This one pan chicken and zucchini orzo will elevate your weeknight dinners to a new level. This recipe is also meal prep friendly and bursting with bright and vibrant flavors that come together beautifully in just one pan. This recipe is literally SO easy, you're going to want to add this to your weekly meal rotation!
Course Dinner, easy dinner, family dinner, Main Course, Main Dish, Meal Prep, meal prep dinner, meal prep lunch
Cuisine American
Servings 5
Calories 458kcal
Equipment
1 9x13 ceramic baking dish
Ingredients
For the Main Dish:
1 & ¼pounds Chicken BreastDiced into 1" cubes
½teaspoon pepper
1Large ZucchiniSliced very thinly
¼cupSundried Tomatoes
3tablespoonsBanana Peppers
1 & ⅕cupsOrzo
1 & ¾cupsWater
For the Dressing:
¼ cup Banana Pepper Liquid
¼cupAvocado Oil
¼cupMayonnaise
2tablespoonsDijon Mustard
2tablespoonsSoy Sauce
5Garlic ClovesMinced
2tablespoonsItalian Seasoning
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 400 F and set your rack to the middle position.
Grab a large baking pan (9×13). Add your diced chicken breast and season with pepper. Next add in your zucchini slices, sundried tomatoes, banana peppers, and orzo. Set your pan aside.
In a small bowl, add banana pepper liquid, avocado oil, mayonnaise, dijon mustard, soy sauce, garlic cloves, and Italian seasoning. Mix using a whisk until well combined. Then add in on top of your orzo. Add in your water on top. Use a spoon or a utensil to push down your orzo and zucchini. Make sure that the orzo is completely submerged in the liquid.
Place in the oven and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until your orzo is cooked through! Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Hint: The dish may appear watery but trust the process and bake just until your orzo is cooked through. Once you remove your pan let it rest for 5 minutes before serving and this will soak up the excess liquid.
Hint: If you want this meal to be extra flavorful and you have the time, make your dressing (in step 2) and add to your chicken in the pan first and let it marinate for anywhere from 20 minutes up to 2 hours in the fridge. Once you're done marinating the chicken, then you can add in your remaining ingredients and bake.
Video
Notes
Substitutions
If you are interested in making this one pan chicken and zucchini orzo but you have dietary restrictions, you can make the following substitutions:
Vegetarian– Skip the chicken to make this recipe vegetarian.
Gluten-Free– try using rice instead of orzo to make this recipe gluten-free and use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce.
Zucchini– if you don't like or have zucchini you can substitute zucchini for spinach.
Sundried tomatoes- if you don't like sundried tomatoes, you can substitute sundried tomatoes for cherry tomatoes.
This recipe is already dairy-free.
Variations
Spicy - substitute banana peppers for pepperoncini
Kid friendly - skip the added banana peppers in the dish to make this recipe kid friendly.
Equipment
All you need to make this one pan chicken and zucchini orzo recipe is a 9×13 ceramic baking dish or pan.For those that are looking for something similar to the pan I used in my reel, here is a baking dish I found on amazon with great reviews.If you are meal prepping this one pan dish, these are some of my favorite glass bento box containers.Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I make a small commission if you choose to purchase through qualifying links.
Storage
You can store this one pan chicken and zucchini orzo in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.