Perk up basic chicken breast and whole-wheat orzo with the vibrant flavors of the Mediterranean, like lemon and olives. This load-and-go recipe makes a complete and satisfying meal; just add a green salad.

Slow-Cooker Chicken & Orzo with Tomatoes & Olives

chicken

chicken broth

tomatoes,

onion,

lemon

herbes de Provence

salt

½ teaspoon ground pepper

orzo

olives

parsley

Cut each chicken breast half into 4 pieces. Combine the chicken, broth, tomatoes, onion, lemon zest, lemon juice, herbes de Provence, salt and pepper in a 6-quart slow cooker. Cook on High for 1 hour, 30 minutes or on Low for 3 hours, 30 minutes. Stir in orzo and olives; cover and cook until the orzo is tender, about 30 minutes more. Let cool slightly. Sprinkle with parsley before serving. &nbsp;


Very good! I added a tsp of salt free seasoning (like Mrs Dash) along with the other seasonings and zest of half a lemon and juice of a whole lemon.  It seemed a lot soupier than a chicken breast with a side of pasta, so I shredded the chicken and served it as a soup. I cooked everything, except the orzo, in a slow cooker on low for 4 hours and added the orzo, separately cooked on the stovetop, just before serving.  It was perfect. Light and tasty. Next time, I plan to add zucchini and yellow squash.

I kept all of the ingredients the same and added zucchini.  Not liking how food turns to mush in a slow cooker, I used a braising pan and baked it at 300 for about an hour.  The zucchini, olives and orzo were added in the last 15 minutes. The chicken was amazingly tender and the flavors blended well.  This is a keeper.

Like other reviewers here, 1) I found the orzo to get very pasty/mushy if left in the cooker even just a little too long, and 2) would prefer to season and brown the chicken first. The texture would be so much better.  I think this recipe would work better if assembled in a skillet, adding cooked orzo at the end rather than letting it soak. It's too hard to stop the progress when left in a slow cooker. I also added a sprinkle of feta on top to give a little more zip.

Unlike many of the reviewers I didn't swap or change anything ("I was out of pasta so I put in a cinnamon roll") lol.  Would def. sear chicken in a skillet before putting in crockpot - texture of slow cooked chicken was offputting.  Recipe's biggest flaw (and the source of many of the comments) is the one time fits all for the orzo.  It can't be 30 mins at  high AND low.  If you are on high I'm guessing that's the source of the mushy orzo.  Should be 15 mins on High or 30 on low. Probably won't make again.

This was really good and really easy to make. I only had a red onion, which was still delicious, and regular orzo. I used my slow cooker on high and tested the chicken at about 1:30 and it was already cooked through. So I put the orzo in for the last 20 min and then I turned off the slow cooker and left everything in with the lid off for another 10 min ( so a total of 2 hours cooking) and the orzo was just overdone for me. 

Might only do 10 min on and 10 min off for the orzo next time and add some spinach in the end!

We thought theses flavors were delicious. I made this following the recipe with the exception of using a can of petite diced tomatoes. The chicken was tender, the orzo was cooked perfectly, and the only thing I didn’t have which I will definitely have next time is some olive bread.  I also want to try adding spinach just before serving. I will definitely be making this again!

Will make this again. Easy! I used a can of diced tomatoes &amp; 1/2cup of quinoa since I didn’t have orzo on hand. I added the quinoa about an hour before we ate. Also garnished with crumbled feta. Husband liked it.

I prepped this in the slow cooker bowl (minus the orzo and olives) the night before. Pulled it out and cooked it for 4.5 hours (extra 30 to take the chill off the bowl from being in the fridge).  I was light on the lemon as others suggested and I sprinkled feta as a garnish!  I will double this recipe when I make it again because we didn't have any leftovers.

This was tasty and we will make it again. We used a can of diced tomatoes instead of fresh. I also subbed two tablespoons of capers for the olives. We couldn't find whole wheat orzo at our grocery store so ended up with regular orzo, still, the recipe turned out great.

I did mine in the instant pot. I’m new to the instant pot so I did the orzo on the stove and then added it to the chicken mixture once it was done in the instant pot. I used all the ingredients in the recipe except I substituted the tomatoes with a can of petite diced tomatoes. I added everything except the orzo to the instant pot and pressure cooked for 8 minutes. Slow released then stirred in the cooked orzo. Everything turned out great. Lemon flavor was perfect except the chicken was a little dry. I used a little less than a pound of chicken will try 6 minutes in the instant pot next time.

Nice!  Cut time down to 2.5 hours on high.  Cut lemon juice down to 1/2 teaspoon.  Cut the olives and used split chicken breasts (bone it/skin on).  Did not give it 5 stars as the orzo was mushy after 1/2 hour in the cooker.

Made this recipe with chicken thighs (skin off, bone in) 3 tablespoons of lime juice and used a can of tomatoes -- no other changes. Cooked everything in a deep pot on stove on high, uncovered and then added arborio rice and cooked for another 20 minutes on high,  stirring every few minutes. Had with a side salad of tomatoes, cucumber and salad leaves with olive oil, tablespoon of red wine winegar and salt. It was a very tasty and filling dinner. Thanks for a lovely recipe.

We loved it!  I didnt use the spice called for and I used a can of diced tomatoes and a can of chicken broth. Cooked on low 8 hrs. Very flavorful, the lemon was definitely more than a hint, but not so strong that I would consider backing off of it. I'll be making it again

I think this dish could have been really good - but the lemon was extremely over-powering. Definitely reduce the amount of lemon if making.

This recipe is full of flavor. I cooked mine on low for four hours and the chicken came out perfect and falling apart. i would reduce the amount of lemon. I would keep the zest but only use half a lemon for juice.

As another reviewer suggested, I would decrease the cooking time slightly. We really liked the flavors of this recipes and will make it again

Was a miss for us. Very dry. Cooking time needs to be reduced. The olives seemed out of place and I love olives. Disappointed.

I used thighs instead of breasts and my chicken was deliciously moist, even though I let it cook on low for 8 hours. I put everything in the crock before I went to work and had dinner waiting for me. Yum! I used Kalamata olives, which were great in it, and did not add orzo, but rather served the dish over polenta I whipped up in 20 minutes. Great dish, and I will make it again!

It was good.  Had a lot of flavor.  My kids were divided, and I think it was because of the olives ( I used green).  Definitely don’t overcook.  I made it on high for 2 hours.  Next time I will probably use bone in breasts to keep moisture.  Overall, a tasty recipe!

Perk up basic chicken breast and whole-wheat orzo with the vibrant flavors of the Mediterranean, like lemon and olives.

slow-cooker chicken & orzo with tomatoes & olives

Total: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Author : Carolyn Casner

Ingredients

Instructions

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