Boursin Orzo with Chicken

4.97 from 57 votes

Dinner is made easy with this one pot 30-minute Boursin orzo with chicken recipe! It's like a risotto but much easier, and the creamy sauce is totally irresistible.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Boursin Orzo

Servings:

Author: Natasha Bull

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 medium onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
2.5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 (5.2 oz) package Boursin cheese softened
2 cups (packed) fresh baby spinach
2 cups cooked chicken chopped/shredded
Salt & pepper to taste
Fresh chives chopped (optional, to taste)

Instructions

Add the oil, butter, and onion to a pot over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion for 3-4 minutes.
Stir in the garlic and orzo. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring fairly often (this step infuses the orzo with more flavor and toasts it a bit).
Pour in the chicken broth. Once it starts to bubble, continue cooking for 10 minutes, uncovered, stirring quite often. You will need to turn the heat down a bit (to medium or even medium-low). You want it to gently bubble vs. furiously boil, and you don't want the liquid to reduce too much before the pasta has cooked (it this seems to be happening, add in a splash more broth as needed).
Stir in the Boursin until smooth.
Take the pot off the heat and stir in the spinach and chicken, then cover the pot for 5 minutes. The spinach will wilt, the chicken will heat through, and the sauce will thicken a little more.
Season with salt & pepper to taste and serve with chopped chives sprinkled over top if desired.

Notes

As pots/pans/stoves can all vary, cooking times are a guideline only. At the end of step 3, the bulk of the liquid should be absorbed and the pasta al dente. The orzo will absorb more liquid the longer it sits.
Orzo is a rice-shaped pasta. If you want to make this with rice, you may have to adjust liquid measurements and cooking time.

Nutrition