Greek Chicken Orzo Casserole Recipe


This Greek chicken orzo casserole is my flavorful and comforting take on Mediterranean chicken in a casserole form. It’s packed with fresh ingredients and bold Mediterranean flavors, and is perfect for busy weeknights because everything bakes together in one casserole dish. Bookmark this one! It’s been on the regular rotation in my house since I developed it — it’s just THAT good.

One pot: As a new mom, this is CRUCIAL. I love that you don’t need to cook the chicken separately, and the block of feta becomes so creamy and melty once its baked in the middle of the casserole dish.

So flavorful: I can’t get enough of the Mediterranean flavors in this casserole! Pro tip: don’t skip the sun-dried tomatoes in oil — both the tomatoes and the oil add such rich flavor that gets infused throughout the entire casserole.

Serves the whole fam: I love eating family-style at my house, so I just put this casserole right in the middle of the table and let the family serve themselves. I serve mine with a side of warm pita or naan.

The Ingredients

  • Chicken: This recipe calls for boneless skinless chicken breasts. Chicken thighs will also work, just make sure they’re also boneless and skinless and cut into 1 in. chunks.
  • Feta: You’ll need a whole whopping block of feta. It cooks down into the most amazing creamy sauce once you stir the casserole together after it bakes. Seriously, so rich, creamy and amps up the Greek-inpsired flavors.
  • Spinach: 2 cups of spinach will cook down significantly when baked — it sounds like a lot of spinach, but definitely isn’t over-powering once it cooks down and wilts.
  • Cherry tomatoes: The tomatoes will burst either when baked or when you’re tossing the casserole together with the sauce right before serving, so no need to spend time halving them before baking.
  • Oregano: You’ll season the chicken with oregano and salt. It adds just the right amount of flavor that complements the Mediterranean flavors without overpowering.
Step-by-step images show seasoned chicken, vegetables, feta, and broth in a baking dish, baked together and mixed into a casserole with tomatoes and greens.

Equipment

This casserole needs to be baked both covered and uncovered, so you’ll ideally want to use a casserole dish that has a cover like this one below ⤵️. If you don’t have a covered casserole dish, simply cover your baking dish with aluminum foil when baking.

White casserole dish.

Our Favorite

Casserole Dish

We love this le creuset casserole dish because it is oven safe AND has a cover. It is the perfect casserole dish for this baked one pot pasta dish!

How To Make Greek Chicken Orzo Bake

This orzo casserole has MINIMAL prep time, and then it spends the rest of its time baking away in the oven 🙂 Here’s what you’ll need to do:

  1. Add the cherry tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, onion, olives, orzo, salt, and dried oregano right into the casserole dish and mix to combine. 
  2. In a separate bowl, season the chicken with the remaining salt and oregano, and toss to coat. 
  3. Add the chicken and broth to the casserole dish and stir to combine. 
  4. Make a small hole in the center of all of the ingredients and place the block of feta in the middle. Cover and bake at 375ºF for 30 minutes. 
  5. Remove the casserole from the oven, stir, and bake uncovered for another 20 minutes.
  6. Remove the casserole from the oven and stir together until the feta has turned into a creamy sauce. Top with fresh basil, and ENJOY!

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I like to store mine right in the casserole dish that it was baked in.

More Mediterranean-Inspired Meals

A person uses two forks to serve a baked dish with chicken, cherry tomatoes, greens, orzo, and feta cheese in a white casserole dish. Fresh herbs are visible on the side.

More Recipes Like This

  • Preheat the oven to 375ºF and spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with oil. Set aside.

  • Add the cherry tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, onion, olives, pasta, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon dried oregano to the casserole dish and mix to combine.

  • Separately, season the chicken with the remaining salt and oregano. Toss to coat.

  • Add the chicken and broth to the casserole dish and stir to combine.

  • Make a small hole in the center of all of the ingredients and place the block of feta in the middle. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.

  • Remove the casserole from the oven, stir, and bake uncovered for another 20 minutes.

  • Remove the casserole from the oven and check that the orzo is fully cooked. If the pasta is not fully cooked, remove the casserole from the oven, add 2 tablespoons of chicken broth, and cover for an additional 10-15 minutes.

  • Stir the casserole together until the feta has turned into a creamy sauce. Top with fresh basil.

  • We do not recommend substituting the orzo pasta with any other pasta.
  • We have not tested this recipe with gluten-free pasta. The liquid to pasta ratio may be different for gluten-free pasta.

Calories: 380 kcal, Carbohydrates: 36 g, Protein: 27 g, Fat: 14 g, Fiber: 3 g, Sugar: 4 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Photography: photos taken in this post are by Erin from The Wooden Skillet.

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