This easy One Pot French Onion Orzo with chicken recipe is a delicious spin on the classic french onion soup! Simple, tasty, and high-protein!
We love to take classic recipes and put a healthier spin on them while making them easy to make and meal prep. French onion soup is one of our favorite indulgent soups so we took all the flavors from this and turned it into a one pot french onion orzo recipe!
This recipe is packed with protein, filled with delicious caramelized onions, and uses the same basic spices and ingredients of traditional french onion soup.
One pot orzo recipes are easy to make and only use a few ingredients making for quick and easy cleanup and preparation.
Looking for other healthy one pot recipes? Here are a few of our favorites: Broccoli Cheddar Orzo, One Pot Chicken Orzo, Buffalo Chicken and Rice.
why you’ll love this recipe
- Quick to make – This recipe is very easy to make and prepare in advance. Prep the onions, garlic and cube the chicken the day before and cut your prep time in half!
- Simple Ingredients – You only need a few common ingredients to make up a delicious french onion orzo! Chicken breast, orzo, and sweet onions with a touch of Worcestershire sauce! Add some frozen spinach or peas for some added veggies in this recipe.
- Great for meal prep – This is a great recipe to make in advance and store in the fridge in airtight containers. Double the recipe and have lunch or dinner all week long. This heats up well in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Ingredients:
Substitutions
Olive Oil: You can substitute avocado oil, butter, or ghee.
Chicken Breasts: You can substitute with boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenders but we like the texture of the chicken breasts the best. We have not tried this with cubed pork tenderloin or pork chops but that may also work.
Onions: Yellow onions are highly recommended for this recipe, we don’t recommend substituting with white onions or red onions as the flavor will totally change.
Worcestershire Sauce: Worcestershire sauce is recommended for this recipe but you could try to substitute for coconut aminos or soy sauce, the flavor profile may not be the same.
Broth: Broth and stock are the same thing! You can use any broth or stock interchangeably. Beef Broth, Chicken Broth, or vegetable broth all work interchangeably. I always use low or no salt broth.
Cheese: Gruyere cheese is the traditional cheese for french onion soup but we use a mixture of mozzarella and asiago which give a similar flavor and texture. You can also use a mixture of parmesan, provolone, swiss, or fontina.
Spices: Bay Leaves, dried thyme, salt and pepper are the spices we recommend for this recipe and there are not too many adjustments that we would recommend.
How to Make French Onion Orzo
- Heat olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Cook cubed chicken on medium high heat for 5-7 minutes. Remove and set aside in a small bowl.
- Lower heat to medium, add butter to the pan with chopped onions and garlic, and stir together, cooking uncovered for 5 minutes.
- Stir in ¼ cup chicken stock and Worcestershire sauce. Cook for another 5-10 minutes. Stir in orzo and spices, allowing the orzo to toast gently for about 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds.
- Add cooked chicken and chicken stock to the pot. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently so the orzo does not stick to the bottom.
- Remove the bay leaves from the pot and discard. Add your shredded cheese to the pot and stir together until it’s melted into the sauce, serve and enjoy!
What to Serve with this Recipe:
This One Pot French Onion and Chicken Orzo is a meal altogether but if you are looking for some extra veggies be sure to try these recipes: Peach Salad, Honey Roasted Carrots, Parmesan Asparagus.
Storage
Storing: This french onion orzo will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
Freezing: We don’t recommend freezing pasta. It can get mushy when frozen and reheated.
Reheating: You can reheat this recipe in the microwave or on the stove. Add a little extra water or chicken broth when reheating to bring back some of that creamy texture.
One Pot French Onion Orzo with Chicken
This easy one pot french onion orzo with chicken recipe is a delicious spin on the classic french onion soup! Simple, tasty, and high-protein!
Instructions
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Remove the chicken from the packaging and cube chicken in 1/2 inch pieces by cutting into even strips and slicing on a cutting board.
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Heat olive oil in a pan over medium high heat for 2-3 minutes or until the oil begins to shimmer.
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Cook cubed chicken on medium high heat for 5-7 minutes or until golden brown. (If there is some excess liquid released during the cooking process of the chicken, remove some of the liquid by placing a few paper towels in the bottom of the pan and discarding. Removing some of the liquid will allow for a nice golden brown exterior on the chicken.)
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While the chicken is cooking, chop your onions and garlic and measure out the spices.
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Remove the cooked chicken from the pan and set aside in a small bowl. Lower the heat to medium.
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Add the butter to the pan with chopped onions and garlic, stir together with a spatula.
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Cook the onions and garlic uncovered for 5 minutes.
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Add ¼ cup of chicken stock and Worcestershire sauce to the pot, stir together and scrape the bottom of the pan to remove any bits stuck on the bottom of the pan. Cook for another 5-10 minutes or until the onions start to get dark and caramelized.
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Add the orzo, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and dried thyme to the pan and stir together, allowing the orzo to toast gently for about 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. So it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
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Add the cooked chicken and chicken stock to the pot. Cover the pot and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently so the orzo does not stick to the bottom. (about every 2 minutes)
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Remove the bay leaves from the pot and discard.
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Add your shredded cheese to the pot and stir together until it’s melted into the sauce, serve and enjoy!
Notes
Ask your local butcher at the supermarket to cube the chicken for you in advance and save some prep time.
When olive oil just begins to shimmer in a pan, it’s the perfect temperature to add protein into and get a nice sear and golden brown exterior.
Heat your chicken stock up in the microwave in advance of adding to the pot, this helps speed up the orzo cooking process.
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 1.5cups | Calories: 598kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 53g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 144mg | Sodium: 595mg | Potassium: 1051mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 387IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 236mg | Iron: 2mg
