Tastes just like risotto…. except it’s far quicker to make! Also known as Orzo, this risoni recipe comes with juicy chicken, a creamy parmesan sauce and plenty of hidden vegetables. It’s a quick one pot recipe the kids are sure to love. (And grown ups too!)
Creamy Chicken and Vegetable Risoni (Orzo)
This is a quick dinner recipe that will tick all your boxes:
✅ fast and easy to make – 10 minute cook!
✅ made with everyday pantry staples
✅ highly customisable – use whatever vegetables and proteins you want
✅ complete meal – protein, vegetables, carbs, dairy!
✅ the sort of food that’s universally appealing, one that big and little people love
Is there a difference between Orzo and Risoni?
Nope, they’re the same thing! Tiny rice shaped pasta that’s widely available nowadays, it’s called risoni here in Australia but most countries in the world call it orzo.
A quick Risoni recipe that’s a complete dinner made in one pot!
How to make it
If you’re wondering how on earth this risoni recipe can be cooked so quickly, here’s why – risoni / orzo takes a mere 8 minutes to cook from start to finish.
So we only have it on the stove for 7 minutes, then the tiny rice-like grains keep cooking while you’re faffing around getting bowls out, serving it up, sprinkling on parmesan and yelling for everyone to get to the table for dinner. 😂
This one pot method of cooking is an excellent quick-meal option for busy nights. It works for long strand pasta (like this One Pot Chicken Alfredo and One Pot Bolognese) as well as other short pastas (like in this One Pot Vegetable Pasta and Broccoli Pasta).
What you need
And here’s what you need for this Creamy Chicken and Vegetable Risoni. There’s plenty of substitution and customisation options – see below.
LOADS of substitution options!
Loads and loads… even the risoni!
Risoni / orzo – sub with other very small pasta (like kiddie alphabet, tiny macaroni)
Chicken – any protein, or skip it
Frozen veg – I use this for convenience, sub with any diced vegetables
Baby Spinach – I throw in a couple of handles to get extra nutrition in. Use any wilt-able veggies (even the leafy end of Asian greens!) or add more veggies
Parmesan – any grated cheese!
Flour – any type of flour (white, brown, self raising, cake flour)
Milk – dairy or non dairy! Or a mix of cream and water, or evaporated milk
Chicken stock (broth) – stock cube with water. In emergencies, use water and lots more cheese! 😂
Onion – leeks, extra garlic, geen onion, shallots
Garlic – garlic powder, extra onion
This recipe makes enough for 4 to 5. Leftovers will keep for a few days – but note that leftover pasta is never quite as saucy. Or try making Muffin Tin Spaghetti Nests with the leftovers which kids absolutely adore! ~ Nagi x
More risoni / orzo recipes
I love risoni because it’s so quick to cook – making it super handy for quick dinners!
One Pot Italian Chicken Orzo / Risoni Pasta – cosy, saucy one pot chicken and risoni dinner
Orzo / Risoni Bolognaise – one pot bolognese pasta dish!
Greek Lemon Orzo Salad – a bright fresh pasta salad loaded with Greek flavours
Creamy Salmon Risoni / Orzo (15 Minute Meal) – tastes like risotto, except MUCH faster to make!
Creamy Mushroom and Spinach Orzo (Risoni) (One Pot) – tastes like a creamy mushroom risotto
Baked Greek Chicken Orzo (Risoni) – Greek chicken AND orzo made in one pot!
Pea, Zucchini and Pesto Orzo / Risoni – a wonderful quick side dish
Watch how to make it
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One Pot Chicken, Vegetable & Parmesan Orzo (Risoni)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/2 onion , diced
- 250g / 8oz chicken thigh or breast , cut into bite size pieces
- 2 1/2 cups frozen diced vegetables (carrots, peas, corn, capsicum/peppers, anything!)
- 1 1/2 cups orzo / risoni (Note 1)
- 1 1/2 tbsp flour
- 2 1/4 cups (565 ml) milk , any fat %
- 2 cups (500 ml) chicken or vegetable stock / broth (low sodium)
- 3 cups baby spinach (packed)
- 3/4 cup (75g) parmesan (grated)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Serving
- More parmesan
- Parsley or chives, if desired
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pan over high heat. Make sure the pan is reasonably deep – around 5cm / 2.5″ or more. Otherwise, use a large pot.
- Add garlic and onion, cook for 1 minute.
- Add chicken, sprinkle with salt and pepper then cook for 2 minutes until cooked on the outside (raw inside).
- Add frozen vegetables (still frozen ok) and flour, stir until flour is incorporated.
- Add risoni/orzo, stock and milk, then stir well.
- Bring to simmer then adjust heat so it’s bubbling gently (see video). Cook for 7 minutes (no lid), stirring every now and then, until risoni is almost tender (still quite soupy at this stage).
- Add parmesan and spinach, stir through. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Consistency should be like a loose risotto (it absorbs liquid and thickens quite quickly when serving), nice and creamy.
- Serve, garnished with parsley and more parmesan if desired!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published June 2014. Updated June 2019 with fresh new photos, new writing, new video added and most importantly, Life of Dozer section added!
Life of Dozer
Sunny Tuesdays call for lazy working lunches out by the water…. (this is at The Boat Shed in Palm Beach, Sydney 🇦🇺. Not too far from where I live!)
Hello! I loove your recipes and am going to try some on weekend… can I ask what would you recommend in case I don’t have chicken broth? For this and other dishes?
Hi Luiz! Do you have chicken bouillon cubes?? I always make sure I have tons on hand as back up! N x
Can this keep well in the fridge or freezer as leftovers without making them into nests?
Yep, it reheated nicely because it’s saucy!
Thanks for another one pot dish.
I love Orzo
You’re so welcome Bronwyn! N x
Can I use any pasta? (i.e penne/macaroni/etc)
Sorry Sana, this one is for Orzo 🙂
Not sure where I went wrong but I really Schruted it lol. I added the correct amount of liquid without the extra water and it took quite awhile to cook the liquids down. Either way it turned out tasty. Hope my littles like it!
o glad it was still tasty Katie!!! N x
Hi Nagi – what a wonderful recipe. I can’t wait for my toddler to try this! Please let me know if this meal is suitable for freezing? Thank you
Hi Arti! Unfortunately not this one, I think it will go gluggy 🙂 Sorry! N x
This recipe is amazing. Thanks for publishing it.
That’s so great to hear Nef! Thanks for letting me know – N x
Made this dish tonight, and the house still smells heavenly. I live with three picky eaters, and everyone ate it – one even asked for seconds and thirds. Yeah!!!
That’s fantastic to hear Beth! Thank you for letting me know – N xx
I made this tonight. My son who is very picky absolutely loved it. I used butternut pumpkin and a medium potato along with carrot, celery and half a large brown onion. And i only used 1/4 cup of parmesan. It was to die for. Thank you for an amazingly tasty, quick dish.
So glad you and your son enjoyed it Marianne, thanks so much for letting me know! N xx
Does it matter who type of milk you use? I usually only keep 1% milk in the house but I am thinking that might not be heavy enough to create this creamy sauce. Do you recommend using 2% or whole instead? Just curious. Recipe looks great! I love Orzo dishes!
Hi Lacey! Actually I make this with no fat and 1% milk all the time! The creaminess comes from the starch in the orzo + parmesan 🙂 Hope you do try it, this is a staple for me!
This was delicious!! I used rotini instead of orzo (I’ve never had orzo but at first glance in the pictures it looked like rotini so I just decided to go with it lol), I added broccoli with the bell peppers, and I added about an extra cup of mixed cheddar and pepper jack cheese, just because we love cheese. It was to die for, will definitely be making it again!! Oh also, I’m a slow cook so it took me a little longer than 15 minutes, but still quick by my standards and definitely worth it!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Kim! I have a big soft spot for this 🙂 Thank you for coming back to let me know! N x
Dear Author,
I made this tonight and it was absolutely delish. I made a few adjustments based around my families tastes. So instead of peas, i added asparagus chopped up, I par cooked the asparagus and bell pepper a bit to get a little color to them. I didnt have quite enough parm cheese, i ended up adding sharp white cheddar. Gave it a delightful tang and extra creaminess. Also i did double the recipe being i have a largeish family. Took a bit longer, but still turned out quite tasty. Will make this again easily. Ive been enjoying the 1 pot meals, i perfer cooking from scratch but every now and then, i need a good meal with little hassle.
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed it Devon! Thank you for letting me know! N x
Hello, I’m new to Pinterest and found your recipe for creamy chicken with orzo and parmesan in one pot! I then started looking at all the other recipes you have and read a few of your comments and I can’t wait to begin trying your recipes and I love your passion! So thank you and I hope to make plenty of your creations! God Bless
Thank you for your wonderful message Terry, I’m so glad you like the look of my recipes!!!
Hi Nagi, do you think you could use cream instead of the milk and flour? Just wanted to know if there was a reason you used the latter instead of cream?
Hi Zara! I use flour and milk because it’s a lot less calories but still really creamy and smooth! 🙂
This is a very good dish! I made it for the first time early this week but added a couple of tbl. of sour cream and some mushrooms. My husband raved about it and wants it again! I’ll be trying it on my grandkids next. Will try some other vegetables next time.
So glad you enjoyed it Liz, thanks for letting me know!! 🙂
Can I double this recipe in the same pot? I was wondering if you have tried it.?
Hi Beth! Nope, I haven’t tried it but it will work just fine. 🙂 Orzo is safe to scale up and down, unlike rice which you need to be more careful with. 🙂
Made this for dinner tonight and it was great! Followed your recipe exactly, but looking forward to changing things up with different veggies next time!
I’m so glad Audra! Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know you enjoyed it!!
Wow fast, easy, and delicious! What I loved most about this was the creaminess-that set it apart from other pasta/veg dishes. And this reheated beautifully for me the next day-it did not dry out at all. Yum! I was so sad when I ate the last of it. Next time I am planning on substituting shrimp for the ckn to try that. Thank you for a wonderful meal!
Hi Jennifer! I am so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂 It’s just about getting the liquid ratios right to make sure you end up with a creamy pasta. And don’t be sad – so easy to make MORE!! (And yes, shrimp would be fab. I’d cook it first, sear on high heat to get browning and JUST cook it through, remove onto plate, then stir it through at the very end just to warm it up. 🙂 ) Hope you had a lovely weekend!! N x
Righto, So I’ve officially got a foodie crush on you, and my husband is now a huge fan. This dish was SENSATIONAL! This is J Daddy during his entire meal: every bite was prefaced with “wow, this is so good”. The superlatives didn’t end when he finished his meal – they continued for about 10 minutes afterwards. We are both really looking forward to our leftovers tomorrow! (Yes, I did read that the dish is best eaten immediately, but somehow I managed to yield 4 servings, so we will make sure we reheat with a bit of water to make sure the food doesn’t dry out too much.)
I did change things up a little bit – I used what I had in my fridge/freezer for vegetables – I replaced all the fresh veggies for 2 cups of frozen mixed veg (carrots, corn and peas), and a couple of big cubes of frozen spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out. I cooked the chicken in the oil with the garlic, then added the milk, stock, risoni and flour, cooked this for 5 minutes, then added the veg, cooked it for another 4 minutes or so, then mixed in the cheese, stirred through and heated for another minute or so before finishing it off with a few cracks of cracked pepper. Served with extra parmesan cheese on top.
This recipe has now been added to our “go to” list of dinner meals. Warming, filling, and full of creamy goodness, without the cream! Thanks for a super easy and delicious meal!
Oh, yeah – tested and approved by Momma G. ;-p
Woo hoo!! Stamp of approval from Momma G!! Thank you so much Gloria, for coming back to share your thoughts on this 🙂 AND even more flattered that Daddy G approves!!
Love the change ups you made and thanks for sharing that too so other people can use your tips 🙂
oh PS, is there a way I can leave comments on your blog?? 😉
Funniest comment from The Big One (my 4yo son) this morning: “Momma, why didn’t I have what you had for dinner last night? It smelled really yummy!” (He’s a bit of a fussy eater and had already asked for something else, which I prepared and he happily ate.) When I told him I had leftovers and will be having it for dinner tonight, he said “Well, I must have some of it. Please, Momma, can I please have some of it?” How do I say no to that?
I’m still trying to work out how to use Tumblr, and I think you have to have a Tumblr account to comment on my posts. Boo to that!
I’m off to look through your recipes for some dinner ideas for next week!
I’m in love with your 4yo…..SO CUTE!! PS I’m at my mothers today. Heading to Eastwood for a dumpling fix!!
I think I do have a Tumblr account! I must see if I can remember my password!
Hi Nagi, I made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious!! I substituted the orzo for a combination of brown rice and quinoa and added in some chopped up spring onions. Absolutely beautiful – thank you! Your recipes are my go-to for dinners!
Hi Lucy – wow! So glad you enjoyed it – and it’s GREAT to know it works with rice and quinoa (even better that it works tossing both in!). Thank you so much for coming back to share your feedback!