Creamy, smoky, cheesy, and irresistibly flavorful—this easy Chicken Chorizo Orzo Casserole is weeknight comfort food at its best.

Creamy Chicken Chorizo Orzo dinner with red peppers in a dutch oven sitting on the counter with a wooden spoon scooping.

If you’re looking for a cozy dinner that checks all the boxes—flavor-packed, creamy, and easy to make—this Creamy Chicken Chorizo Orzo Casserole is it. Tender bites of chicken breast and smoky chorizo are tucked into creamy orzo, with sweet red peppers, garlic, paprika, and a kiss of lime bringing bold flavor in every bite. It’s rich without being heavy, cheesy without going overboard, and the orzo gives it that ultra-comforting, almost risotto-like texture—all with way less effort.

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The best part of this recipe?
Simple Ingredients and Substitutes
Simple Equipment
Time Saving Prep-Ahead Steps
Talking Tip!
Cooking Steps
Creamy Chicken Chorizo Orzo One Pot Dinner
Comments

The best part of this recipe?

The best part is that this one-pan wonder is weeknight-easy and kid-approved. It uses simple ingredients (many pantry staples!), but the final dish tastes like something you’d get at your favorite neighborhood bistro. Whether you’re feeding picky eaters or hungry teens, this casserole brings everyone to the table. It’s satisfying, flavorful, and perfect for those nights when you want something a little different without a ton of work.

Simple Ingredients and Substitutes

Ingredients prepared and measured out into individual bowls with labels on the image for Chicken Chorizo Orzo recipe.

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Chicken Breasts boneless skinless – I used boneless chicken breast and cut it into 1-2 inch pieces. You can also use chicken tenders or boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
Seasonings for Chicken: Salt, Ground Black pepper, Smoked Paprika or sweet paprika, Ground Cumin. You can use any seasonings you like really for the chicken. You could substitute in chili powder or coriander. Garlic powder and onion powder are also fine to add.
Chorizo – I used a Mexican chorizo for this recipe which was precooked in links. You can also use Spanish chorizo sausage, which is generally a dry, cured hard sausage you can find in the deli section or specialty cheese section of the grocery store. Both are delicious, but just check for any warnings as to spice level, in case you do not want something too spicy.
Onion – I used yellow onion, but you can use white onion, red onion, shallots, or even scallions. If you don’t have fresh onion, you can also use a tablespoon of onion flakes or onion powder.
Red bell pepper – I love the addition of the red bell peppers to go with the peppery theme, but also bring a little sweetness to the dish. You can replace it with any bell pepper or leave it out.
Fresh Garlic cloves, minced – Fresh is best when it comes to garlic, but you can buy pre-minced garlic to save time or mince it in bulk and freeze it for use when you need it! If you don’t have fresh, you can use garlic powder or flakes.
Dried oregano – You can substitute dried Italian seasoning, marjoram, basil, or a combination.
Chicken Broth or chicken stock – You can also use, vegetable broth or stock or Beef broth or stock. You can also use water mixed with a beef or chicken bouillon cube or beef base or chicken base.
Tomato Paste – Tomato paste gives really deep tomato flavor. If you don’t have it, you can use ½ cup of plain tomato sauce, but you may want to cook the sauce a few extra minutes to reduce the liquid before adding back the chicken.
Lime – The lime is the acidic balance and works so nicely with the smoky chorizo. You can use lemon juice as a substitute.
Half and Half – I used half and half to make the tomato cream sauce, but you can substitute milk (for lighter texture) or heavy cream (for richer texture)
Parmesan cheese – Grated parmesan cheese adds a delicious nutty and salty element to the sauce and helps add to the creaminess. You can leave it out if you prefer or substitute with another hard grated cheese.
2 Scallions (Green Onions), sliced – These are for garnish and fresh mild onion flavor. You can substitute with fresh parsley or other herbs.
16 ounces Orzo pasta – Uncooked dry orzo is the perfect pasta for this recipe. If you want to substitute with rice, add 1.5 cups of rice and increase the time covered and cooking from 10 minutes to 20 minutes.

See recipe card for quantities.

Simple Equipment

For this recipe, you can use a dutch oven or braiser or other wide-bottom pot with a lid.

Oh, and mincing garlic is made super easy with a Garlic Press.

Creamy Chicken Chorizo Orzo dinner with red peppers served on a plate with sliced scallions sprinkled over top and on the plate on the counter. A fork is resting on the plate with a scoop of the orzo and chicken.

Time Saving Prep-Ahead Steps

We are all extremely busy and making dinner during the week can be overwhelming. Here are steps you can prepare ahead to save time on busy nights! (See the full recipe below)

Measure out the seasonings into a small bowl (Salt, Pepper, Paprika, Cumin) and then mix to combine. Half will be used to season the chicken and the remainder for the sauce.

For the chorizo, peel off and discard the outer casing and then dice it.
Peel and dice the onion. Dice the red pepper. Mince the garlic. Slice the scallions.

Talking Tip!

Ever forget to defrost the chicken in time for dinner? Same. But here’s the trick — don’t wait! When it’s still slightly frozen, it’s way easier to slice and dice. And once it’s cut into cubes, it finishes defrosting in a flash. Total dinner saver!

Semi-frozen chicken sliced on a cutting board for Chicken Chorizo Orzo.

If your chicken breast is still a bit frosty, simply slice into thick slices.

Semi-frozen chicken being cut into cubes on a cutting board for Chicken Chorizo Orzo.

Then cut each slice into strips, then cubes.

Then season with about half of the seasonings you just blended together.

Cubed raw chicken breast in a clear bowl seasoned for Semi-frozen chicken sliced on a cutting board for Chicken Chorizo Orzo.

Cooking Steps

CHORIZO AND VEGGIES.

Cubed chicken breast cooking in a pot on stove for Chicken Chorizo Orzo.

chicken sear on one side for 2-3 minutes and then stir to cook until you no longer see pink, about 5-6 more minutes.

Cooked chicken breast pieces being transferred from the pot to the plate over stove for Chicken Chorizo Orzo.

Transfer the chicken to a plate and return the pan or pot to the stove.

Cooked Chorizo broken up and rendering in a pot on stove for Chicken Chorizo Orzo.

Add the chorizo to the same hot skillet used for the chicken. Cook for 2-3 minutes to render out some of the fat.

Chorizo, red pepper, onion, and garlic cooking in a pot on stove for Chicken Chorizo Orzo.

Then add the onion, red pepper, and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add the broth, tomato paste, remainder of the seasonings blend, oregano, and juice from a lime.

Broth, tomato paste, and orzo added and cooking in a pot on stove for Chicken Chorizo Orzo.

Whisk to combine and then add in the orzo, cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring a few times during the cooking to ensure the orzo doesn’t stick to the bottom.

Parmesan and chicken added back to the orzo in a pot on stove for Chicken Chorizo Orzo.

After 10 minutes, add the chicken and any juices back to the pot, plus the parmesan cheese, and half and half (or milk).

Mix gently then let cook for a final 5 minutes to finish cooking and thicken. If the orzo is too al dente for you, you can stir and cook for a few more minutes with the lid off. Garnish with parmesan and scallions.

Serve and Enjoy!

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