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Slow Cooker Mustard Herb Chicken and Creamy Orzo. Turning a classic dinner recipe into an easy slow cooker meal using white wine, creamy Dijon mustard, fresh herbs, parmesan cheese, and orzo. I even added in some vibrant broccoli for veggies and color. This slow-cooked chicken dinner is a hearty and delicious meal to come home to at the end of a busy day. And the best part? It’s the easiest dinner to prepare. You simply can’t go wrong with a dinner like this herby chicken and creamy orzo.
Breaking out a slow cooker recipe today and it’s not even October. Yes, it may be a bit early. But I’m pretty sure that most of us appreciate a good slow cooker dinner almost any time of the year. They’re just so easy!
This is one of those dishes that I’ve been wanting to make for the longest time now. But I told myself to hold off until the autumn days started to set in. It’s just so cozy and perfect for fall. It’s creamy, herby, a touch buttery, and has the BEST flavor. I love the fact that the chicken and orzo are cooked together in the slow cooker. It makes everything come together effortlessly.
It’s loosely inspired by my French wine and mustard chicken, but it’s made with a few additions…that I think, make it even better!
This is perfect for this time when the days might be warmer, but the nights are cooler. It’s going to be great all fall and winter long.
As you can imagine, this is really simple. Just place the chicken in the crockpot and rub it with olive oil and that mustard. Then add a ton of fresh thyme, sage, and garlic.
Now, pour in the wine and apple cider, then add some shallots.
I love to use apple cider in this for a slight air of warming fall flavor. It pairs so wonderfully with the white wine, herbs, and mustard. I know it sounds odd, but trust me, the apple cider adds such a nice flavor.
At this point, just cover the crockpot and cook. You can speed things up by cooking on high, or go low and slow. Alternately, you can use the instant pot, but I do prefer the crockpot method.
When the chicken has cooked, pull it out and set it on a small sheet pan.
Here’s where the orzo comes in. Add the orzo to all the yummy broth in the crockpot along with some broccoli. Now simply cover and cook a few minutes longer, until the orzo is al dente.
Meanwhile, I love to add a little butter to the chicken. Then throw it under the broiler for a couple of minutes to crisp up. This is totally optional, but I do think it adds to the dish.
When the orzo is finished, add in a touch of cream and parmesan too.
So simple and quick with barely any clean-up and minimal hands-on time.
The simplest dinner, and so great for busy weeknights…hearty, creamy – and so freaking good!
Looking for other slow cooker meals? Here are a few ideas:
Slow Cooker Saucy Sunday Bolognese Pasta
Slow Cooker Herbed Chicken and Rice Pilaf
Crockpot Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Bolognese
Lastly, if you make these Slow Cooker Mustard Herb Chicken 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!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
I have boneless skinless chicken breasts, would those work for this recipe? Looks great and I can’t wait to try!
Hey Caitlin,
You bet! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Why in the world did I translate “apple cider” to “apple cider vinegar?” Unfortunately a cup of apple cider vinegar did not work well. OOPS! I will try it again the correct way sometime soon! I could not figure out why you liked it with a cup of apple cider vinegar!
Hey Gretchen,
Ahhh so sorry!! I hope you will give it another try with regular apple cider:) xTieghan
I need a gluten free version – do you think Arborio rice might work instead? Would love to hear your thoughts?
Hey Sandra,
Totally, that would work well for you!! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
I was so hopeful with this recipe. It looked so yummy and I love slow cooker meals I can throw together earlier in the day so they’re ready when we get home from kid’s sports. The ingredients looked delicious. Right before I made it I read many reviews that didn’t make the dish sound like a good one to try, but I was determined to make this a good meal. I followed the recipe exactly except I used chicken stock instead of apple cider – and I didn’t add the extra water because there was still lots of liquid when I removed the chicken. The orzo turned out amazing!!! My family loved that part. However the chicken was SO dry (as others had mentioned). I had cooked it on low for 3 hrs. Removed it and covered it with foil until the orzo was done – then I followed the directions to broil the chicken for a couple minutes w/ butter on top. Anyway, I will not make this dish again – BUT I will cook the orzo with the same ingredients, because that part so delicious.
Hi there,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, so sorry to hear that the chicken was dry! xTieghan
Y’all- I royally messed this up. Please be smarter than me and read the entire recipe (and realize there are specific instapot instructions), use apple cider- NOT VINEGAR, and finally don’t burn it.
Absolute hat trick of failure.
Of course I made myself have a bite or two- man was it sour ?
I will 100% be attempting this again. All the other recipes I’ve followed have been amazing.
Hi Lauren,
Ooops!! So sorry to hear this! Thanks for giving it a try, I hope it comes out better the next time around:) xx
Just tried this recipe for the first time and used the crockpot method. My boyfriend is allergic to wheat so I went rogue and tried Banza chickpea orzo in place of regular orzo. The chicken turned out totally delicious, but then I had a giant pot of HUMMUS because my chickpea pasta completely disintegrated. Big oof on my part. Tieghan, I’ve made lots of your recipes before and they always turn out so amazing. Thought you might like this little story. I’ll follow the recipe as written from now on. 🙂
Hey Kaylee,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! Lol ooops! Who would’ve known that the chickpea noodles would do that! Let me know if you give it another try:) xTieghan
Hi,
I was wondering if there was a white wine substitute?
Thank you
Hey Lauren,
You can use chicken broth in place of the wine. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I love it but the lemon is super strong…dang…it was a steroidal lemon. Great recipe
Hi Aaron,
Happy Sunday!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xxT
Had good flavor…I used the broth instead of cider. I would probably use chicken thighs next time I make it as I prefer them over chicken breasts! Really good
Hey there,
Awesome!! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was a hit. Have the best week:) xx
Would this be easily adaptable to use chicken thighs instead of breasts? I feel they are more moist most of the time and have a better taste. Maybe less time in the slow cooker?
Hey Tim,
Sure, chicken thighs would be great to use, keep the same cooking time in the slow cooker though. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
very easy to make! chicken is a little dry. I used 2/3 cups cider and it did not taste too ‘tangy’. any tips to cook the chicken so it isn’t dry? thanks!
Hey Kelley,
I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for giving it a try!! Sorry to hear about the chicken. Next time I would make sure the chicken isn’t too thin or try using chicken thighs. xxT
Absolutely delicious! I made this the other night and my husband said I should serve this when we have friends over for dinner. The shallots, mustard and apple cider vinegar set it apart from anything I’ve made before. I used the cider as per your suggestion and we both thought it was delicious but it had a bit of a “tang”. I think next time I might use half chicken broth and half cider to see which we prefer best. Thank you for sharing with us!
Hey Jennifer,
Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a go, I love to hear that it was a winner!! xTieghan
Oh my gosh! I just realized I used apple cider vinegar instead of apple cider! No wonder it had a bit of a tang! LOL! At any rate, we thoroughly enjoyed this recipe and in fact, I am making it again next week for friends and will be sure to use plain old apple cider. Thank you!
Ooops!! I hope it turns out better next time!!
Unfortunately this wasn’t great. I did the slow cooker method and used chicken broth instead of apple cider. I cooked the chicken on high for about 2 hours and it was still pink – maybe because my crockpot is smaller so they were a bit crowded? I was impatient so I took the chicken out and baked it a bit before broiling. The orzo was done in about 35 minutes but there was still a bunch of liquid left so I drained some of that. The chicken texture ended up being perfect and everything looked SO good, I was excited to try – but it had this really weird sour taste. I couldn’t finish it. I wonder if my wine had gone off or something? I did use a wine that wasn’t my favourite, so that could be the problem. I assumed the flavour would mostly cook off but maybe not.
Hi Devon,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, sorry to hear it wasn’t enjoyed. If the chicken was overcrowded in your slow cooker then that is definitely why they didn’t cook. So from there, your orzo wasn’t able to cook correctly. xTieghan
This is one of my absolute favorite recipes! The flavors are incredible! I did the Dutch oven version and the chicken was super tender and delicious. Thank you so much for this amazing recipe Tieghan!
Hey Lauren,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xxT
Clarifying question… is “apple cider” apple Cider vinegar?
Hi Alex,
Nope, you will just want to use apple cider, not vinegar. Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Yes, and white wine is white wine vinegar. Enjoy a nice glass of that with some cheese and crackers.