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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.
Here are the details
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.
Now the orzo
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.
And now serve it up!
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!
Check out our How-To Video:
Slow Cooker Mustard Herb Chicken and Creamy Orzo
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 641 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 shallots, quartered
- 1 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc
- 1 cup apple cider or chicken broth (do not use vinegar)
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 cups dry orzo pasta
- 1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli
- 1/3 cup heavy cream or canned full fat coconut milk
- 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
Slow Cooker
- 1. In the bowl of your slow cooker, rub the chicken with the olive oil, mustard thyme, sage, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pour over the wine, cider and lemon juice. Add the shallots. Cover and cook on low for 3- 4 hours or on high for 1-2 hours. 2. Preheat the broiler to high. Remove the chicken from the slow cooker place it on a baking sheet. 3. Crank the heat on the slow cooker to high. Stir in the orzo, broccoli, and 1 cup water. Cover and cook 20-30 minutes, or until the orzo is al dente. If the orzo needs more liquid, add additional water. Stir in the cream and parmesan.4. Place the butter on the chicken, then broil 1-3 minutes, until crisp. Serve the chicken over the orzo. Enjoy!
Instant Pot
- 1. Set the instant pot to sauté. Rub the chicken with the olive oil, mustard thyme, sage, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add the chicken to the instant pot and sear until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Pour in the wine, cider and lemon juice. Add the shallots and butter. Cover and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes.2. Once done cooking, release the steam. Set the Instant pot to sauté. Stir in the orzo, broccoli, and 1 cup water. Cook 6-8 minutes, until the orzo is al dente. Stir in the cream and parmesan.3. Serve the chicken over the orzo. Enjoy!
Stove-Top
- 1. Heat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Rub the chicken with the olive oil, mustard thyme, sage, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add the chicken to the pot and sear until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Reduce the heat to medium. Pour in the wine, cider and lemon juice. Add the shallots and butter. Cover and cook 10 minutes. 2. Stir in the orzo, broccoli, and 1 cup water. Cook, stirring often, another 6-8 minutes, until the orzo is al dente. Stir in the cream and parmesan.3. Serve the chicken over the orzo. Enjoy!
I tried making this tonight and having the chicken breast in while the orzo cooked made it a bit difficulty for the orzo to be covered to cook in the 6-8 min. I ended up taking the chicken out and adding 1/2 a cup of water to allow the orzo to cook fully – about another 6 mins. Was I supposed to take the chicken out before adding the orzo in?
Either way it was delicious!
Hey Sheri,
So glad to hear you enjoyed the flavors here! If it’s easier for you, removing the chicken is perfectly okay:) Thanks again for making this dish! xT
My boyfriend and I enjoyed this recipe! I did it on the stove top, and diced the shallots small so they mixed in with the creamy broccoli & orzo. It is mustardy and you can taste the wine, which is really good but can get sickening if you have a bunch of leftovers and are eating it for days in a row. But that’s just my opinion, and if you have a larger family that probably wouldn’t be an issue. I haven’t made a recipe of yours that I didn’t like. Thanks for always pumping out consistently bangin’ recipes!!
Hey Heather,
Fantastic!! I love that this recipe turned out tasty for you, thanks so much for giving it a try! Thanks for sharing your feedback! xx
Made this tonight for dinner and it was amazing! Didn’t have enough wine so subbed half the wine with chicken broth and also used 1/2 lemon instead of the whole lemon. Loved the orzo and the apple cider flavor, can’t wait to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow
Hey Heather,
Love it!! I truly appreciate you making this dish and sharing your feedback, so glad it was a winner! xTieghan
I usually love HBH recipes (about a dozen are in my regular rotation!) but this one was a miss for me. After following the directions, the chicken was still raw inside (I ended up searing it on the stovetop to finish); the orzo took much longer to cook than the amount of time listed in the recipe; the chunks of shallots are strange to eat because they’re so large and mushy. The broccoli was unevenly cooked – some florets were soft while others were still crunchy. Overall the flavor was too mustard-y for my liking. Granted, I didn’t have thyme or sage in the house so I skipped that step, so maybe the herbs would’ve helped balance the flavor. It wouldn’t have fixed the undercooking issues though.
Did you do this in the slower cooker, stove top or insta pot?
Hey Cat,
Thanks so much for your kind message and making so many recipes! So sorry to hear that this one was not enjoyed. Please let me know if there is anything that I can help with! xT
Made this recipe last night and it was a hit! I used the slow cooker method and made the following modifications – I did use apple cider (the drink, not ACV), but also added a spoonful of Roast Chicken Better than Bouillon to get some of the broth flavor in there also without adding additional liquid. Cooked on low 2 hrs, 45 minutes. Switched to high for 15 minutes before removing the chicken so that liquid would be very hot prior to adding the orzo. Placed chicken (boneless, skinless breast) in a baking dish covered with tin foil while orzo was cooking and waiting to broil with the butter – had no issues with drying out of texture. I tasted the liquid before adding the orzo and it was a bit tart (I did have a large lemon, so might adjust to use 1/2 lemon next time) but I drizzled in a bit of white truffle honey and that balanced it out nicely. Added the orzo, broccoli chopped in to very small pieces, and also 8 oz sliced portabello mushrooms but did NOT add any additional water. Orzo and veggies cooked well on high in about 40 minutes, stirred occasionally. Added a bit more of both cream and parmesan than what was indicated. Will definitely make this again!
Hey Marissa,
Happy Wednesday! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it and sharing your feedback! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you! xx
Scaled back the lemon juice based on other comments and loved the results.
The chicken was flavorful, and the orzo was super creamy. I loaded it with extra veggies (Brussels sprouts, spinach and cherry tomatoes) to clear out my produce drawer, and this recipe adapted well to the fresh additions.
Hey Tristan,
Happy Wednesday! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it and sharing your feedback! xx
I didn’t have the issues the other commenters mentioned. I made the instapot version. The directions aren’t totally clear, but I removed the chicken before cooking the orzo. Next time I will finish the chicken under the broiler to get it a bit crisper and add salt with the orzo.
Hey Rebecca,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe out and sharing your feedback! So glad you enjoyed:) xT
Wasn’t a huge fan. Chicken was good but the orzo mixture had a very funny after taste!
Hi Tiffany,
Hmmm so sorry to hear this!! Was there anything you may have adjusted in the recipe? Please let me know if there is anything that I can help with! xx
Delicious! A definite winner recipe! Easy and my 5 year old even loved it! I used the slow cooker to cook the chicken- I used broth and omitted the lemon (it smelled acidic enough without lemon). My chicken cooked on high for about 2 hours- it was slightly dry, so I might try to cook it on low in the future. I then poured the liquid into a pan and cooked the orzo in the pan with an additional cup water. I have a feeling the leftovers will be even better! Great flavor! This one’s a keeper!
Hey Lisa,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it and sharing your review:)
Made this last night and it was delicious. So excited as it made enough for leftovers! Another winner!
Hey Talia,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it and sharing your review:)
Made this last night and unfortunately it was awful. None of the flavors balanced. It was so tangy. We followed the recipe exactly. Orzo had awful texture and the broccoli tasted funky. Chicken was rather flavorless. Definitely bummed. It makes a ton of food and we were looking forward to the leftovers.
Hi Lisa,
Happy Monday!! I am so sorry to hear that this recipe did not turn out well for you! Please let me know if I can help in any way! xT
This recipe doesn’t work and tastes pretty off. I followed the recipe and only substituted chicken broth for Apple cider. Oroz pasta doesn’t work and gets gummy. Chicken breast gets too dry, even though I removed mine and added it back into crockpot. The broccoli goes funky and I barely had mine in for 30 minutes. Flavor is wrong and is sickly!! My family hated it and I hate wasting food but it was Undateable! I even tried to fix it but it eventually went into the trash. Such a waste especially with food coats
Hi Sheri,
So sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy this recipe! Please let me know if there is anything that I can help with! xT
Tieghan, thanks for your reply. I tried to fix it and added more liquid like it suggests as well as adding more cream and Parmesan but it still didnt help. The acidity was off. I only added half the lemon bc my family isn’t big on that flavor. So I’m not sure what else I could have done but non the less I’m a big fan and love your cookbooks thanks
I just tried this recipe and it was delicious! I think the Parmesan cheese and the heavy cream was the final touch that really balanced all the flavors.
Hey Suzanne,
Amazing!! I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed this dish, thanks so much for making it! xT
This recipe turned out delicious! I was worried the orzo was gummy for a bit. However, in the end I got it to come out like a risotto. I switched up and used chicken thighs, kale and roasted delicate squash. Let me tell you it was great for fall.
Hi Jen,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it and sharing your review:)
I followed this recipe precisely until I tasted it at the end – I used apple
Cider and had to “juge” the flavor to make it palatable – I understand what some of the other commenters were explaining and agree on the sweetness/acidity. However it was redeemable with some additional spices and cheese, also used aged cheddar in addition to the parm. I would highly recommend using the cider as an ingredient…stick with the broth and this is a hit!
Hey JJ,
Happy Monday!! 🍁 Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for making it! xT
Wasn’t a huge fan of this one unfortunately :(. Didn’t wow like so many of your other recipes
Hi Olivia,
So sorry to hear that this recipe was not enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! xT
I had trouble with this one too – seemed as though the juice of 1 lemon was way too much (tasted overwhelmingly like lemon). Probably will not try again (too many other delicious sounding HBH recipes to attempt!) but would suggest using the juice of just half a lemon to others. I followed the Dutch oven instructions and the chicken and orzo themselves cooked great for what it’s worth (I had to cook broccoli separate due to my child’s tastes and serve on the side).
Hi Polly,
Thanks so much for giving this dish a try and sharing your feedback! So sorry to hear it was not enjoyed, please let me know if there is anything that I can help with! xT