- It’s a complete meal that cooks up quickly in one skillet, so cleanup is extra easy.
- Protein, fiber and essential vitamins and minerals are packed into one delicious meal.
- You can use regular orzo instead of whole-wheat orzo in this recipe.
Our One-Pot Chicken, Spinach & Sun-Dried Tomato Orzo is bursting with bright and tangy flavor and perfect for any night of the week. Protein-packed chicken cutlets are nestled in a bed of whole-wheat orzo infused with garlic, shallots and sweet sun-dried tomatoes. We packed in more nutrition with folate-rich spinach, and feta cheese for a calcium boost. It’s flavor on flavor with earthy oregano, spicy red pepper and fresh lemon juice for a zesty kick. Keep reading for our expert tips on ingredient selection and substitutions, and how to add even more nutrients to this dish.
Tips from the EatingWell Test Kitchen
These are the key tips we learned while developing and testing this recipe in our Test Kitchen to make sure it works, tastes great and is good for you too!
- To save time, consider purchasing a rotisserie chicken instead of cooking one from scratch. You can also opt for pre-sliced sun-dried tomatoes to eliminate the need for chopping.
- For this recipe, it’s best to buy feta cheese packed in brine rather than the precrumbled variety, which tends to be drier and won’t blend as well into the orzo.
- To enhance the richness of the dish, try adding a splash of heavy cream when you mix in the feta and lemon juice. You can also include extra vegetables, like canned artichokes or chopped zucchini.
- Using Italian chicken sausage in place of the chicken cutlets would be a delicious alternative. Additionally, you can substitute the feta cheese with goat cheese or Parmesan, and use Italian seasoning instead of the dried thyme and oregano.
Nutrition Notes
- Chicken cutlets are simply thinner cuts from the breast and are packed with lean protein for muscle-building and weight maintenance. Chicken is also a source of B vitamins to help fuel your metabolism, potassium for heart health and choline for brain health.
- Sun-dried tomatoes are dried Roma tomatoes with a naturally sweet and chewy texture. They contain an antioxidant called lycopene which is present in all tomatoes, but concentrated in the dried ones.
- Spinach is high in a B vitamin called folate. Folate is important for heart health and essential during pregnancy to prevent neural tube defects.
- Feta cheese is a sheep’s-milk cheese with a salty and tangy flavor. It is higher in sodium than other cheese varieties, so note if you are on a low-sodium diet.
