Creamy Cajun Chicken Orzo

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This Creamy Cajun Chicken Orzo is one of my favorite one-pot meals. It includes tender chunks of chicken seasoned with my own cajun seasoning blend, golden brown Spanish chorizo sausage, and sautéed vegetables tossed in a creamy orzo sauce. Learn how to make chicken and chorizo orzo in 30 minutes with this easy recipe.

Why Make Chicken and Chorizo Orzo

There are so many reasons to love this one-pot cajun chicken orzo recipe. Here are my top two:

• Easy recipe: This delicious meal comes together with simple ingredients in one pot. Unlike my cajun chicken and chorizo pasta, you don’t even need to cook the pasta beforehand. So, I love this for a busy weeknight or when I want an easy bowl of comfort food.
• Full of flavor: Juicy cajun chicken and browned chorizo sausage adds so much flavor to this dish. Plus, you even use the chorizo drippings to saute the vegetables and cook the orzo.

Ingredients Needed

• Chicken Breast: I’m using raw, boneless skinless chicken breasts that I cut into bite-sized pieces. Boneless skinless chicken thighs would also work.
• Homemade Cajun Seasoning: this is a homemade spice blend that includes things like sea salt, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, and smoked paprika. It is big on flavor, but lower on salt compared to cajun spice mixes from the store. So, if you opt to not use it, then use a pre-made seasoning blend like you would salt (about 1/2 tsp to start).
• Olive Oil or Avocado Oil
• Spanish Chorizo Sausage: I’m using raw ground chorizo sausage meat or raw chorizo sausage with the casing removed. This sausage is well seasoned so there is no need to do anything with it besides brown it.
• Fresh Garlic Cloves: I mince my cloves of garlic with a garlic press, but you can buy minced garlic from the grocery store.
• Shallots: These are sliced thinly. I used them because I had them on hand, but you could also use yellow onion or red onion in this recipe.
• Bell pepper: I’m using a red bell pepper that I thinly sliced. Any color bell pepper like a green bell pepper, de-seeded jalapeño peppers (for a spicier dish), or a mixture of bell peppers would also work
• Chicken Broth (Chicken Stock): I picked up a low-sodium chicken broth from the grocery store. I prefer this over pasta water because it adds more flavor to the dish.
• Heavy Cream
• Parmesan Cheese: I’m using grated cheese that is located in the refrigerated section of the market. This parmesan cheese has less sodium than the grated parmesan cheese that you’d find in the aisle. So, be sure to pick that up since the shelf-stable cheese will likely make this dish very salty.
• Cayenne Pepper: this is optional, but gives the dish additional heat. Red pepper flakes would also be a good option.
• Orzo: I used uncooked orzo, which is a rice-shaped pasta. It typically comes in a 1lb box and is available in the pasta aisle.

You can get the exact amounts for the full list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions from the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

How to Make Creamy Chicken Orzo

Brown the Chicken and Chorizo

1. Mix the chicken breast in a bowl with the cajun seasoning. Set aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or deep pan to medium-high heat.
3. Add the chorizo meat and cook until browned (about 7-10 minutes). Remove the browned chorizo from the pan and set aside. Be sure to leave the drippings (chorizo oils) in the pan and do not wash it.
4. In the same pan that you cooked the chorizo, add the seasoned chicken bites in an even layer. Saute for 3-4 minutes per side. During this step, the goal is to get a browned sear on the outside of the chicken. Remove the cooked chicken and set aside. It will continue to cook as it rests. Do not wash the pan.

Saute the Vegetables

1. Add the garlic, shallots, and peppers to the pan that you cooked the chicken and chorizo in. Saute until the onions are translucent (about 3-4 minutes). 

Make the Creamy Orzo Sauce

1. Pour in the chicken broth and deglaze the pan if needed (this means scraping up any bits that might be stuck to the bottom of the pan). Bring to a boil.
2. Stir in the orzo pasta. Cover the pot and turn the heat to simmer (very low heat). I cook the pasta for about 10 minutes.
3. Add heavy cream and parmesan cheese. Mix to create a sauce.
4. Return the cooked chicken and chorizo to the pan. Stir to incorporate. If needed, cook for an additional 2-3 minutes if some of your chicken chunks need more cooking time to cook through.

Top Cooking Tips & FAQs

• Chorizo Options: If raw ground chorizo is not an option, you can also use the packaged cooked chorizo that looks like a smoked sausage and dice it. In the recipe, you’d still brown the diced chorizo, but it would take close to 7 minutes vs. 10 minutes to cook.
• Use a dutch oven or other deep pan: this will allow you to layer on the flavor from browning the meat to making the sauce and adding the pasta.

Storage and Leftovers

Add your leftover cajun chicken and chorizo orzo to an airtight container for the next day. This recipe can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

More Recipes using Cajun Chicken

After making this cajun chicken creamy orzo pasta main dish, you can also try out these other recipes.

• Cajun Chicken Sandwich
• Chicken and Chorizo Pasta
• Cajun Chicken Thighs

Creamy Cajun Chicken Orzo

Make Creamy Cajun Chicken Orzo with golden brown chorizo in 30 minutes with one pot using this easy recipe.

5 from 32 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 8

Calories 387 kcal

Ingredients

  

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• 1 lb chicken breast cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 tablespoon Cajun seasoning click for the recipe
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• ¾ lb Chorizo sausage I get these from the butcher section and remove the casing so that I just use the meat.
• 6 garlic cloves minced, or about 1.5 tbsp minced garlic in a jar
• 3/4 cup shallots sliced thinly
• 3/4 cup red bell pepper thinly sliced
• 2 cups chicken broth low sodium
• 8 oz orzo pasta uncooked
• 2 tbsp heavy cream optional
• 1.5 cup parmesan cheese grated from the refrigerated section
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper optional

Instructions

 

• Mix the chicken breast in a bowl with the cajun seasoning. Set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or saute pan to medium-high heat.
• Add the chorizo meat and cook until browned (about 7-10 minutes). Remove the browned chorizo from the pan and set aside. Be sure to leave the drippings in the pan and do not wash it.
• In the same pan that you cooked the chorizo, add the seasoned chicken bites in an even layer. Saute for 3-4 minutes per side. During this step, the goal is to get a browned sear on the outside of the chicken. Remove the cooked chicken and set aside. It will continue to cook as it rests. Do not wash the pan.
• Add the garlic, shallots and peppers to the pan that you cooked the chicken and chorizo in. Saute until the onions are translucent (about 3-4 minutes).
• Pour in the chicken broth and deglaze the pan if needed (this means scrape up any bits that might be stuck to the bottom of the pan). Bring to a boil.
• Stir in the orzo pasta, cover the pan and cook on low heat for 10 minutes. It will soak up most of the liquid.
• Add heavy cream and parmesan cheese. Mix to create a sauce. For a spicy kick, add the cayenne pepper to this step.
• Return the cooked chicken, and chorizo to the pan. Heat if necessary to cook any chicken through (2-3 minutes). Stir to incorporate. For photos, you can reserve some meat for the top so that the different components are visible.
• Top with chopped parsley and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 387kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 84mg | Sodium: 592mg | Potassium: 458mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1760IU | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 262mg | Iron: 2mg

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