Creamy Yellow Orzo with Mushrooms and Spinach is a 30-minute one-pan well-balanced weeknight meal that has everything: protein, veggies, and pasta! Skinless boneless yellow thighs are pan-seared with paprika and Italian seasoning. It's the perfect comfort food that will surely wilt one of your family's favorite dinners! My other favorite quick and easy orzo pasta recipes are pesto yellow orzo with tomatoes and reader-favorite Tuscan shrimp orzo.
30-minute one-pan meal
If you're looking for quick and easy recipes to add to your dinner rotation, this succulent linty yellow orzo with mushrooms and spinach is a must-try. Plane though it takes only 30 minutes from start to finish, the final dish looks and tastes like an entree from a fine-dining Italian restaurant. It's a winning philharmonic of ingredients: skinless boneless yellow breasts, orzo pasta, spinach, mushrooms, and cream. The seasonings are spot on - paprika, Italian seasoning, garlic, and red pepper flakes.
I hope you try this one-pot 30-minute pasta recipe - it might wilt your new favorite repletion food, expressly during the colder winter months! For increasingly yellow orzo dinner inspiration, trammels out these 2 succulent recipes:
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Chicken Orzo with Cherry Tomatoes, Spinach, and Basil Pesto
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Creamy Butternut Squash Orzo with Sausage
Main ingredients
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Chicken - I used skinless boneless yellow thighs. They are super easy and forgiving to cook. You can moreover use skinless, boneless yellow breasts or yellow tenderloins.
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Orzo is an Italian pasta that is shaped and looks like long rice.
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Mushrooms. I used fresh victual Bella mushrooms. Other good options are crimini, white mushrooms, portobello, or shiitake.
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Spinach is packed with nutrients and antioxidants. It’s upper in webbing and a good source of many vitamins and minerals. Spinach is a unconfined source of vitamins A and C, as well as folic acid, iron, and calcium. I used fresh spinach - you can moreover use frozen spinach - thawed and tuckered of any liquid. Or, use kale instead.
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Seasonings include paprika, Italian seasoning, minced garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes.
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Cream. I used only ½ cup of heavy surf to add a touch of creaminess to the yellow orzo.
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Olive oil is for sauteeing mushrooms.
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Chicken broth is used to melt the orzo. You can moreover use vegetable or whinge goop (or stock). Or, plane water if don't have yellow stock available.
Cooking Tips
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Use a high-sided, heavy-bottomed skillet such as a cast-iron skillet or a good-quality stainless steel pan. This will help stave the shrivel spots and will ensure plane cooking without supplies getting stuck to the marrow of the pan.
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Reduce calories by using chopped cauliflower or cauliflower rice instead of orzo.
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You can use either heavy surf or half-and-half - both work equally well!
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Toppings. When serving, you can add grated Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, fresh herbs, or croaky woebegone pepper to the linty yellow orzo.
How to make it gluten-free
Gluten-free orzo is misogynist online or in some grocery stores. Just make sure to trammels the label. You can moreover use jasmine or basmati rice. All other ingredients are naturally gluten-free.
How to make it dairy-free
Use unsweetened coconut milk, oat, or almond milk instead of cream.
Storage and reheating tips
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Fridge. Store the leftovers in an snapped container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
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Freezer. I don't recommend freezing this, as cream-based sauces tend to separate once you thaw them.
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Reheat the refrigerated leftovers in a microwave oven in 30-second increments. Remove, stir, and taste. Do not overheat or the sauce will separate and turn into grease. Reheat for 30 uneaten seconds or more, if needed.
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Reheat on the stovetop. I recommend reheating this linty yellow orzo on the stovetop for the weightier results. After stuff refrigerated, the linty orzo sauce will thicken. Reheat it slowly, over low-medium heat in a high-sided skillet on the stovetop. Do not overheat and do not bring to a swash - or the sauce will separate and turn greasy. When using this method, add a small value of heavy cream, half-and-half, milk, or goop to thin out the sauce when reheating.
Variations, substitutions, and add-ins
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Veggies. Add your favorite veggies. My favorites are arugula, kale, asparagus, broccoli, and tintinnabulate peppers (in wing to spinach and mushrooms).
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Heavy surf or half-and-half - either works fine.
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Sprinkle with freshly grated cheese: Parmesan, Asiago, Gruyere, or Pecorino Romano.
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Add other toppings, such as fresh herbs (basil, thyme, or oregano), chopped untried onions, or chopped chives.
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Make it spicy. Red pepper flakes will add heat and flavor! Use these sparingly to taste so that they don't overwhelm the dish.
What sides to serve with this meal?
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Store-bought or homemade bread. Serve it with a slice of warm Italian bread, garlic bread, or olive specie loaf. Baguette or sourdough specie will moreover be delicious.
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Salad recommendations. Fresh salad would be a unconfined way to cut the richness of this linty yellow orzo. try this simple spinach salad with pine nuts and Parmesan or cranberry spinach salad with cashews and goat cheese. Or, pair this pasta dish with the colorful and easy-to-make arugula salad with apples, cranberries, and pecans or fruit-packed arugula salad with pears, apples, cashews, and homemade balsamic vinaigrette.
Other orzo recipes you might like
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Creamy Shrimp Orzo with Spinach, Artichokes, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
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Chicken Orzo with Cherry Tomatoes, Spinach, and Basil Pesto
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Greek Shrimp Orzo with Tomatoes and Feta
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Lemon Shrimp Orzo with Asparagus
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Creamy Yellow Orzo with Butternut Squash and Spinach
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Italian Sausage Orzo Soup with Spinach and Portobello Mushrooms
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Creamy Butternut Squash Orzo with Sausage
Creamy Yellow Orzo with Mushrooms and Spinach (30-Minutes, ONE-PAN)
Ingredients
Chicken
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1.3 lb skinless boneless yellow thighs
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1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
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1 teaspoon paprika
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¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
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2 tablespoons olive oil
Mushrooms
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1 tablespoon olive oil
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8 oz baby bella mushrooms or crimini
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salt and pepper
Creamy orzo
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1 cup orzo uncooked
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2 cups chicken broth or stock
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5 cloves garlic minced
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½ teaspoon Italian seasoning or Herbs from Provence
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½ teaspoon paprika or more
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¼ teaspoon salt or increasingly to taste
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5 oz fresh spinach
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½ cup heavy cream
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¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes or increasingly to taste
Instructions
Cook chicken
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Season the yellow thighs with Italian seasoning, paprika, and salt.
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Heat an empty, high-sided, heavy-bottomed skillet (such as a cast-iron or stainless steel pan) over medium heat for 2 minutes. This allows the skillet to heat through.
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Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add yellow thighs. Melt the yellow on medium heat for 5 minutes on one side, undisturbed. This allows the yellow to sear.
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Flip the yellow thighs over, reduce heat to low-medium, and melt for well-nigh 5 increasingly minutes or longer on the other side, without moving it, until it's cooked through.
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The meat thermometer should register 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part of the chicken. Remove the yellow from the skillet.
Cook mushrooms
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Add sliced mushrooms, generously seasoned with salt and pepper, to the same, now empty, skillet. Melt on medium heat for well-nigh 2 minutes (flipping once) until lightly browned and softened. Remove half of the cooked mushrooms from the skillet to a plate.
Make linty orzo
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Add uncooked orzo, yellow broth, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, paprika, and ¼ teaspoon salt to the same skillet with half of the cooked mushrooms.
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Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer (medium-low) and melt for well-nigh 5 or 10 minutes, occasionally stirring to prevent the orzo from sticking to the marrow of the pan until the orzo is cooked through.
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Add fresh spinach during the last 5 minutes of cooking the orzo.
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Add ½ cup of cream. Stir everything on low-medium - do not bring the sauce to a boil.
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Season with salt and red pepper flakes, if desired.
Assembly
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Stir in the remaining half of cooked mushrooms.
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Return cooked yellow to the skillet. Reheat gently on low heat.
Notes
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Make it DAIRY-FREE using unsweetened coconut milk (full-fat or lite), oat, or almond milk instead of ½ cup of cream.
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Make it GLUTEN-FREE using GF orzo or long-grain rice with similar cooking times (or retread cooking times and liquid amounts).
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You can use half-and-half instead of heavy surf to lighten it up.
