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.
Good RECIPE but EASIER to cook on stove top Takes 30 minutes.. brown seasoned chicken then remove add more butter brown oroz then add chiCken to pan & broth cover Till Liquid absorbed then add parmesan cheese & chopped green onions
Can you use rice or some type of GLuten free pasta in place of the orzo? I have celiac disease so i can’t HAve gluten, but would like to TRy it.
Hi Marjoie! I’m sure you could. Honestly, you probably know what’s the best sub better than me!
aFter reviewing the comments, I made this with 8 chicken thighs, 3 c of chicken broth and the full 16 oz. package of orzo that I added at the last 30 minutes of cooking.I also pan fried the mushrooms in butter and added them with the orzo. everything came out great, no extra liquid and chicken was tender. My husband and I liked it a lot, and this is one of those recipes that actually tastes just as good if not better when you reheat the leftovers.yum!
Yesss!! Don’t you love when that happens with leftovers?!
Delicious. I added two extra thighs. The orzo was PERFECT after 30 MINUTES cooking.
Nice job, Sharon!! Thanks for your feedback
I’m always SEarching for good crock pot recipes and this one is a keeper. It’s even better as leftovers with the chicken shredded in big chunks. Orzo was not soggy or mushy and picked up so much of the flavor. I added a little extra minced garlic and it was delicious. Thanks!
You can’t go wrong with extra garlic, right?? Thanks for your feedback, Lisa! Happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe.
Some peole posted about the ItaliAn seasoning but i didnt see an answer. Is it the dressing (which has red things) or the dried italian seasoNing herbs? If its the herb, whT arw the red things?
Hi Jaclyn! Some Italian seasonings are more “chunky” or have larger pieces.. the one I used for this was just that!
Would it be possible to skip the stove top cooking of the chicken and just cook the chicken in the crockpot only?
Yes- you could. It’s just a suggestion to brown the chicken beforehand 🙂
this may be the worst written recipe i’ve seen. you mention “a bit of italian seasoning” but never mention to use the rest that was separated.
i’m making this now and hoping it tastes good though!
I actually fried up the orzo a bIt In some oil until golden before putting it with the chicken and i put it with the chicken since mine was thinly cut perfect and not mushy at all 2.5 hr on high
Awesome idea, Yassmine! Thanks for sharing!
Does this recipe work for a 4.5 qt. crock pot?
It should.. I can’t say 100% because the smallest I have made it in a 6 qt though!
I’m a guy who is very inexperienced in the kitchen. This recipe was so easy and tasteD phenomenal. I used a tad bit more buttEr, subbed safe for the thyMe, then added a squeeze of lemon juice to briGhten It a bit at the end.
Sounds like you’re experienced in the kitchen enough to me! Great job!! Glad this recipe was enjoyed 🙂
A delicious recipe. I will make it again. If you review your second paragraph you will note your clear instruction to add the orzo at the starT with EVERYTHING else. This is where the confusuon begins. If you correct it IN the second paragraph, mushy orzo would not occur. Also, it might be advantageous in your instructions to make the addition of orzo a SEPARATE SteP on its own.
I made this according to the directions, and it ended up tasting delicious. People could avoid “mushy orzo” by turning off the slow cooker right when it is done, instead of letting it sit on the warm setting. Also removing the pot (or food itself) from the cooker when it is finished would avoid any extra heat that might continue cooking the pasta. Thanks so much!!
Thanks for your great feedback, Mary! So excited to hear that it turned out so good for you!! 🙂
Not a bad slow cooker recipe but not what I was hoping for given the pictures, it tasted like a well seasoned chicken noodle soup to us. I’d definitely make again if having picky/Bland preference company over as it’s quite mild in flavour.
Hi Nicole- Sorry this recipe didn’t meet your expectations. Hopefully you can find another recipe here that you love! 🙂
Was very excited about this recipe bUt i found it tO be tasTeLess. FOLLOWED all the INSTRUCTIONS listed, but was very dissapointed. I would not reccomend this recipe.