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Prepare to be amazed with this easy chicken recipe with orzo pasta! Who doesn’t love a nicely cooked Greek giouvetsi! But the truth is it takes a couple of hours to prepare and no one likes to wait when hungry!
Have you ever imagined that you can have a giouvetsi in less than 30 minutes? Now with this delicious variation to the traditional Greek Giouvetsi recipe, you can! We have substituted Beef with Chicken as its quicker to cook and a tiny bit healthier and better for your waistline.
In this chicken giouvetsi recipe we will not be using the traditional oven baked method, rather we are cooking this dish in a pan – its so much faster this way and there is little compromise to its flavors. If you wish, you can always finish it off in the oven to get that nice crust on the top!
Finally if you love orzo, then my traditional beef giouvetsi, lamb giouvetsi as well as my legendary pastit*io recipes are made for you!
Give this easy chicken and orzo pasta recipe a try and remember to leave your feedback in the comments section below!
(592 votes, average: 4.84 out of 5)
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- Author: Eli K. Giannopoulos
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 portions 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Stew
- Cuisine: Greek
Description
Have you ever thought that you can have a giouvetsi in less than 30 minutes? This easy chicken recipe with orzo pasta is a delicious variation of the classic giouvetsi; the next best thing for when you are in a hurry!
Ingredients
Scale
- 550–600g/ 20 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bites (or whole chicken bone-in cut in 8 pieces)
- 1 1/2 cup orzo pasta ( kritharaki / manestra )
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp tomato paste
- 1/2 tin chopped tomatoes
- 2/3 of a cup tomato juice (passata)
- 2 cups of water
- a pinch sugar
- a pinch of cinnamon or a cinnamon stick
- 4 tbsps olive oil
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- 130g feta cheese, crumbled (4.5 ounces)
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Instructions
- To prepare this super easy chicken with orzo, heat a large frying pan over medium heat, pour in 2 tbsps olive oil and sauté the onions, until softened. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and add in the pan; fry the chicken breasts until lightly colored.
- Remove the chicken pieces and the onions on a plate. In the same pan, add 2 tbsps olive oil and sauté the orzo pasta. Add the tomato paste and continue sautéing. Pour in the tinned tomatoes, the tomato juice and a cup of warm water. Return the chicken pieces and onions in the pan, add a pinch of sugar, a pinch of cinnamon and season well with salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to medium, place the lid on and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the orzo pasta is cooked. (Halfway through cooking time, check out if all of the liquid has been absorbed and add 1 cup of hot water into the pan).
- Remove the pan from the stove, drizzle with olive oil and stir in the crumbled feta cheese. Let the chicken with orzo rest for 5 minutes and serve while still warm. Enjoy!
Keywords: chicken giouvetsi, Greek chicken and orzo in tomato sauce, chicken youvetsi, kritharaki with chicken, easy chicken recipe
Recipe image gallery:
16 Comments
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Sharon
January 15, 2014 at 17:05 ·Reply
Really quick to make and so tasty, will be making it again thats for sure.
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Eli K. Giannopoulos
January 15, 2014 at 19:28 ·Reply
Hi Sharon, glad you liked it! Its one of my favorite mid week meals, as its so simple and quick to make… Love Eli x
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francois
January 30, 2014 at 23:29 ·Reply
Hi, I would like to try this dish but have a question:
The tin of tomatoes? How much is that by volume? Chopped tomatoes?-
Eli K. Giannopoulos
January 31, 2014 at 20:01 ·Reply
Hi Francois,
Indeed its tinned, chopped tomatoes and its about 200gr / roughly one cup/ 7oz. Check this out: http://www.ocado.com/product/84251011?name=Napolina_Chopped_Tomatoes&source=PLA&gclid=CK2N_faZqbwCFQgOwwodXgwARg
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Robin Greene
February 13, 2014 at 18:58 ·Reply
This looks wonderful! Will leaving out the feta cheese ruin the dish? I’m lactose intolerant.
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Eli K. Giannopoulos
February 15, 2014 at 16:42 ·Reply
Hi Robin,
No it will be equally yummy 🙂
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Annmarie Edmonds
February 15, 2014 at 23:51 ·Reply
Delicious & easy to make, will make again for sure
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December 9, 2014 at 00:54 ·Reply
Crazy good. Who woulda thought to use cinnamon and feta in a tomatoe pasta recipe =)
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Andy Mackel
November 29, 2017 at 09:41 ·Reply
What is 1 1/2 cups of orzo in grammes.The packet I have is 500g.Cups always confuses me.
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Jenn
May 29, 2020 at 14:31 ·Reply
This was delicious! Reminded me so much of my grandmother’s recipe. Forgot to add the sugar but don’t think it needed it. Can’t wait for leftovers tonight.
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Hugh Lawrence
February 1, 2021 at 21:28 ·Reply
Hi Eli hope you are well, thanks for this fantastic recipe! I’ve made this a few times now and it reminds me of Greece which I miss very much was travelling there twice a year x
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Eli K. Giannopoulos
February 2, 2021 at 08:41 ·Reply
Hi! Hope you are well too, thank you so much for your kind words. I’m really glad you liked the recipe and reminded you of our favourite place!
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Kim Therkelsen
April 9, 2021 at 07:51 ·Reply
So easy – and very delicious… I have made Greek inspired cooking for years. Brings Greece to cold Skandinavia.. Hope that Corona allows us to travel in autumn????????????????
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Nikki
October 20, 2021 at 22:44 ·Reply
Simple. Easy. Delicious.
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Eli K. Giannopoulos
October 21, 2021 at 16:44 ·Reply
Thank you Nikki!! 🙂
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Alex
February 19, 2022 at 14:51 ·Reply
I’m allergic to tomatoes, can I use Tomato Sauce in a can? If I can how much tomato sauce would you use?
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