One-pot creamy tomato chicken orzo
35 min · 54 g protein · 502 cals / serving
Seared chicken and orzo simmered together in garlicky tomato and stock until the pasta drinks it all up, then made creamy with cream cheese and parmesan stirred in at the end and finished with a pile of spinach. It tastes like a creamy tomato risotto, takes one pan and about half an hour, and reheats well for lunches.
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 lb chicken breast, 2 cm (3/4-inch) pieces
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 6 oz pasta, orzo
- 1 2/3 cups tomato puree, or passata
- 2 cups bone broth, chicken bone broth, or regular chicken broth
- 3 1/2 oz fat free cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- 5 oz baby spinach, about 5 big handfuls
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
To serve
- a handful fresh basil, torn
Steps
- Toss the chicken with the salt, paprika and oregano. Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet or wide pot over medium-high heat and brown the chicken on two sides, about 4 minutes. It does not need to be cooked through yet. Move it to a plate.
- Lower the heat to medium and cook the onion and bell pepper in the same pan for 5 minutes, until soft, scraping up the browned bits. Add the garlic and pepper flakes for 30 seconds.
- Stir in the orzo, tomato puree and bone broth and bring to a simmer. Return the chicken and its juices, cover, and cook 10–12 minutes, stirring every few minutes so the orzo doesn't stick, until the orzo is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. The chicken is done at 165°F.
- Take the pan off the heat and let it stop bubbling, then stir in the cream cheese and parmesan until melted and creamy, and the spinach until it wilts. Season with pepper, loosen with a splash of water if it has thickened, and scatter with basil.
Good to know
It turned thick and stodgy.
Orzo keeps drinking liquid as it stands, so loosen it with a splash of hot water or broth just before serving, and again when you reheat it. Pull the pan off the heat while it still looks a little saucy.
Which cream cheese?
Fat-free melts smoothly into the hot tomato as long as it is soft, so take it out of the fridge when you start cooking and stir until no white streaks remain. Light cream cheese gives a slightly richer finish, at about 66 instead of 70; use a little less of it. For an extra protein boost, blend 1/2 cup of low-fat cottage cheese smooth and stir it in with the cream cheese.
Per
- Calories
- 96
- Protein
- (45%)
- 10 g
- Fat
- (16%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (39%)
- 10 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 227 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 2006 kcal goes into the pot and 2214 g of ingredients comes out as about 2100 g of food: 96 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.