One-Pan Garlic Butter Chicken with Orzo — Easy Weeknight Dinner Ready in 30 Minutes

Garlic butter chicken with orzo is a Tuesday night dinner. One pan, 30 minutes, and the orzo cooks right in the broth so it soaks up everything — no separate pot of pasta, no second side dish to figure out. This is a simple dinner recipe that earns a permanent spot in the rotation.

Why This Recipe Works

• Thirty minutes, for real. Ten minutes of prep, twenty minutes of cooking. The times are honest.
• One pan, actual one pan. The chicken sears, the garlic blooms, and the orzo cooks all in the same skillet. Dinner and cleanup are both fast.
• The orzo does the work. It absorbs the garlicky chicken broth as it cooks, which means you get a creamy, cohesive dish without any extra effort.
• Kid-approved. Mild, buttery, cheesy — this is one of those family dinner ideas where you don't have to negotiate with anyone at the table.
• Flexible enough to use what you have. Swap the protein, change the greens, adjust the seasoning. The method stays the same.

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1.5-inch pieces
• 1 cup orzo, uncooked
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2.5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups baby spinach, loosely packed
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Optional: chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Instructions

1. Pat chicken pieces dry with a paper towel and season with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and onion powder.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon butter and the olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken in a single layer and cook 4-5 minutes until golden brown on the bottom. Flip and cook another 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate — it doesn't need to be fully cooked through yet.
3. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to the same pan. Add garlic and cook 30-45 seconds, stirring constantly — it goes from fragrant to burnt fast, so don't walk away.
4. Add dry orzo to the pan and stir to coat in the butter and garlic. Toast for 1 minute.
5. Pour in chicken broth and bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
6. Nestle the chicken pieces back into the pan, partially submerged in the broth. Cover and cook on medium-low for 10-12 minutes, until the orzo has absorbed most of the liquid and the chicken is cooked through (internal temperature 165°F).
7. Remove from heat. Stir in baby spinach and lemon juice — the spinach wilts in about 1 minute from the residual heat. Fold in Parmesan. Taste and adjust salt.
8. Serve directly from the pan, garnished with chopped parsley if you have it.

Tips and Substitutions

• Chicken breast works too. Cut it into similar-sized pieces and watch the cook time — breast dries out faster than thighs, so pull it at exactly 165°F and don't let it sit covered on the heat.
• Swap the greens. Baby spinach is the easiest call, but chopped kale (stir it in a couple minutes earlier) or frozen peas stirred in at the end both work well. The peas are a good move if you're cooking for kids who need something familiar.
• Make it dairy-free. Use a good dairy-free butter (Miyoko's holds up well here) and skip the Parmesan or use a dairy-free alternative. The dish is still plenty flavorful from the garlic and broth.
• Add sun-dried tomatoes. Stir in 3-4 tablespoons of chopped sun-dried tomatoes with the garlic. It adds a little sweetness and depth without any extra work.
• Leftovers. This reheats well the next day with a splash of broth or water stirred in — the orzo thickens up overnight. The spinach gets soft, which is fine, but if that bothers you, just add fresh greens when you reheat.

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