried oregano, 2 teaspoons dried thyme, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, and 1 teaspoon dried sage. Store in a sealed container.
This post was originally published on December 14, 2023
Soo good and soo easy! I used parchment paper to prep everything on and just used the one pot.
I halfed the butter and cream and glad I did. It is an oily dish with the sun dried tomato oil in use.
I loved how it turn out. Next time, I’m going to try to add wine and maybe a little lemon juice, maybe a little more orzo. I’ll use less cream and just enough of the sundried tomato oil as necessary. I won’t use butterif it doesn’t seem necessary. For those that haven’t made this, the sundried tomato oil is very helpful in leveling up the flavor.
I made this for two and it was gone in one night. I know it’ll be a go to option for our future. Thank you!!😊
Hi! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Hope you have a wonderful New Year! 🙂 xT
This recipe was delicious! The combination of the sun-dried tomatoes and pesto really makes the dish. Of course, you can’t go wrong with the rest of the ingredients, either! I had never used orzo before, and I really liked the chewy, rice-like texture. I’ll definitely make this one again. Thanks, Tieghan!
Hi Darlene! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Hope you have a wonderful New Year! 🙂 xT
This tastes amazing! Such a quick and easy recipe. Serving it tonight!
Hi! Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas! xT
So easy! One pan…. Easy clean up. And delicious to boot!
Hi! Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas! xT
This was so good! Unfortunately all I had was bone in thighs…tasted great but a pain to get the meat off the bone. Definitely boneless is the way to go. Yum!
Hi! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Hope you have an amazing Christmas! xT
Absolutely delicious and so easy! A perfect Saturday lunch — the kids devoured it.
Hi! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Hope you have an amazing Christmas! xT
This was so rich and delicious. The whole family loved it! Easy and served it with a green salad.
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try! So glad to hear you enjoyed it! xT
What a fun and simple recipe. The flavors were bold and rich. I loved the addition of fresh thyme. Awesome job Tieghan
Hey John! Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try! So glad to hear you enjoyed it! xT
Was fairly simple to come together. Enjoyed it being in one pan too! This dish was made as a get well (surgery) and sorry for your loss dinner for my daughter in law and her family. Made sure to make extra for my house too! Smells delicious and can’t wait dig in.
What a fun and simple recipe. The flavors were bold and rich. I loved the addition of fresh thyme. Awesome job Tieghan
Thank you so much Cari! xT
We actually really enjoyed this! very tasty.. steamed some broccoli with it..
Thank you so much Richard! xT
This turned out great. The recipe that I printed had flour as an ingredient, but no mention of it throughout the recipe instructions. Now I see this edited version of the recipe says to dredge the chicken in flour. This has happened before with previous recipes that didn’t work, so it’s frustrating that it was edited after I printed it. Anyhow, because my version of this recipe didn’t say what to do with the flour, I didn’t use it, but it turned out perfectly despite that ommission. It was a great mix of flavors, I liked that it was done in one skillet, and it didn’t take that much effort to put it together. I will definitely make it again.
Hey Linda! I am SO glad you enjoyed this recipe! xT
Linda, I was wondering about the flour as well and came to mention it. But now I see an edited recipe! The recipe was delicious without the flour, so I’m just going to skip it the next time I make it!
Made this tonight, it was absolutely delicious and I loved that it was all in one pan! Will definitely make it again!
Thank you so much for trying out the recipe Linda! xT
Made this tonight for my family everyone loved it! My adult son said it was the best meal I’ve ever made. That’s saying something because I love to cook and feeding my family good food is my love language to them. I would like to lighten it up a bit. Soo good and easy will make regularly.
Thank you so much for trying out this recipe! Hope you enjoyed this recipe! xT
Made this today. So flavorful and delicious! Doubled the recipe to meal prep. Excellent recipe! Will be on my regular rotation.
Hey Shelly! Thank you so much for trying out this recipe! Hope you enjoyed this recipe! xT
This recipe is absolutely amazing. So easy, and so flavorful!
Love HBH but this was really really heavy. The taste was good but I felt my arteries clogging with each bite. Was so oily and overly creamy. I would skip the sun dried tomato oil in skillet and use extra virgin (sun dried tomato oil is SO thick) and cut the heavy cream in half.
Thanks sooo much! xT