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Baked Lemon Rosemary Chicken Meatballs and Creamy Orzo. Quick, easy, colorful, and delicious! Baked chicken meatballs with roasted lemon, cooked together with orzo pasta and baby spinach, then finished with melty cheese. This tasty dish is all made in one pan without even having to boil any water. Simply mix, bake, eat, and enjoy!
And we’re back with yet another one-pan dinner. I’m loving these easy all-in-one recipes this month. Fortunately, they’ve been turning out so delicious!
It’s been busy over here, and long days mean my time in the kitchen is limited. I was just saying on a call today that I always keep things like this in mind when creating recipes. Of course, that should go without saying that they also need to be incredibly yummy. My intention is for my recipes to be approachable, easy, and so delicious…while also looking pretty!
It’s the combo that makes a recipe worthy of saving!
And these cheesy, garlic meatballs fit the description to a T.
My mom mentioned that meatballs sounded really delicious with all the snowy weather and cold temperatures we’ve been having. I thought about sharing another crockpot meatball, but then I had the thought to test out baked meatballs with orzo.
I’ve been enjoying my all-in-one baked dishes so much, so I was curious to test this one out. It’s ended up working out wonderfully and turned into a recipe that everyone has really been enjoying!
Ingredients
- ground chicken, ground beef, ground pork, or ground turkey
- dijon mustard
- shallot, chopped
- garlic powder or a few chopped cloves garlic
- Italian seasoning
- dried rosemary
- smoked paprika
- kosher salt and black pepper
- grated parmesan cheese or ricotta cheese
- extra virgin olive oil
- chopped lemon peel
- chopped fresh dill
- chili flakes
- dry orzo pasta
- dry white wine
- heavy cream or canned full fat coconut milk
- baby spinach, chopped
- shredded mozzarella or provolone cheese
Kitchenware needed
- large cast iron skillet or large dutch oven
- medium mixing bowl, large mixing bowl
- 9×13 inch baking dish
- serving dishes / serving platter
These are the details
Step 1: pre-heat the conventional oven and make the meatballs
I love to use ground chicken or pork for this recipe. Sometimes I’ll mix the chicken and pork if I have both on hand.
Then, add the seasonings to the meat mixture: dijon, shallots, garlic, rosemary and smoked paprika. Then mix in parmesan cheese as well.
Mix everything together and roll it into 2-inch balls. Then, place the meatballs in a baking dish with a little olive oil, chopped lemon peel, dill, and chili flakes. Make sure you have paper towels on hand for clean-up!
Step 2: bake the meatballs
Now, bake the meatballs until they start getting crisp on top.
I like to give them a head start on cooking before adding the orzo. I think this helps them form a nice shape and develop even more flavor!
Step 3: add the orzo
Next, mix the orzo with the oil and meatballs in the baking dish. Add water and wine, and then spinach on top.
No need to boil the orzo. As everything bakes together, the orzo will soak up the water and become perfectly cooked. It’s such a simple way to cook orzo pasta!
Step 4: add the cheese
Pull the dish out, add a touch of cream, then top with either mozzarella or provolone cheese, then bake again until the cheese is all melty and bubbling up.
It’s going to smell so delicious with the lemon and rosemary, and then all that cheese on top! YUM.
Step 5: serve!
Serve the lemon meatballs over the creamy, cheesy orzo. Then I like to add fresh greens and chili flakes on top.
Simple and quick, with very little clean-up, and minimal hands-on time too.
You can serve this up on busy weeknights, but it would be equally great for a small dinner party with friends. Everyone loves this meatball and pasta dinner. Bon apetit!
Looking for other easy weeknight dinners? Here are some favorites.
Creamy White Bean Noodle Soup with Rosemary Bacon.
Mustard Herb Chicken and Creamy Orzo
Crockpot Crispy Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Jalapeño Ranch
Slow Cooker Saucy Sunday Bolognese Pasta
Slow Cooker Herbed Chicken and Rice Pilaf
Crockpot Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Bolognese
Crockpot Garlic Butter Chicken Meatballs with Creamy Orzo
Lastly, if you make this Baked Lemon Rosemary Chicken Meatballs and Creamy Orzo, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
What are the benefits of a Dutch oven?
A Dutch oven can maintain temperatures on the stovetop and in the oven and its tight-fitting lid ensures the recipes you are preparing is cooked thoroughly. Here is a great article that shares the benefits of cooking with a Dutch oven: https://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/packages/food-network-essentials/what-is-a-dutch-oven
Baked Lemon Rosemary Chicken Meatballs and Creamy Orzo
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 679 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken, pork, or turkey
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- salt and black pepper
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped lemon peel
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- chili flakes
- 1 pound dry orzo pasta
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or canned full fat coconut milk
- 3 cups baby spinach, chopped
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella or provolone cheese
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 450° F.2. Add the chicken, dijon, shallot, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, rosemary, paprika, salt, pepper, and parmesan to a bowl. Mix to combine. Roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (will make 15-16 meatballs). 2. In a 9×13 inch baking dish, combine the meatballs, olive oil, lemon peel, dill, and chili flakes. Bake 8-10 minutes, until just starting to get crisp. Reduce the oven to 400° F. 3. To the meatballs, add the dry orzo. Pour over 2 cups of water and the wine, stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Place the spinach on top. Bake for 12-15 minutes until most of the water has cooked into the pasta, but not all of it.4. Stir the pasta around, mix in the cream, then sprinkle the cheese overtop. Bake another 10 minutes until the cheese has melted and the sauce is bubbling. If there's a lot of oil on top, drain off the excess. Top with fresh dill, basil, or micro greens.
Absolutely delicious, we used Arborio rice as we didn’t have enough orzo… I placed lemon slice on top during last 10 minutes of cooking and then up topped with fresh basil. Wish I could post my picture
Hey Peggy,
Happy Friday!! Thanks so much for trying this recipe, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! xx
Is it one POUND of orzo, or one cup?
Hey Peggy,
It is 1 pound of orzo:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
This just looks delicious. Tiegan, can you sub aborio rice or pearl cous cous with this dish? Am out of orzo!!!!
If so what adjustments would you suggest.
I just made with arborio but added 1 cup of chicken broth youll need more liquid for sure but it tasted great!
Thanks so much Shelley! Sure, I bet arborio rice would work nicely! I hope you love this dish! xT
I made this last night and it is a delicious recipe! I added grated gruyere and provolone at the end for baking and it turned out so flavorful! I loved this recipe! Thank you so much!
Hey Alison,
Happy Wednesday! Thanks so much for making this dish, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! xT
YUMMMM.
This was so delicious and so easy while also being impressive. Made it for company and it was easy to have something super yummy without being stuck in the kitchen.
I’m gluten free and subbed Arborio Rice for the orzo. It was a bit tricky though and I had to cook it longer to get the rice cooked through. I also subbed homemade broth instead of water to pump up the yumminess and some healthiness.
Will absolutely make again!
Hey Joelle,
Happy Monday! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your comment, I’m so glad it turned out well for you! xT
Soooo Delicious! OMG! HBH recipes never disappoint. Such an interesting medley of flavors that commingle to create a magical sort of deliciousness. I found it to be a very special and unique dish that has an enjoyable element of comfort too. I will definitely be making this recipe again soon for people I love. Thank you for sharing your incredible talents with us!
Thanks so much Stacey:) I am so glad to hear that this dish was enjoyed! Thanks for making it! xT
Another great recipe. Loved the ease of everything being in the oven in easy steps. The variety of flavors was wonderful. Just need to watch so that you don’t overcook and dry out orzo, which I kept a close eye on and turned out perfect and delicious. We had a HBH weekend here Creamy White Chicken Chili (family fav) along with another easy and delicious one pan meal the Caprese Pesto Pasta Bake. So many great recipes. Tank you!
Thanks so much for your kind message Deb:) I love to hear that this dish turned out well for you! Thanks for giving it a try! xT
Just made this for dinner tonight and my husband DEVOURED it. Every bite he was mmm-ing and yumm-ing. What a hit! I followed the recipe exactly (minus the dill coz I couldn’t find any at the store). It was so flavorful and well-balanced. The meatballs were soft and delicious and the orzo was exactly the right amount. Definitely use 1 pound of orzo!
Hey Crissy,
Fantastic!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you and appreciate you making it! Xx
My whole family loved this. So flavourful and delicious. We will making this again for sure!
Hey Jen,
Fantastic!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you and appreciate you making it! Xx
We made this last night! All of the meat eaters here took seconds (our semi-vegetarian just ate the orzo). I did end up with more than 20 meatballs and it was tough to stir, but I added about 3/4 C more water halfway through baking and then ended up cooking the dish about 5 minutes longer than the recipe specified. I loved the lemon in the dish!
Hi Rebecca,
Happy Monday! I appreciate you making this dish and your feedback, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT
Hi there. not tried this yet, but am planning to. If you print the recipe for 4 people then it comes out with 0.67 tablespoons of various seasonings. So, if i so the recipe for 6, am I able to freeze the meatballs, and at what stage?
Hi Jacqui,
Totally, you could freeze the meatballs after they are formed, that would work well for you! I hope you love this dish! xT
0.67 Tbs = 2 tsp, so this is easy to scale down to 4 servings!
I loved the flavor, but both the meatballs and the pasta were too dry. With Tbsp. size meatballs I got 24, which ended up crowding my baking dish – making stirring difficult. I will definitely make it again with a few tweaks to moisten up the end product.
Hey Tammy,
I appreciate you trying this dish and sharing your feedback! Let me know what works better for you next time:) Have a great week! xT
It was good, creamy gooey comfort food. Not something I’ll put on repeat.
Hi Cynthia,
Thanks for giving this dish a try and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear you didn’t love it! xx
I made this today because my in-laws are staying with us and I wanted something flavorful and delicious. This recipe checked ALL the boxes! It was so easy to make too. I followed the recipe exact and it was a hit with both my MIL and FIL. I’m just excited I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
Hi Rochelle,
Happy Monday!! Thanks so much for making this dish and your comment! So glad to hear that it turned out well for you! xT
Flavors are great but definitely taking the orzo way too long to cook and created a ball of mush..
Hi Monica,
Thanks for giving this dish a try and sharing your feedback, so very sorry to hear the orzo did not turn out for you. Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xT
My family loved it!!!
You are amazing with all of your recipes!
Thanks so much!!!
Jo
Aww, thanks so much Jo!! So glad to hear that your family enjoyed this dish. Thanks for making it! xT
Absolutely delicious! Definitely making this again!
Love to hear this Wendy!! I appreciate you trying this dish and your comment, so glad it was enjoyed! Xx