Entrée and side are ready at the same time with this Creamy Spinach Stuffed Chicken with Orzo. Chicken thighs are stuffed with a mixture of spinach and cheese then cooked together with orzo for an easy one-pan dinner.
There are times when I’m feeling ambitious and love putting together meals that are slightly complicated and by complicated I mean multi-steps and multi-dishes. However, there are other times when days go by at rapid speed and before I know it, Warren is texting me to let me know he’s leaving the office. On days like those, I find myself scrambling to figure out what I’m going to make for dinner in time for when Warren comes home. I know I sound like some panicked ‘50s housewife, but I really put this pressure on myself. Warren’s more than capable of cooking his own dinner and would be happy to do so, but I just like the idea of him coming home from a long day at work to a nice meal :)
Anyway, back to me scrambling. On those days, one-dish meals come to my rescue. Like today’s recipe – Creamy Spinach Stuffed Chicken with Orzo. It’s creamy, cheesy spinach stuffed in chicken thighs, then placed over uncooked orzo and popped into the oven to cook TOGETHER. The entrée and side ready in one shot. I LOVE it!
To make the creamy spinach stuffing, take fresh spinach leaves and pulse it together with brie and cream cheese.
Then, line an oven-safe dish with foil and add a layer of orzo.
Prepare your chicken thighs by loosening the skin to create a pocket. Just be careful to leave the edges attached.
Then, go ahead and stuff’em.
And place them over orzo and add some water.
If you have leftover stuffing, put it in a smaller oven-safe dish for a creamed spinach side dish :) Don’t waste it!
Pop it all in the oven and boom! DONE!
So easy and so delicious! The orzo absorbs all the yummy chicken flavor during the cooking process. And the chicken comes out nice and juicy.
Wondering how the orzo got the green tint? That’s from some of the stuffing oozing out while cooking. What a happy accident :)
This one’s too good and too EASY not to try!
Creamy Spinach Stuffed Chicken with Orzo
Yields 3-4 chicken thighs
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Cupcakes
Ingredients
5 ounces fresh spinach leaves
2 ounces cream cheese
2 ounces brie cheese, rind removed
3 – 4 chicken thighs, skin-on, bone-in
1 cup uncooked orzo
½ cup water
Freshly cracked black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line an oven-safe baking dish with aluminum foil.
- In a food processor, pulse together the spinach leaves until coarsely chopped. Add cheeses and pulse until creamy. Set aside.
- For each thigh, use a paring knife to separate the skin from the meat, being careful to leave the edges attached. Spoon in the spinach mixture under the skin of each thigh, just a little before overflowing.
- Pour the orzo into the prepared baking dish. Add the water. Place the thighs on top of the orzo, skin sides up.
- Sprinkle with pepper and top each thigh with one tablespoon of butter.
- Bake in oven for 40-45 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part reads 165°F.
- For a little more color on the skin, place under the broiler for 1-2 minutes, watching carefully so it doesn’t get too dark.
- Let chicken rest for 10 minutes and stir the orzo before serving.
What are your thoughts on adding kale to the mix? Is there an alternative to using cream cheese or brie cheese?
Adding kale would be great and it would add an extra boost of nutrients! Although I haven’t tested the recipe using different cheeses, I think using shredded mozzarella cheese would work. I just wouldn’t process the cheese with the veggies. Rather, I’d mix it in by hand once the veggies are processed. Hope this helps!