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This One Pot Cajun Chicken Orzo is a quick and easy dinner idea the whole family will love. Chicken, peppers and onion are fried in Cajun spices before adding gluten free orzo pasta, chicken stock and cream cheese. The result is a delicious, creamy chicken orzo recipe!
I love an easy, one-pot meal so when Tesco bought out its brand new gluten free orzo, the first thing I had to make was this Creamy Cajun Chicken Orzo.
Usually I make a Cajun chicken pasta for a quick weeknight meal, but using orzo pasta means everything can be cooked easily in one pot.
Having never been able to eat orzo pasta before I didn’t know what to expect, but this chicken orzo recipe did not disappoint.
It’s sort of similar to a risotto, but creamier and with more of a pasta-like texture. And don’t worry if you’re not gluten free – you can use normal orzo pasta in this dish instead.
This one pan creamy Cajun orzo recipe can be made in under 30 minutes and only needs a handful of ingredients. Plus the gluten free orzo reheats well so it’s good for meal prep!
Serve it with some Gluten Free Garlic Bread or Cheesy Doughballs on the side.
And if you love a one pan meal, check out some of my other recipes like my One Pan Chilli Con Carne Pasta or my Lemon Chicken Tray Bake.
Ingredients
There’s a printable recipe card for this gluten free Cajun Chicken Orzo below. But for the shopping list here are the main ingredients you’ll need.
- Chicken Thighs: I use thigh fillets, but chicken breasts would also work.
- Peppers: I used a yellow and red bell pepper, but a green bell pepper also works.
- Onion: A brown onion or red onion will work.
- Garlic: Use frozen chopped garlic, garlic paste or fresh minced garlic.
- Cajun seasoning: This blackened Cajun seasoning is SO good. Just check for ‘may contain’ warnings and gluten-containing ingredients on spice mixes.
- Tomato Puree: Tomato paste adds a little colour
- Gluten Free Orzo Pasta: I used the new Tesco free from orzo pasta, but you can find some other gluten free brands online in my gluten free orzo guide.
- Chicken Stock: Use a gluten free stock cube or homemade chicken broth.
- Cream Cheese: Full fat cream cheese or zero fat both work. Or use a dairy free one.
How to Make Cajun Chicken Orzo
Chop the chicken thigh fillets into bite-sized chunks. Finely chop the onion and peppers.
Add the olive oil to a large, lidded pan and place on a medium heat. Add the onions, peppers and garlic and fry for 4-5 minutes.
Add the chicken thighs to the pan and turn the heat up to high. Continue to cook for another 4-5 minutes until the chicken has started to brown.
Turn back down to a medium heat. Add the Cajun seasoning and tomato puree and mix well.
Add the dry orzo pasta to the pan and mix to combine. Pour in the hot chicken stock and mix well.
Turn the heat down to a low simmer, place the lid on the pan and cook for 18 minutes.
Stir once or twice during this time to avoid it sticking. If it becomes to dry, you can add a little extra stock/hot water.
Once the orzo is tender, remove the lid and stir in the cream cheese before serving. You can sprinkle it with fresh parsley or coriander to serve, if you like.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some FAQs about this easy Cajun Chicken Orzo. If you can’t find the answer to your question here or in the post above, please comment and I’ll try answer!
Gluten free orzo pasta is now a lot easier to find, thanks to Tesco launching its own free from orzo this year! You can also check out some other cool orzo brands – including some chickpea and lentil orzos – in my gluten free orzo guide.
Yes you can! If you want to make this recipe with normal gluten free pasta, I recommend cooking the pasta and the sauce separately, then mixing them together at the end of the cooking when the sauce has thickened.
Any leftovers of this gluten free Cajun chicken orzo recipe can be stored in the fridge for 1-2 days and reheated thoroughly before eating. I haven’t yet tried freezing this recipe as usually gluten free pasta breaks up when frozen.
If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. You can also share your creations in my Facebook group! And please do leave a 5* review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me and really helps support my website.
Cajun Chicken Orzo
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 300 g chicken thigh fillets
- 1 red pepper
- 1 yellow pepper
- 1 onion
- 2 tsp chopped garlic
- 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 150 g gluten free orzo pasta
- 300 ml gluten free chicken stock
- 50 g cream cheese
Instructions
- Chop the chicken thigh fillets into bite-sized chunks. Finely chop the onion and peppers.
- Add the olive oil to a large, lidded pan and place on a medium heat. Add the onions, peppers and garlic and fry for 4-5 minutes.
- Add the chicken thighs to the pan and turn the heat up to high. Continue to cook for another 4-5 minutes until the chicken has started to brown.
- Turn back down to a medium heat. Add the Cajun seasoning and tomato puree and mix well.
- Add the dry orzo pasta to the pan and mix to combine. Pour in the hot chicken stock and mix well.
- Turn the heat down to a low simmer, place the lid on the pan and cook for around 18 minutes. Stir once or twice during this time to avoid it sticking. If it becomes to dry, you can add a little extra stock/hot water.
- Once the orzo is tender, remove the lid and stir in the cream cheese before serving.
Notes
- Gluten Free Orzo: Check out my guide to gluten free orzo to find a gluten free orzo pasta for this dish.
- Step-by-Step Photos: Check out the blog post above for step-by-step photos to guide you through how this Cajun Chicken Orzo should look.
- Storing and Freezing: Check out the post above this recipe card for more information on how to store and freeze this creamy cajun chicken orzo pasta.
- Like this Recipe? It would mean SO much to me if you could leave a 5* rating and tell all your gluten free friends about this Cajun Chicken Orzo!
Nutrition
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Oh my days! Made this tonight Sarah and it was awesome!.will have to go back to Tesco to buy more orzo as it was definately worth waiting for. I did find I needed to add a bit more stock as.i was only making one portion with Quorn pieces and I used plant based Philadelphia which was delicious. Thank you so much for inspiring me this evening x