Giada De Laurentiis’ One-Pan Chicken with Artichokes and Orzo Recipe

When I ran a version of this recipe on Giadzy, the response was through the roof, with commenters noting they especially loved the one-pot convenience of it all. I decided to revisit it, pumping up the Italian flavors even more for a dish that has a different taste in every bite. While the inspiration recipe called for boneless, skinless chicken thighs, here I’m using whole, bone-in thighs because they stay nice and moist and get that gorgeous crispy skin. If you prefer to use boneless thighs or even chicken breasts, be my guest, but take care not to overcook them. —Giada De Laurentiis

One-Pan Chicken with Artichokes and Orzo

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

4 meaty, bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 large shallot, chopped

1 cup orzo

1 (7-ounce) jar oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped

½ cup halved artichoke hearts (canned, jarred, or frozen)

½ cup pitted black olives, such as kalamata

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (1 large lemon)

3 cups baby spinach or baby kale 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350℉. 

In a Dutch oven or ovenproof skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Season the chicken thighs all over with 1 teaspoon of the salt and place skin side down in the pan. Cook until the skin is golden brown and the chicken releases easily from the pan, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside. 

In the same pan, cook the shallot in the rendered fat until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add the orzo and cook, stirring until the orzo is slightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, olives, oregano, broth, lemon juice and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt and stir to combine. Nestle the chicken thighs, along with any juices, back into the pan skin side up so they are about half submerged. 

Transfer the pan to the oven and bake uncovered until the orzo is tender and the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Turn off the oven.

Stir the spinach into the hot pasta and return the pan to the still-warm oven, uncovered, until the greens have wilted, 3 or 4 minutes. Serve directly from the pan.

Excerpted from Super-Italian by Giada De Laurentiis. Copyright © 2025 by Giada De Laurentiis. Used by permission of Rodale Books, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.