Slow Cooker Parmesan Herb Chicken & Orzo

This Slow Cooker Parmesan Herb Chicken and Orzo is creamy, comforting, and incredibly easy to make in the crockpot. It’s an easy, no-fuss crockpot meal with hearty flavors that will please the whole family.

If you love using your crockpot as much as I do, you’ll really enjoy my Slow Cooker Creamy Beef Stroganoff, and saucy Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala. If creamy, cozy dinners is your love language, I’ve got you covered with my one-pot creamy Garlic Chicken and Potatoes, Creamy Tuscan Parmesan Chicken, and Creamy Mushroom Garlic Chicken.

Why This Recipe Works 

Great cold-weather recipe — It’s feeling very fall-ish around here. The air has definitely cooled off, the leaves are every shade of red and orange you can possibly imagine, and a huge rain storm just rolled through over the past couple of days…and all I can think about is this slow cooker parmesan herb chicken and orzo. It is the quintessential fall dish — hearty, warm, easy, comforting — all in one. 

Simple ingredients — Chicken breasts, some seasoning, chicken broth, orzo, a few mushrooms and onions, that’s basically all you need to create this delicious chicken and orzo dish.

Easy — I’m a little bit obsessed with this simple crockpot meal. Chicken and buttery orzo made all together in your slow cooker with herbs and garlic and melty parmesan cheese?? It just doesn’t get better than this. Plus, this dish is as easy as putting it all in the slow cooker, cooking on low for a few hours, and then shredding the chicken and adding cheese. Talk about no muss, no fuss! 

Parmesan — Is there any dish that can’t be made better with the addition of parmesan? I didn’t think so! So nutty and buttery, topping this slow cooker chicken dish with parmesan is the perfect way to round out its delicious flavor.

Ingredients

• Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts — I’ve found boneless, skinless to be the easiest to shred for this dish. You can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs if you like. 
• Italian Seasoning — A dash of Italian seasoning is all you need, or you can substitute Herbs de Provence if you like as well. 
• Low Sodium Chicken Broth — Use low-sodium, then add salt later to taste. Much easier to add salt than remove it. 
• Orzo Pasta — I love orzo in this dish but you can also use a larger pasta if you like, see below for note. 
• Butter — Melt the butter ahead of time to pour right into the slow cooker. 
• Mushrooms — I LOVE mushrooms and think they add so much amazing flavor and texture to this orzo chicken in the slow cooker. But you can eliminate them if you wish. 
• White or Yellow Onion — Finely chop an onion to add to the slow cooker. 
• Minced Garlic — Mince the garlic by hand or scoop it from a jar — either way, it’d delish! 
• Salt & Pepper — Add salt and pepper to taste. 
• Shaved or Finely Shredded Parmesan Cheese — Add that delicious parm at the end for a yummy, cheesy topping. 
• Freshly Cracked Black Pepper And Herbs — I am a garnish girl. For this slow cooker parmesan herb chicken and orzo dish, I finely chopped thyme and parsley to sprinkle over, along with a few cracks from my pepper mill.

How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken Orzo

This recipe is so easy! All you have to do is:

1. Season chicken with a bit of the Italian seasonings and salt and pepper on both sides. Then cook in a large nonstick skillet on the stove over medium-high heat 1-2 minutes on each side until browned on the outsides.
2. Next add the chicken to a prepared slow cooker, and add on top of it the chicken broth, butter, mushrooms, onions, garlic, remaining Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper. 
3. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for about 1-2 hours or low for 3-4. Stir in the orzo (see note if using something other than orzo) and cover and cook for an additional 30-45 minutes on high.
4. Take the lid off and use two forks to shred the chicken breasts (this is easiest to do in a bowl or plate outside of the slow cooker). Add the shredded chicken back to the slow cooker, right on top of the orzo. 
5. Sprinkle the top of the dish with the parmesan and cover one last time for a few more minutes to let it melt and get all gooey and cheesy on top. Serve with fresh herbs and fresh cracked black pepper.

FAQs

Expert Tips for Perfect Crockpot Chicken Orzo

• If you’re worried about “mushy” orzo from adding it to the slow cooker, you can cook the orzo separately and simply stir it in at the end of your cooking time, when you add the shredded chicken back in. If you are cooking the orzo separately, you should only add 2 cups of chicken broth in the crockpot with the chicken and throw out any remaining broth at the end.  
• Pro tip: Cooking the orzo in chicken broth gives it much more flavor than cooking it in water. 
• This slow cooker parmesan herb chicken and orzo dish will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

More Orzo Recipes to Try

• Orzo is such a versatile kitchen staple! I love this variation for One Pot Greek Chicken and Orzo, it somehow feels bright and comforting at the same time. 
• This Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup is the perfect light and fresh soup for Spring and Summertime. 
• Creamy Parmesan Spinach Orzo is one of my favorite side dishes – ever! It goes great with any cozy chicken dish to make a delicious, complete meal.