This recipe for Mediterranean chicken is chicken thighs, olives, roasted peppers and orzo, all cooked in a single pan. An easy and healthy dinner option with minimal clean up at the end of the night!
I love one pot meals, some of my favorites include chili mac, pizza pasta and this fresh and delicious Mediterranean chicken.
I love Mediterranean food – the flavors are bold and fresh and it’s also healthy. I often cook with ingredients that are found in the Mediterranean diet – whole grains, fruit and vegetables, beans, olive oil and herbs. I took all of my favorite Mediterranean flavors and turned them into a one pot meal, because by now you all know that I’m all about cooking in one pot whenever possible. This one pot Mediterranean chicken is a real winner and the kids enjoyed it too!
How do you make Mediterranean chicken?
This recipe starts with chicken thighs, which are browned and then combined with chickpeas, orzo, olives, roasted peppers and chicken broth. Everything goes into the oven to simmer until tender. Add a sprinkling of fresh parsley and dinner is served!
Tips for Mediterranean chicken
- I like to use bone-in skin-on chicken thighs for this dish, but you can also use drumsticks or bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts.
- Orzo is a small rice shaped pasta that can be found with the rest of the pasta shapes at most grocery stores. You can use regular orzo or whole wheat orzo in this dish.
- This recipe calls for roasted red bell peppers – you can roast your own, or buy a jar of prepared roasted peppers to save on time.
- This dish is perfect as-is, but I sometimes like to serve it with a steamed vegetable on the side such as broccoli, green beans or asparagus. You can also do a mixed green salad tossed in Greek salad dressing.
Mediterranean Chicken Variations
There are so many different ways to vary the flavors in this dish to make your own creation!
- Beans: Instead of chickpeas, try cannellini or Great Northern beans.
- Vegetables: Swap out the bell peppers for marinated artichoke hearts or sauteed mushrooms.
- Grains: Try bulgur wheat or brown rice instead of orzo pasta.
More than ever I have been relying on easy dinner options. I’d much rather be out in the yard with the kids instead of standing over a hot stove. This Mediterranean chicken is perfect for our hectic schedule because I can just combine everything in one pot, put it in the oven and walk away until the timer tells me it’s dinner time. Plus clean up is a breeze. Have you hopped on the one pot meal bandwagon yet? If not, this recipe is the perfect place to start.
More easy chicken recipes
- Chicken and Green Beans
- Slow Cooker Chicken Drumsticks
- Hawaiian Chicken
- Chicken Casserole
- Braised Chicken with Carrots and Potatoes
One Pot Mediterranean Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 bone in, skin on chicken thighs
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup roasted peppers roughly chopped (can use red, yellow or orange peppers)
- 8 ounces orzo pasta uncooked
- 3/4 cup kalamata olives halved
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 15 ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 3 cups chicken broth
- kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large skillet or pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Season the chicken generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Place the chicken in the pan and cook for 4 to 6 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove the chicken from the pan.
- Drain off excess fat leaving about 1 teaspoon in the pan. Add the onion, cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for one minute more.
- Add the orzo, oregano, roasted peppers, olives and chickpeas to the pan. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place the chicken on top of the orzo mixture; add chicken broth.
- Bring everything to a boil, cover the pot with a lid and place into the oven. Bake for 35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle with parsley, then serve.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published July 16, 2015 and was updated on June 25, 2019 with new content.
Great recipe! Will add to my favorites.
Can you cook/simmer on stove top instead of putting it into the oven?
Yes that should work!
I used pearled couscous and added chopped artichokes! I also added Mediterranean spice to the veggies and on to the chicken after browning. Next time will cut back on the chicken broth. Otherwise great dish! Will definitely make again!
I made this tonight and it was delicious!! The only thing I did differently was I seasoned my chicken with garlic powder, onion powder, s&p, and smoked paprika. Next time I make it I’m adding some cherry tomatoes. This meal gets 5 stars!!
As I was preparing this, I noticed even the recipe called for chicken broth, it wasn’t added into the directions. I added it in when I put the orzo in.
I added artichokes to it also.
Smells divine too
The broth is added in step 3 of the directions! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Love this! Keep making it again and again!
It was good however 35 minutes with the orzo is way too long, turned to mush. I suggest cooking it for 20 minutes till the chicken is almost done and then for the last 10 minutes add the orzo…35 min would probably be great for rice. I added a bunch of spinach at the end … great.
I made this for dinner tonight. My husband loved it and so did I. Positively delicious! It will definitely be in our meal rotation. Thank you ☺️
I made this for dinner and added a small jar of artichoke hearts and it was delicious and very filling! Will be making this again for sure!
I made this, I used what veggies I had and made my rice separately since I didn’t have orzo.
I added wine and thickened my broth since no orzo. It came out delicious.
Love this recipe!! My whole family loved it!!! It was easy to put together. If you’re looking for something healthy and easy to make, then this is the recipe for you.
Hi, can you use basmati rice instead of the orzo?
This was a great recipe! I used boneless chicken thighs as it’s all I had on hand. I should have cut the broth by a cup or so as the orzo & everything was done cooking much quicker. My partner suggested adding a little dill to the seasoning and lemon on top at the end. Will definitely be making again!
Loved this complete meal in 1 pan. It was flavorful and great leftovers the next day.
Delicious! Cooking time for boneless thighs?
Could u make this with a vegetable penne pasta ?
I’m not sure if that would work as I haven’t tested it this way!
This recipe and the risotto recipe are AWEOME! I make them every 2 weeks now and always double it – so we can enjoy leftovers! You have such a wonderful website with so many great recipes! Thank you!!!
I made this for my family last night. It was so delicious. It was perfect for my husband who is a “meat and potatoes” man and my son who has a milk allergy. And of course, I enjoyed it as well. THANK YOU!