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One Skillet Tuscan Chicken and Orzo. The wonderful flavors of creamy Italian sausage soup are reworked into a creamy chicken and orzo dinner. Spicy Italian chicken sausage mixed with seared chicken breasts, Italian seasonings, and creamy orzo. Add shredded kale, basil pesto sauce, and parmesan cheese for a complete meal. All are made in one skillet and served simply, right from the skillet. And I always recommend a big salad, too. Great for just about any night of the week and perfect for entertaining as well. This is a dish that all will enjoy!
I find so much inspiration through my family. I say this all the time, but I really do love to cook for the people around me, especially my family. Both my dad and brother love my recipe for Zuppa Toscana Soup. It’s such a flavorful Italian soup that’s always a favorite of mine to make this time of year.
I often take flavors from certain recipes I’ve created before and rework them into an entirely new one. This is what I did with today’s recipe.
The main flavor being yummy Italian season and spicy sausage.
This dish reminds me of a chicken and pasta dinner all mixed into one skillet. I knew my family would be so excited about it—and they were!
I knew this skillet dish had potential! The night I made it, my dad texted me to say how delicious he thought it was—he doesn’t do that too often, so I knew we had a good one!
I have a feeling this will be remaking this over the holidays. It’s super pretty served right out of the skillet and feels fancy enough to serve guests!
Ingredients and Tools
Ingredients
- chicken breasts or small thighs, my family enjoys skinless breasts
- Italian seasoning
- spicy Italian chicken or pork sausage
- salted butter
- onions
- garlic
- celery
- fresh thyme
- dry orzo pasta
- broth or water
- shredded kale or try using spinach
- cream
- basil pesto
- Parmesan
Special Tools
All you need is an oven-safe skillet. I love to use an 11 or 12-inch cast iron skillet.
The details
Step 1: season the chicken
Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Then, I like to toss it with half of the Italian seasoning.
Step 2: cook the sausage and chicken
Next, brown the sausage all over in a large skillet that can go from the stove to the oven. Wiggle the chicken into the sausage and sear it on one side.
Now add the butter and onions, then the garlic, thyme, and remaining Italian seasoning. Oh, and the celery too!
It’s a delicious mix and makes the chicken very flavorful.
Step 3: the orzo
Once the chicken is seared, add the orzo and some garlic. Then, if necessary, you can add some butter, too. I don’t find it’s usually needed with the sausage fat.
Add the broth and water. Mix in the cream and pesto.
Step 4: bake
Next, add the parmesan cheese. Then, put the whole skillet in the oven to finish baking.
EAT!
It’s going to smell wonderful as you pull the skillet out of the oven—like your favorite Italian restaurant, I swear!
If you have extra thyme on hand, finish the dish with a little extra thyme and sea salt.
This dish is everything you’d expect from a multi-step recipe but made in a way that takes less than an hour. Plus, everything is made in one skillet. Simple, simple – and we love that.
As mentioned, I’m sure I’ll be remaking this over the holidays! It’s going to be a busy season and dishes like this are what we all need!
Looking for other dinner recipes?? Here are my favorites:
30 Minute Coq au Vin Chicken Meatballs
Simple Baked Cheesy Italian Chicken Meatballs
Weeknight 30 Minute Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs
Lastly, if you make these One Skillet Tuscan 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!
One Skillet Tuscan Chicken and Orzo
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 584 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
- 6 boneless chicken breasts or thighs
- salt and black pepper
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 3/4 pound spicy Italian chicken sausage
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 cup dry orzo pasta
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- chili flakes
- 2 cups broth or water
- 2 cups finely chopped kale
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup basil pesto
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. 2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning. 3. Cook the sausage In a large oven-safe skillet set over medium-high heat until browned all over. Wiggle the chicken into the sausage. Add the onions, garlic, and thyme. Sear the chicken on both sides until golden, 3-5 minutes per side. 4. Add the butter, orzo, celery, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, and chili flakes. Cook until lightly golden, 2 minutes. Add the broth and kale. Bring to a boil, cook for 3-5 minutes, then add the cream and pesto. 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.
This post was originally published on October 30, 2024
Thanks so much for this recipe, it’s so yum! Question: have you froze this for busy night meals? I’d love to but not sure how it would go reheated from frozen? Thanks so much!
Love to hear this, Jess!! I have not tried that with this recipe, but I would thaw and then cover with foil and reheat in the oven. I hope this helps! xx
Amazing, I did substitute coconut milk for the heavy cream. Next time I will use low sodium chicken broth, tad salty for me. But this will be in my rotation, so good and everyone loved it!
Thanks so much, Lisa:) Love to hear this dish turned out well for you, I appreciate you making it! Have a great Thursday!
Can this be made a few hours ahead?
Hi Susan,
Sure, I would just cover with foil and keep in the warm oven at 200F. I hope you love this dish! Have the best weekend:)
Such great flavor! And it smelled heavenly taking it out of the oven. Thank you for the great recipe!
Hey Ashley,
Wonderful! So glad to hear this dish turned out well for you, thanks for making it!
This looks amazing. As per usual! I have a wild toddler and I’m hoping to make this in the morning during his nap and serve it later for dinner – any recommendations? Should I make everything up until the step where I sprinkle the Parmesan and put in oven?
Hey Maureen,
Totally, that will work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know how it turns out! xT
I cut the recipe in half for just the 2 of us and used spinach instead of kale ( simply because my husband has a mental block and won’t try anything with kale), I also used bilinski’s spicy italian chicken sausage links with no casing to make things faster for me. It was amazing and my husband loved it, especially the pesto! Thanks for all the easy one skillet recipes.
Hey Sandra,
Amazing! Thank you so much for trying this recipe, I am so glad it turned out well for you! xxT
Made it for Sunday supper and everyone loved it! Another great HBH recipe!
Hi Dedra,
Fantastic! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it turned out nicely for you! Happy Sunday! XxT
Hi Tieghan! Can I substitute coconut milk for the heavy cream (for lactose intolerant people)?
Thank you!
Eve
Hi Eve,
Yes, that will work nicely for you. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
This was delicious! It was fairly easy but did have several ingredients that I don’t usually have on hand. It was worth it though, I’ll be adding to my monthly rotation.
Hi Cari,
Wonderful!! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for making it! Have the best weekend!☃️
Can you make this and it still taste good without the pesto? Or is there something we can sub it with?
Hi Holly,
Sure, you could make this without the pesto. I hope you love this recipe! xx
Just made this, left out the chicken and used some leftover orzo I had from yesterday but otherwise stayed true to the recipe and it’s another hit! Super simple
Hey Natasha,
Perfect!! Love to hear this recipe was enjoyed, I appreciate you making it and your comment! xT
Which cookbook is this recipe featured in?
Hi Amos,
This recipe is only on the blog:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
This was great! I didn’t put the Italian sausage in it and it still turned out amazing. It’s such an easy recipe to make, you likely have most of the ingredients already at home, and it’s so flavourful!
Hey Melanie,
Fantastic!! I’m so glad to hear this recipe turned out nicely for you, thanks a bunch for making it! Have the best week!🎄☃️ xT
Absolutely delish!!! I loved all the flavors and how easy it was to make. It did take a few more minutes in the oven for the orzo to be done, but no worries! This is going into rotation for sure!
Hey Laura,
Awesome!! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for making it! Have the best weekend! xxT
This was a winner! Like another reviewer, I diced the chicken just per my preference, subbed partial cream cheese and partial almond milk in place of the heavy cream because that’s what I had, and finished this on the stovetop (covered) vs. in the oven. The orzo took a little longer that the recipe stated to finish cooking (and a few more splashes of broth), probably because of the other changes I made, but it turned out amazing by the end. Yet another HBH hit 😀
Thanks so much, Samantha:) I am so glad to hear you loved this recipe, I appreciate you making it and sharing what worked well for you! Happy Monday! xT