A cozy one-pot rice or orzo dish will always find its way to my dinner table at least once a week. Some of the first viral recipes I ever posted were one-pot dishes (like my Lemony Chicken Thighs and Rice that had to be on the book cover) because they’re easy to prep, easy to clean up, and the variations feel endless.
As we head into the busy holiday season and it’s dark long before logging off work for the day, I’m gravitating towards cozy comfort foods. So today I’m sharing a recipe straight from my Let’s Get Cozy meal plan—one of the bonus plans I put together for the bonus bundle everyone who has preordered Don’t Think About Dinner gets!
You’re getting this creamy one-pot orzo with rosemary chicken meatballs recipe directly in the newsletter today to celebrate the kick off of Don’t Think About Dinner Club, where for the next six weeks we’ll be cooking, chatting, and celebrating live here on Substack 💕 Recipe one is this one-pot orzo and we’re kicking it off at 2pm EST tomorrow (12/1) with my amazing friend rachel mansfield. The remaining club recipes will be from the bonus bundle, so go submit the form now!!
Grab what you need today so we can get cooking tomorrow! RSVP here and make sure your Susbtack notifications are turned on so you’re reminded when we go live! If you miss the live, there will be a recording saved afterwards ♥️
creamy one-pot orzo with rosemary chicken meatballs
serves 4 | prep time: 15 minutes | cook time: 40 minutes
Gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian option, vegan option, nut-free
FOR THE SPICE MIX
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
1½ teaspoons dried basil
1½ teaspoon dried oregano
1½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
FOR THE CHICKEN MEATBALLS
1 pound ground chicken
olive oil, for shaping
FOR THE ORZO
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ medium shallot, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 cup dry gluten-free orzo or regular orzo
1½ cups low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
¾ cup canned full-fat coconut milk (about half a well-shaken 13.5-ounce can)
½ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped
2 cups baby spinach (about 3 ounces)
juice of ½ lemon (about 1½ tablespoons)
roughly chopped parsley
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Make the spice mix: In a small bowl, stir together the rosemary, basil, oregano, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes (if using).
Make the chicken meatballs: In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken with about half of the spice mixture. Mix with a spatula or clean hands until evenly combined. Rub 1 teaspoon oil onto your clean hands and pinch off about 1 heaping tablespoon of the meat mixture. Roll loosely between your palms until round and smooth, taking care not to overwork the mixture or the meatballs will become tough when cooked. Place the meatball on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the rest of the mixture, rubbing hands with a more oil as needed to prevent sticking, and forming about 20 equal-size meatballs with about 1 inch of space between each.
Bake until lightly browned on the outside with an internal temperature of 165’F, 11 to 14 minutes. (For extra browning, broil on high for the last 2 to 3 minutes).
Meanwhile, make the orzo: heat the oil in a large lidded saute pan or dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add shallot, garlic, nutritional yeast, and the remaining spice mixture and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Stir in the orzo and toast in the pan until lightly golden, 30 to 60 seconds.
Stir in the broth, coconut milk, sun-dried tomatoes, and ¾ cup of water. Increase the heat to high. Bring the liquid to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the orzo is cooked, 12 to 16 minutes. (Cook time varies depending on brand, regular orzo typically needs a few more minutes. If you are not using a nonstick pan, I recommend stirring a couple times as it cooks. If the liquid absorbs but orzo needs more cooking time, add up to ¾ cup additional water.)
Stir in the spinach and lemon juice and continue cooking until the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes. If needed, season with more salt.
Divide the orzo and meatballs between four bowls. Garnish with parsley.
Store it: Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Reheat it: From the refrigerator, microwave until warm, 1 to 2 minutes. From the freezer, thaw in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, then microwave in 30-second increments until warm.
Goood to know: You can also make this recipe using jasmine rice instead of orzo! Start with just ½ cup of water and add more as needed while it cooks, being sure to stir occasionally to prevent sticking. If nutritional yeast isn’t your thing, you can swap it for ¼ cup grated parmesan.
Recipe Notes:
To make this vegan and vegetarian: Swap the ground chicken for two 15-ounce cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed. Toss the chickpeas with olive oil and the same spice mix and bake until crisp, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve on top of the orzo.
Make it meal prep: Prep the chicken meatballs ahead of time and refrigerate until serving. To reheat, microwave until warm, about 2 minutes, or warm in a 350ºF for about 10 minutes.
Get access to the rest of the Let’s Get Cozy week of dinners and the full grocery list by submitting your preorder receipt (or tour ticket!). Once you submit, you’ll get access to these recipes too:
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Turkey Chili
Sheet Pan Pork Tenderloin with Chimichurri and Potatoes
Baked Black Bean and Veggie Tacos
Marry Me Chicken and Gnocchi Soup
+ an entire second dinner plan: Light & Lively AND 3 recipe sneak peeks from DTAD!
what I’m prepping
Raspberry Swirl Baked Oats — A brand new breakfast recipe just dropped in the December meal prep plan!! Can’t wait for you to make it (almost too pretty to eat).
Apple, Cheddar, and Date Chopped Salad with Chicken — I’ve been craving chopped salads lately and this one has it all. It’s on the lunch menu this week!
what I’m loving
Shopping sales today!! Get my full gift guide here (broken up by budget!) and get my prime BFCM picks in one folder here. Some of my faves doing big sales:
Made In: up to 30% off (no code needed)
Material: up to 35% off sitewide (BETTERBOARD for extra 10% off 3 MK boards)
Crate & Barrel: up to 50% off + free shipping (no code needed)
Anthropologie: up to 50% off sitewide (no code needed)
Crow Canyon Home: 20% off sitewide (no code needed)
Caraway: 15% off $85+, 20% off $425+, 25% off $525+ (no code needed)
Our Place: up to 35% off sitewide (no code needed)
Ruggable: up to 30% off sitewide (no code needed)
what I’m recommending
Plant Powered Plus — Dr. Will Bulsiewicz’s newest book, Plant Powered Plus, is available for pre-order and the perfect pairing with DTAD (we actually have the same publishing date!!). I recently got to preview the book and I’ve been learning so much. Dr. B is a wealth of knowledge and I’ve been following his gut health tips for years!
Custom gifts for the holidays — I have to share this rec because I recently gifted these custom embroidered items to two of my friends and they LOVED them!! Who doesn’t love something with their pet on it?! This is the tote and this is the crewneck.
new YouTube video today!!
I got a lot of requests for a longer form version of the meal prep plans, so I’ve got a YouTube video for you today featuring week 1 of the December meal prep plan!
Let me know what you’re trying this week and send your photos in our chat!
Made it tonight and it was incredible 🤩🤩
I can’t wait to make this tomorrow night!! Is it okay to use the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes to sauté your shallot etc in???