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creamy orzo with chicken meatballs

Creamy Parmesan Spinach Orzo with Chicken Meatballs

Elevate your weeknight dinner with this one-pan meal! This simple creamy orzo pasta with parmesan and spinach, topped with flavor packed chicken meatballs comes together in just 30 minutes.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Dinner, Entree, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

Chicken Meatballs
  • 1 lb ground chicken
  • 1 egg
  • ½ cup panko bread crumbs
  • ⅓ cup shredded parmesan
  • ¼ cup minced onion
  • 3 tbsp mined parsley
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
  • ½ tbsp salt
  • ⅓ tbsp cracked black pepper
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
Creamy Parmesan Spinach Orzo
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ cup white onion finely diced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 cup dried orzo pasta
  • 3 cup chicken or vegetable broth or water
  • 2 cups torn baby spinach
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 1 lemon zest and juice
  • ½ cup grated or shredded parmesan cheese
  • salt and pepper to taste

Method
 

Chicken Meatballs
  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the chicken meatball ingredients. Mix by hand to combine.
  2. Using a small ice cream scoop or tablespoon, form golf ball sized meatballs. This recipe should yield 14-18 meatballs depending on the size
  3. In a large cast iron skillet with a touch of olive oil over medium high heat, sear the meatballs for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown on the outside. *They will not be fully cooked at this point.
  4. Remove from pan and set aside.
Creamy Parmesan Spinach Orzo
  1. In the same pan the meatballs were cooked in, add in olive oil, onions, and garlic. Sauté for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.
  2. Add in orzo pasta and toast for 1 minute or until fully coated with oil.
  3. Pour in broth and bring to a simmer. After about 5 minutes, when the orzo is not yet fully cooked, fold in torn spinach, and nestle the chicken meatballs back into the pan
  4. Let the pasta simmer for 5-7 more minutes or until the pasta is just about cooked and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Pour in heavy cream, and add in lemon zest and juice, parmesan and salt and pepper to taste
  5. Cook another 3-4 minutes until the liquid is once again mostly absorbed.
  6. Top pan with extra grated parmesan and roughly chopped parsley and serve immediately.