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Chicken & Sun-Dried Tomato Orzo
Chicken & Sun-Dried Tomato Orzo
41 Reviews
From: EatingWell Magazine, March/April 2008
Sun-dried tomatoes and Romano cheese pack a flavorful punch along with the tantalizing aroma of fresh marjoram in this rustic Italian-inspired dish. Serve with sautéed fresh spinach or steamed broccolini.
- By: EatingWell Test Kitchen
Ingredients 4 servings
for serving adjustment
Serving size has been adjusted!
Original recipe yields 4 servings
Nutrition per serving may change if servings are adjusted.
- 8 ounces orzo, preferably whole-wheat
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes, (not oil-packed), divided
- 1 plum tomato, diced
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 3 teaspoons chopped fresh marjoram, divided
- 1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed (1-1¼ pounds)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 9-ounce package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
- ½ cup finely shredded Romano cheese, divided
Preparation
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Active
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Ready In
- Cook orzo in a large saucepan of boiling water until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes or according to package directions. Drain and rinse.
- Meanwhile, place 1 cup water, ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, plum tomato, garlic, 2 teaspoons marjoram, vinegar and 2 teaspoons oil in a blender. Blend until just a few chunks remain.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, adjusting the heat as necessary to prevent burning, until golden outside and no longer pink in the middle, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate; tent with foil to keep warm.
- Pour the tomato sauce into the pan and bring to a boil. Measure out ½ cup sauce to a small bowl. Add the remaining ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes to the pan along with the orzo, artichoke hearts and 6 tablespoons cheese. Cook, stirring, until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Divide among 4 plates.
- Slice the chicken. Top each portion of pasta with sliced chicken, 2 tablespoons of the reserved tomato sauce and a sprinkling of the remaining cheese and marjoram.
- Serving size: 3 oz. chicken & 1 cup pasta
- Per serving: 456 calories; 12 g fat(3 g sat); 10 g fiber; 54 g carbohydrates; 36 g protein; 140 mcg folate; 70 mg cholesterol; 4 g sugars; 0 g added sugars; 536 IU vitamin A; 6 mg vitamin C; 169 mg calcium; 4 mg iron; 377 mg sodium; 785 mg potassium
- Nutrition Bonus: Folate (35% daily value), Iron (22% dv)
- Carbohydrate Servings: 3½
- Exchanges: 3 starch, 1 vegetable, 3 lean meat, ½ fat
Reviews 41
January 12, 2019
By: RaisinHell91
This was fairly quick and easy and very tasty. I substituted Parmesan for the Romano and dried oregano (1/2 - 1 tsp) for the fresh marjoram.
June 21, 2017
By: Alizay Furtado
I would make this again. Great flavors. Next time I will use more tomatoes (both sun dried and fresh) because the sauce didn't quite produce enough to cover the chicken and orzo.
January 17, 2017
By: Darlene
I had to use marinated artichoke hearts. My store did not have frozen ones. Otherwise, I made it exactly to the recipe. It is a DEFINITE keeper.
December 03, 2015
By: EatingWell User
TASTY
Very simple recipe to follow and the taste is just excellent!!
Pros: Easy to prepare
Cons: None
December 29, 2014
By: EatingWell User
added capers and this was a really good meal
January 23, 2014
By: HealthyGEO
Great evening meal!
After reading a few negative comments, I had my doubts about this recipe but I liked the ingredients so I decided to give it a try. I followed everything but I used a handful of cherry tomatoes, oregano instead of marjoram, parmesan cheese, and balsamic vinegar. The sundried tomatoes did come in oil and the artichokes were Italian fire roasted. With these substitutions I followed all the directions. Yes the chicken takes longer to cook than it suggests, but other than that I thought the recipe was brilliant and delicious! There was a lot of flavour from the sundried tomatoes and garlic. I loved it! Because I used cherry tomatoes the sauce was rather wet, so I just let it simmer a little longer. If yours was dry, try perhaps adding more water? I will definitely make this recipe again as it had all the right stuff in my opinion! I also sprinkled on some chilli flakes onto my portion - perfect!
Pros: Very Flavourful and easy to prepare
October 26, 2013
By: EatingWell User
Disappointing Dish
This dish was a big disappointment. I made it exactly as specified and it had no flavor. Adding a bunch of salt and pepper to my portion did not help at all. I will definitely not make this again!
Pros: looks pretty
Cons: flavorless
July 19, 2012
By: EatingWell User
Chicken in 10 Minutes?
I don't know what kind of chicken can be cooked through in 3-5 minutes per side . . . doubled the cooking time. The tomato sauce was a bit watery as well. This is what I would do next time: Brown chicken on both sides. Remove from pan, add sauce to pan. Return chicken to pan and braise for 25 minutes. Remove chicken, add in other ingredients, serve. This would combat the watery sauce and the undercooked chicken.
Pros: Simple, Flavorful
Cons: Cooking time, instructions
December 01, 2011
By: jrothi
I cut a few corners to make this easier by using rotisserie chicken and just adding everything together at once instead of all the layering. I think next time I will use a more substantial pasta as the orzo got a little mushy in the reheating.
