Chicken Meatballs with Creamy Mushroom Orzo is one of our new favorite comfort food dinners. Juicy, homemade chicken meatballs tucked inside a creamy marsala flavored orzo with mushrooms that will warm you from the inside out.
Why We Love This Creamy Mushroom Orzo Recipe
When we’re looking for a comfort food meal that doesn’t take all day to make, we often turn to recipes like this creamy mushroom orzo with chicken meatballs. This orzo recipe has all the comfort food feels without taking too long to make – you can even take a short cut to get it on the table faster!
- Cozy & comforting: With homemade juicy chicken meatballs tucked inside a creamy, mushrooms orzo you can’t really go wrong. It’s an all-in-one-meal that’s incredibly satisfying.
- Adaptable to your liking: If mushrooms aren’t your thing, you can swap them out with different vegetables like asparagus, broccoli or peas and carrots.
How To Make
Step by step photos here with brief instructions. For complete directions, scroll down to the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Brown sliced mushrooms in a large skillet with onions. Deglaze with marsala wine and then add uncooked orzo. Toast the orzo for two minutes, stirring in with the vegetables.
- Pour chicken broth into the skillet, stir and simmer for 10 minutes. Add cream and parmesan cheese and then return the chicken meatballs to the skillet. Cook for another 5 minutes until the orzo is tender.
Can I Use Marsala Cooking Wine?
We prefer using real marsala wine for the best flavor. Cooking wine is a shelf stable, low quality wine that’s treated with salt and preservatives. So not really the best flavor, and is much higher in sodium content so it would make the overall dish too salty.
If you don’t normally cook with real marsala wine, give it a try! It’s usually about 10 dollars (or less) and it lasts about 6 months in the refrigerator after opening. If you’re making lots of our favorite marsala recipes like our Creamy Chicken Marsala or this cozy Chicken Marsala Baked Ziti, you’ll go through it in no time!
Ingredient Substitutions
If you’re looking to make a swap out or two, we’ve got you covered here! While we think this creamy mushroom orzo is perfection as it is, sometimes you have to use what’s on hand.
- Instead of mushrooms: If you don’t have mushrooms or don’t like them, you can use cut up asparagus, broccoli, peas and carrots or spinach. Those ingredients won’t need as long of a cooking time as the mushrooms, so adjust accordingly.
- Instead of orzo: You can use ditlaini or broken spaghetti.
- If you don’t feel like making the meatballs: We love our homemade chicken meatballs, and they really don’t take much time to make, but if you’re short on time buy frozen from the store. You can even use beef meatballs instead.
- If you don’t have marsala wine: We urge you to go and get some for the most amazing orzo you’ve ever tasted, but if you can’t then substitute with white wine or beef broth.
Storing and Reheating
This mushroom orzo reheats really well, we love enjoying the leftovers if there are any. The orzo will soak up some of the cream and broth after sitting in the refrigerator, so if you like you can add a splash of broth or cream when you reheat it.
Store the orzo in an air tight container in the refrigerator so it doesn’t dry out. You can keep leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. We don’t recommend freezing this recipe, so try to enjoy it before then!
Here’s a Few More Cozy Dinner Recipes
- Slow Cooker Chicken Stroganoff
- Crock Pot Smothered Pork Chops
- Spinach and Beef Orzo
- Bacon and Pea Ditalini
- One Pot Chicken Orzo
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Chicken Meatballs With Creamy Mushroom Orzo
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeThis recipe is a cozy, comfort food dinner is sure to become a favorite. Juicy chicken meatballs tucked in a creamy, mushroom orzo that’s a meal all in one! Use our chicken meatball recipe here or buy frozen meatballs if you’re short on time.
Ingredients
For the chicken meatballs: This is our chicken meatball recipe, but the original recipe makes double this amount so we’ve listed the ingredients and instructions here. You can also take a short cut and grab meatballs from the store!
- 1 pound ground chicken (we like using 97% lean)
- 1/2 medium onion, grated
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
For the orzo:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 10 ounce package (white or brown) button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/2 cup marsala wine (not cooking wine)
- 1 1/3 cups orzo
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Add the ingredients for the meatballs into a large bowl and mix to combine. Portion the meatballs out using a 1 1/2 tablespoon scooper (a little smaller than a golf ball) onto a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. After the meatballs are portioned out, spray your hands with the cooking spray (or use a little oil) and roll the meatballs into a smooth shape. Bake for 15 minutes, until the centers are no longer pink.
- While the meatballs are cooking, add the oil to a large, deep skillet. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes, stirring. You want the mushrooms to get slightly browned, so don’t skip on the 10 minute cooking time. Add the garlic and the orzo to the skillet, stir and let the orzo toast for 2 minutes.
- Add the salt and pepper, then pour in the marsala wine. Simmer for 2 minutes to reduce the wine and then pour in the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring once or twice so the orzo doesn’t stick.
- Pour in the cream, add the parmesan cheese and stir. Add the chicken meatballs to the skillet, stir to combine and cook over low heat for 5 minutes until the meatballs are warmed through and the orzo is tender. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.
Recipe Notes
Store: Store leftover orzo in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Reheat: Reheat leftovers in the microwave until warmed through. You can also add a splash of cream or chicken broth if you want the sauce to loosen up.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven / Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
