Cajun Chicken Orzo Skillet – Emily Bites

This tasty Cajun Chicken Orzo Skillet is an easy one-pot meal that’s perfect for a weeknight dinner! The flavors are spicy, creamy, and delicious, and each serving is hearty and satisfying. Cajun-seasoned chicken breasts, fresh spinach, onions, garlic, and orzo pasta are served in a rich, flavorful sauce of tomatoes, chicken broth, cream, and Parmesan cheese. I love that the chicken, pasta, veggies, and sauce all cook together in the same pan for less clean up! Plus, each filling 1 & 1/3 cup serving of this Cajun Chicken Orzo Skillet is just 422 calories or 8 WW Points on Weight Watchers! To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app, click here!

Cutting up the Chicken

I often buy a big pack of boneless, skinless chicken breasts at the store and then use kitchen shears to trim them down to make 5-6 oz cutlets to use in recipes. Everything I cut off to make the cutlets gets cut into chunks to make smaller chicken bites, like I used in this Cajun Chicken Orzo Skillet! It’s easy to weigh out 1 lb or 1.5 lb of chicken chunks and freeze them for later in a quart size freezer bag. That way, I always have some on hand! Buying the bulk packs of chicken breasts is cost-effective, and cutting them into cutlets and bites ensured I have what I need on hand when I go to make a recipe. I find that kitchen shears make this task go quicker and easier than using a knife, so I highly recommend using shears like these (affiliate link).

More Tasty Lightened Up One-Pot Meals

If you love one-pot meals like this Cajun Chicken Orzo Skillet, but are looking for a different flavor profile, I’ve got you covered! Check out my One-Pot Taco Pasta, One-Pot Chicken Parmesan Pasta, One-Pot Cheeseburger Pasta, Chicken Taco Rice Skillet, One-Pot Cheesy Chili Mac, Sheet Pan Meatloaves with Roasted Potatoes and Green beans, One-Pot Turkey and Veggie Spaghetti, One-Pot Spicy Dirty Rice with Chicken and Sausage, Chicken Pot Pasta, Mexican Chicken Cauliflower Rice Skillet, Lemon Chicken Orzo, Rustic Sausage and Potato Skillet, and many more in the One-Pot Meals section of my recipe index!

Cajun Chicken Orzo Skillet

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 45 minutes mins

Yield: 4 (1 & 1/3 cup) servings

This easy Cajun Chicken Orzo Skillet is a spicy, creamy, delicious one-pot meal, perfect for a weeknight dinner!

• 1 ½ teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ¾ teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon ground thyme
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 lb raw boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into small bite-sized pieces
• 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 6 oz uncooked orzo pasta
• ¾ cup reduced sodium chicken broth
• 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 cup chopped fresh spinach
• 1 oz Parmesan cheese, finely shredded
• ¼ cup fat free half-and-half creamer

• In a small dish, stir together your Cajun seasoning mix: paprika, garlic powder, chili powder, oregano, thyme, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.

• Place the chicken pieces into a mixing bowl. Add the seasoning mix to the chicken pieces. Stir the contents of the bowl until the chicken pieces are coated with the spices.

• Add the oil to a large sauté pan/walled skillet and bring over med-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken pieces and stir to break them up and coat them in the oil. Cook the chicken for about 5 minutes minutes, stirring every couple minutes until browned.

• Add the onion to the chicken and stir. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is mostly softened. Add the garlic and stir together. Cook for an additional 30 seconds before stirring in the tomato paste until thoroughly mixed in. Cook for an additional 2 minutes.

• Add the orzo to the pan and stir to combine. Cook for a minute and then add the broth and can of diced tomatoes. Stir together and increase the heat if needed to bring the mixture to a boil. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to simmer. Simmer for around 15 minutes, removing the lid to stir every 3-5 minutes and then replacing the lid. Test the orzo and when it is cooked, remove the pan from heat.

• Add the spinach and stir in until wilted and combined. Add the shredded parmesan cheese and half and half creamer and stir until the sauce is smooth, creamy, and thoroughly combined.

To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app, click here!
WW Points per (1 & 1/3 cups) serving: 8 (SP calculated using the recipe builder in the WW app)
Nutrition Information per (1 & 1/3 cups) serving:
422 calories, 44 g carbs, 6 g sugars, 11 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 36 g protein, 5 g fiber, 484 mg sodium (from myfitnesspal.com)
Weight Watchers Points Plus:
10 per (1 & 1/3 cups) serving (PP calculated using a Weight Watchers PointsPlus calculator and the nutrition info)
Recipe adapted from Supergolden Bakes

Author: Emily Bites

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American