Slow cooker parmesan herb chicken & orzo is an easy, no-fuss crockpot meal with hearty flavors that will please the whole family.
The slow cooker is constant around our house! If you’re loving yours too, try Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff Soup, Best Easy Slow Cooker Ribs, and Slow Cooker Mediterranean Chicken.
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 giving me the perfect excuse to pull out my favorite grey wanna-be-Hunter rain boots. (Scored those babies for a steal of a deal from Nordstrom Rack last Spring, pretty much lived in them until Summertime came and in typical Utah desert fashion, a lack of rain storms.) It’s feeling like Fall inside my house though too, or rather smelling like Fall. Between the pumpkin harvest candle burning non-stop (thank you Target) and something yummy in the slow cooker all day long, it’s a little slice of heaven up in here.
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. All you have to do is brown your chicken on the stove for a couple of minutes, then throw it int he slow cooker with your orzo, liquids, mushrooms, and seasonings, and let it cook for a few hours.
A few minutes before you’re ready to eat, just stir the orzo and sprinkle parmesan cheese all over the top. Cover it for about 5 more minutes so it gets all melty and ooey gooey delicious and then serve it up! Put it on your menu for this week, you will be so glad you did.
What people are saying about this Slow Cooker Parmesan Herb Chicken & Orzo
“We had this tonight for dinner. My picky eater hubby LOVED IT!! His exact words were “It’s pretty good. You have to keep this one. Its really good. I really like it. ” The only thing I didn’t do was add mushrooms because I don’t like them. He said next time I make this to add the mushrooms. So thank you for this recipe we thoroughly enjoyed it. 
” – Milihn
“My boyfriend has never been one to try new recipes or even let me cook. Sunday I made this dish and it was a huge hit and success. So much of a success that my boyfriend asked me to make it again so it is currently cooking. This is an amazing dish!” – Carol
“I just have to say this recipe is a WIN! My fiancé is incredibly picky. Literally he eats all of my cooking but never comments, and this one did the trick! I’m surprised by all the reviews saying the orzo was soggy, mine was perfect. Wish I could try it with mushrooms, I’ll have to plan a girls night soon so I can. This is probably THE best crock pot recipe I’ve ever used. Thank you for sharing, this will be a regular in my home!” – Katie
“Made this last night – it was perfect. SO good. I fried the mushrooms in butter and added them at the end for a super great extra taste. Thanks for the great recipe! (The orzo was perfect, adding it about 45 minutes before we ate!” – Kayleigh
Slow Cooker Parmesan Herb Chicken & Orzo
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts - OR 4-6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 3 teaspoon Italian seasoning - divided
- 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 ½ cups orzo pasta - (see note)
- 4 tablespoons butter - melted
- 1 cup sliced - mushrooms
- 1 medium white or yellow onion - finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt - (or to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper - (or to taste)
- ½ cup shaved or finely shredded parmesan cheese
- freshly cracked black pepper and herbs (such as thyme or parsley) for garnish
Instructions
- Season chicken with a bit of the Italian seasonings and salt and pepper on both sides. Cook in a large nonstick skillet on the stove over medium-high heat 1-2 minutes on each side until browned on the outsides.
- Transfer chicken to a greased slow cooker. Add chicken broth, butter, mushrooms, onions, garlic, remaining Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on high for 1-2 hours or on low for 3-4 hours. Stir in orzo, cover and cook for another 30-45 minutes on high.
- Uncover and use a fork to pull chicken out of the slow cooker. Stir contents of slow cooker, then return chicken to slow cooker, on top of the orzo mixture.
- Sprinkle parmesan cheese over chicken. Cover and cook until cheese is melted, about 5-10 minutes. Serve with fresh herbs and cracked black pepper if desired.
The 3 cups broth with 1 cup orzo can’t be right. I knew something was up and read through these comments for help. I ended up putting the WHOLE box (16 oz) of orzo in and it worked perfectly. 😀
Made this last night – it was perfect. SO good. I fried the mushrooms in butter and added them at the end for a super great extra taste. Thanks for the great recipe! (The orzo was perfect, adding it about 45 minutes before we ate!)
I made this for dinner tonight, only I did it right on the stove because i waited to long for it to cook in the crock pot. Browned the chicken breast then sautéed the onion, garlic and mushrooms. Added the chicken broth and orzo to the pan and added the chicken breast back in. Simmered until everything was done. for the orzo i used 2c chicken broth to 1c orzo. It was good.
i added a regular bag of frozen broccoli and it came out great! i think the broccoli helps to soak up the extra water so you may want to add around 1/2 cup extra broth as i had to add a little more towards the end
Any suggestions on how it would be best to cook this on the stove or oven? Times and temp?
So, I followed the instructions, except I used 3 chicken breasts instead of 4, and omitted mushrooms for my picky fiancé. I also used a little more orzo, probably around 1/6 Cup. I just have to say this recipe is a WIN! My fiancé is incredibly picky. Literally he eats all of my cooking but never comments, and this one did the trick! I’m surprised by all the reviews saying the orzo was soggy, mine was perfect. Wish I could try it with mushrooms, I’ll have to plan a girls night soon so I can. This is probably THE best crock pot recipe I’ve ever used. Thank you for sharing, this will be a regular in my home!
I made this last night and it was absolutely flavorful and delicious. After reading the other comments, I used only 2 cups of broth, 1 1/2 cups of orzo and only cooked for 15 minutes. It turned out perfect! This will be a favorite in my house.
My boyfriend has never been one to try new recipes or even let me cook. Sunday I made this dish and it was a huge hit and success. So much of a success that my boyfriend asked me to make it again so it is currently cooking. This is an amazing dish!
I made this last week, and it didn’t turn out AT all. There was so much liquid left at the end that it was almost like a soup. Help!
After reading the comments, I tweaked the recipe slightly and it turned out perfectly. I cooked the chicken for two hours on high and I used the full amount of chicken broth. I added 1 1/2 – 2 cups of orzo because there was plenty of liquid and cooked for about 20 minutes still on high. I stirred it and could tell the orzo was cooked. The chicken was moist and delicious. Wish I would’ve thought to take a picture. Will definitely make it again!
Sounds great! Any suggestions for doing this in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven? I have a Crock-Pot pot too but the Dutch Oven I could Brown the chicken in the same pot,
I should have read the comments before trying this recipe out. It smelled really good cooking but mine had way too much liquid in it and the orzo was mushy. Also the chicken was very dry. I cooked mine on low for three and a half hours and then put the orzo in for about another 30 minutes. I wouldn’t waste your time on this recipe.
We had this tonight for dinner. My picky eater hubby LOVED IT!! His exact words were “It’s pretty good. You have to keep this one. Its really good. I really like it. ” The only thing I didn’t do was add mushrooms because I don’t like them. He said next time I make this to add the mushrooms. So thank you for this recipe we thoroughly enjoyed it. 😀🙂
Italian dressing dry seasoning?
Italian dried sesoning or italian dressing dry seasoning? A little confused
Italian dried seasoning, not salad dressing. 🙂
So the one that looks a little like Parsley?
Hi Shaniqua, it’s actually called “italian seasoning” so you should see that right on the label. I use it ALL the time in my cooking. 🙂