An incredible skillet dinner that’s too good not to re-share.
This one pan chicken meatball pesto orzo is packed with your favorite basil pesto cooked right in the meatballs and orzo. The meatballs get perfectly juicy from shredded zucchini, which adds an easy boost of veggies, too! Golden, tender mushrooms add a wonderful savory element, and the whole dish gets topped with glorious, melty mozzarella cheese.
Just LOOK at that epic cheese pull. This one’s great for customizing and boosting the veggies, and is the perfect meal for busy weeks that the whole family will love.
Ingredients in this chicken meatball pesto orzo
This incredible one pan pesto orzo with chicken meatballs is bursting with savory flavors and packed with nutritious veggies and protein. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- For the meatballs: the pesto chicken meatballs are made with lean ground chicken, a whole shredded zucchini for extra moisture and a boost of veggies, panko bread crumbs, an egg, basil pesto, lemon zest, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- For the mushrooms: we’ll also be cooking down some mushrooms with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh garlic.
- For the orzo: you’ll cook the orzo in low sodium chicken broth, milk, more basil pesto, lemon juice & zest, salt, Italian seasoning, and melty mozzarella cheese.
- To garnish: top this beautiful pan with fresh basil, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and red pepper flakes for a little heat.
Make this baked pesto orzo your own
There are a few simple additions and swaps you can make in this pesto chicken orzo to customize it:
- Go vegetarian. Feel free to skip the meatballs and start at step 5 to make a lovely baked pesto orzo with mushrooms! Add a can of chickpeas for an extra boost of protein.
- Choose a new protein. You could also cube and sear chicken breast, or add sliced, cooked chicken sausage, ground, cooked Italian sausage, or even a can of tuna.
- Add extra veggies. Get even more veggies in by cooking sliced zucchini, spinach, or bell pepper in with the mushrooms.
Can I make it gluten free?
Sure! Simply use gluten free orzo or your favorite gluten free short pasta, and use gluten free bread crumbs in the meatballs.
Pick your pesto
You can feel free to use your favorite store-bought pesto, but I think my Cilantro Pistachio Pesto would be amazing in this baked orzo recipe! When choosing a pesto brand be sure to check the label in case you need this dish to be nut free.
How to make this one pan chicken meatball pesto orzo
- Form the meatballs. You’ll start by shredding your zucchini, squeezing out all of the moisture with a paper towel or cheesecloth, and mixing it with the rest of the meatball ingredients. Use clean hands to form 16 golf ball-sized meatballs.
- Brown the meatballs. Add olive oil to a deep oven-safe skillet and brown your meatballs in batches, placing them on a plate once they’re done browning.
- Cook the mushrooms. In the same skillet, cook your mushrooms in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, then stir in the fresh garlic.
- Cook the orzo. Stir the chicken broth into the pan, then stir in the milk, pesto, lemon juice and zest, orzo, and seasonings. Bring the orzo to a simmer, then nestle the meatballs in the pan and transfer it to the oven to fully cook. Remove it from the oven, top with mozzarella, and bake again for 5 minutes.
- Garnish & serve. Once the cheese is nice and bubbly, garnish with fresh basil, parmesan, and red pepper flakes, then dig in!
Make the meatballs ahead of time
You can easily prep these pesto chicken meatballs 1 day ahead of time so that all you have to do is brown them and cook them with the orzo the next day. Simply mix and form the meatballs, then place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Tightly cover the meatballs with plastic wrap and place them in the fridge until you are ready to cook them.
Storing tips
Store any leftover pesto orzo with chicken meatballs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days. Simply reheat in the microwave.
More one pan meals
- Bright & Herby Lemongrass Chicken Green Curry
- Sweet and Spicy Gochujang Chicken Bowls
- Sheet Pan Herby Lemon Garlic Chicken and Potatoes
- One Pan Tomato Basil Baked Orzo
- One Pan Lightened Up Hamburger Helper
Get all of my one pan meals here!
I hope you love this chicken meatball pesto orzo recipe! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
One Pan Baked Pesto Orzo with Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
- For the meatballs:
- 1 small to medium zucchini
- 1 pound 93% lean ground chicken (or turkey)
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs, gluten free if desired
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons your favorite basil pesto
- Zest from 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Optional: ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- For the mushrooms:
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound baby bella mushrooms (or a mix of mushrooms of choice), coarsely chopped
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- For the creamy pesto orzo:
- 2 ½ cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup milk of choice (I recommend whole milk or 2%)
- ⅓ cup your favorite basil pesto
- 1 pound uncooked orzo*
- Zest from 1 lemon
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon italian seasoning
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- To garnish:
- ¼ cup fresh julienned basil
- Freshly grated/shredded Parmesan cheese
- Red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Shred the zucchini: Use a cheese grater to shred your zucchini. Measure out 1 heaping cup of shredded zucchini, then place shredded zucchini in a paper towel or cheese cloth and squeeze out ALL of the moisture/water. This is very important! Transfer shredded zucchini to a large bowl and discard the excess zucchini water.
- Form the meatballs: In the large bowl with the shredded zucchini, add the ground chicken, breadcrumbs, egg, basil pesto, lemon zest, italian seasoning, garlic powder, red pepper flakes (if using), kosher salt and black pepper. Use clean hands to mix until well-incorporated and form into 16 golf ball sized meatballs. (You can make the meatballs up to 1 day in advance. Place meatballs on a large plate or baking sheet lined with parchment paper, then cover well with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until ready to cook.)
- Cook the meatballs: Place a large deep oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat and add in olive oil. Add the meatballs and brown on all sides. This should only take about 6 minutes total. Do not worry about cooking them all the way through, they will finish cooking in the oven. You may need to do this in batches, depending on how many meatballs you can fit in your skillet without overcrowding them. When the meatballs are done browning, transfer them to a plate and set aside. Keep the heat in the pan.
- Cook the mushrooms: Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and then add in the mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Stir occasionally until all liquid absorbs and mushrooms have cooked down and start to turn brown and caramelize on the edges, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.
- Cook the orzo: Slowly add the chicken broth to the pan while scraping up any yummy bits from the bottom of the pan, then stir in the milk, basil pesto, lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir in the orzo, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and Italian seasoning until well combined. Bring mixture to a gentle simmer. Nestle the meatballs on top of the orzo then immediately transfer to the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the orzo is cooked. Remove from the oven, sprinkle mozzarella cheese all over the top and bake for 5 more minutes or until the cheese is melted and slightly golden brown in places. Remove from the oven and top with fresh julienned basil, parmesan cheese and extra red pepper flakes, if desired.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
Not a mushroom fan. Any suggestions for a substitution?
Feel free to leave them out!
Delicious! My son requested this be added to our rotation. Only change – used ground turkey instead of chicken (just what is easy to buy in bulk), used skim milk (what we have on hand) and son declared it plenty creamy, and didn’t add mozzarella to the top – don’t think we missed it! Plan on making more meatballs and just freezing them tomorrow!
Perfect! Glad it was a hit – and great idea to freeze some meatballs for later.
So good…..loved the flavor combos. I realized last minute I only had about half of the orzo I needed so mixed in some pearled couscous. The cooking time was the same for both and it turned out perfect.
Great swap! Glad you loved it!
Couldn’t wait to try this and OH MY GOODNESS!!! This was mouth watering, going back for seconds GOOD!! My kids devoured it as well and I have some picky teens!! This will definitely be made again and again!!
Amazing!! So happy to hear that!
Solid recipe! Made meatballs earlier in the day which helped speed up cooking. Was very tasty, satisfying and comforting. Meatballs are very moist – yum! I served with green beans, which resulted in a lot of leftovers that held up beautifully.. Our family of 4 got two meals out of this!
Love that! Great idea to make the meatballs earlier, and love the addition of green beans.
This is my first time making a recipe from AK, and I was not disappointed. I loved the combination of flavor and it was so easy and quick. The only thing that was a little bit of a struggle were the meatballs, browning them had the first few fall apart, but I also had to use 96 lean. This is such a comforting delicious meal, while still have veg.
So glad you loved this one! I recommend using a 93-94% lean so that they stay together a bit better, but happy to hear this still turned out.
Really delicious. I added some chopped spinach before putting in the oven as it needed to be used and added some greens. Will definitely be making again!
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
Another amazing AK recipe! Delicious flavors. A bit of a labor of love but so worth it. The meatballs were juicy, the pesto and mushrooms added such a great depth of flavor and the lemon beautifully brightened the whole thing up.
The perfect dinner! Glad you loved it 🙂
We enjoyed this, but it was a tad heavy on the pesto for my taste. Will make again, but reduce the amount of pesto added to the orzo – perhaps we just had a really strong pesto as it was made fresh. (I realize this is a pesto based recipe – it was just too much/overwhelming for me personally)
The meatballs were delicious and the lemon zest is a very nice addition.
I will also try making it with an additional vegetable. The mushrooms were amazing – I’d like to try maybe with some fresh tomato added.
Thanks Monique for another great dinner rotation recipe. 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it regardless! Yes, feel free to reduce the pesto a bit to your liking 🙂
Made this for dinner tonight. My husband said it was a “million dollar” meal. The lemon zest added such a nice zip and the meatballs were moist and juicy. Lots of good pesto flavor and oh the baby Bella mushroom flavor. Well I just can’t say enough about how wonderful this dish was. Followed the instructions almost exact except I was out of garlic (didn’t miss it) and used Parmesan Romano on top because that was all I had. Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Amazing! So glad you both enjoyed.
THIS RECIPE IS A WINNER! Sooo good!! It earns a 10/10 from me and my family! I did have to substitute 3/4 of the milk for heavy cream. It’s so incredibly delicious.
Love that!! One of our new favs, too 🙂
This was so yummy! It is super low effort and high reward. The perfect dinner for one with leftovers or for a whole family! Monique is the “meatball lady” in my house and praise be she is!
Absolutely! I’m all about the meatballs haha 🙂
I can’t express how much my husband and I loved this dish (he requested we eat it every week…). I added in spinach for some extra veggies! Delish!
Amazing! So happy to hear that!
Easy. Delicious. Not a single complaint! Will absolutely be making this again.
So happy to hear that!
This was delicious! The lemon zest truly takes it up a notch. I used the DeLallo GF orzo but reduced chicken broth to 2 cups since it is only 12 oz of pasta. Turned out great!
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
Comfort food at its finest! Want to make it again already. I used lean ground turkey, agree the meatballs fell apart a little more but I just scraped all the bits in and that was delicious. I’m not a huge fan of mushroom texture but like the taste so I used a food processor to go finely chopped on the pound of baby bella and it was delish, it really cooks down well and blends in seamlessly. I love the idea to add spinach too, maybe next time. Substituted Italian seasoning with 1/2 tsp oregano in meatballs and 1/4-1/2 tsp in orzo and it was great.
Perfect! So glad you loved this one!
*TIP FOR GF PEOPLE* If you are cooking with gluten free orzo you MUST add extra liquid. Maybe up to a cup more. You also need to stir the orzo halfway through in the oven because the gluten free orzo tends to stick together and it won’t bake evenly.
Thanks so much for this tip!! Very good to know!
Hi! This recipe looks great – if I wanted to cook the whole thing on the stove, would I just leave it on for the 10-12 minutes of oven time? Thanks!
Hi! I think that should work 🙂 I might suggest cooking the meatballs all the way through and then continuing with the recipe. Let me know if you give it a try!
Do you bake in the oven with a lid on or no lid? This looks like it will be a huge hit with my family.
It goes in without the lid 🙂 Hope you get a chance to try it!
It’s INSANE how good this meal is. It tastes incredible for how quick and easy it is to prep and make. Wonderful weeknight meal and devoured by adults and kids, alike. The meatballs are out of this world and I would follow the recipe even if I wasn’t making the rest of the dish! Really, really good. Never a miss, Monique!!! 🙂 Thank you!
Right?! The perfect weeknight meal! Glad you loved it 🙂
So so delicious! Super easy to make and the meatballs were so moist, will 100% make again!
So glad you enjoyed!
This is WINNER! My husband and toddler both loved this, and it was a perfect cozy meal with added veggies which I loved. I did have some leftover zucchini after using the amount for the meatballs, so I just shredded up the rest and threw it in with the orzo to use it up. Definitely adding to the weekly meal rotation!
So happy to hear that! Great way to get extra veggies in 🙂
So sorry but just not a fan of this dish. There were so many steps, so many dishes to clean. The flavor was just not there. I was very disappointed due to the multiple steps, ingredients and lackluster taste. We can’t all love the same thing. I will keep trying your recipes.
So sorry to hear that! This one is a bit of a labor of love, but I’m not sure what could’ve gone wrong with the flavor.
Going to try this recipe, sounds delish! Do you cover the pot when you add it into the oven?
It’s so good! And nope, no need to cover the pot 🙂
wow, I am going to try this tonight. thanks
Hope you love it!
One of the best things I’ve made in a long time!! Was pretty easy to make and was absolutely desirous! Definitely will be making again very soon!
So happy to hear that!
Very good! The orzo was very flavorful and yummy and the meatballs were good, though they didn’t stay together very well. An easy dish to make.
So glad you enjoyed! Did the meatballs come out mushy?
Tried this tonight for the first time and it was absolutely delicious. I had a bit of extra shredded zucchini, so I threw that in with the mushrooms, and grated a bit of asiago on top of the dish at the end but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Definitely adding this to my rotation!
Amazing! So glad you loved it!
Made this for dinner last night and it was Amazing!!! My husband and I had to get seconds and talked all night about how good it was.
So happy to hear that!
Absolutely delicious! A hit with the whole family (even my toddler). Thank you for these nutritious, flavor-packed meals!
So happy to hear that! One of our family favs, too 🙂
This was so, so good. The meatballs were a delight, bright and zippy and savoury. We used 93% lean ground turkey and it was perfect, tender and moist. The grated zucchini in brilliant in them, and I topped it with grated gruyere I had some left that needed finishing. I didn’t have Italian seasoning so I subbed with half dried basil and half dried oregano.
My orzo took a little over 20 mins to get cooked to al dente in the oven, before I was able to top with cheese for the final 5 mins, I’m not sure why. I cooked it in an oven-safe skillet placed on top of a sheet pan in case of spills, so possibly that had a little insulating effect. No matter, it was so tasty that it’s definitely going into the rotation. My 4yo who normally eats like a bird cleared his whole plate enthusiastically and kept giving it a “thumbs up” gesture.
With the meatballs shaped the night before, it comes together easily the day of. The finishing time in the oven is perfect for throwing together a salad, setting the table, and pouring a drink. A company worthy dish!
So happy this was a hit with the whole family! Great idea to prep the meatballs beforehand, too 🙂
This recipe is delicious! My orzo took about 15 mins to get fully cooked in the oven. I also ran out of lemon, so I was only able to put zest in the meatballs, and then juice in the orzo, but no zest in orzo, still great flavors! Will make again.
I’m glad you still enjoyed! Such a great dinner 🙂
I took this to a potluck tonight and it was big hit. Several people asked for the recipe. Will definitely make again.
Thank you for sharing this fabulous recipe.
Love that! Glad it was a hit 🙂
A little time-consuming, but easy to follow and so delicious and satisfying.
Really delicious recipe. The orzo is so flavorful and creamy. We had a side green salad and I bought pre made turkey meatballs to save on time. We nixed the mozzarella on top because it really didn’t even need it. Highly recommend!
Perfect! Great swaps to customize 🙂
This is a winner. Great flavors, easy prep and cleanup. We will have this on regular rotation.
The perfect weeknight dinner!
Absolutely delicious. This will be on repeat!
So glad you enjoyed!
Incredible recipe- swapped spinach & sundried tomatoes instead of mushrooms. 10/10 for us!
Love it!!
I made the meatballs with turkey and they are so lemony, fresh, and filling! I even forgot to add an egg to the mixture but they still came out moist. Will try them with the orzo next time- yum!
I’m glad they still turned out well! Such a great dinner 🙂
I’m making this as I write and I’m wondering if coconut milk ( the canned kind) could be subbed for the dairy milk? Can’t wait to taste this delicious looking dish.
I think that should work! Just note that the “sauce” may have a slight sweetness to it.
So good! This is a company meal as well as a family meal. Next time I will add more vegetables, spinach, red bell pepper and peas. Also maybe some calabrian chili peppers instead of the chili flakes.
Absolutely! This one’s great for customizing 🙂
Made this tonight and it was delicious! We used frozen meatballs for convenience and added some frozen veggies. Thank you for sharing this recipe it is so versatile.
So happy to hear that!
We loved this recipe! We skipped the mushrooms and just made extra meatballs. We actually ended up with too many meatballs and used the extra for subs, but I’ll do that on purpose next time because it gave us two totally different meals! We’ll definitely make this again.
A good problem to have! Glad you loved it!
I followed the recipe exactly, including the mushrooms, which I detest. The orzo was hard in the middle and gummy on the exterior and for all the lemon, pesto, and basil in the recipe, there was almost no flavor. We won’t be making this again and will be tossing the inedible remains.
So strange! Was all of the orzo fully submerged in the “sauce” ingredients? I’m not sure how it ended up without any flavor with 2.5 teaspoons of salt, pesto, and seasonings.
I’m gluten-free and used a GF ditalini pasta, as well as almond milk. This was delicious! It makes a bunch – so lots of leftovers (yay!). Definitely will be making this again.
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed!
This was so good! And yes, it’s a labor of love. A weekend dish for us! I also made with GF panko and GF Barilla Orzo (didn’t need extra liquid like one of the reviewers mentioned – perhaps for other GF pastas, you do). Would LOVE to get a link to the oven proof skillet you used for this!! I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect one. Thanks for another great recipe.
So glad it was a hit! Here’s the braiser I use for tons of one pan meals like this one 🙂
I’ve made these a few times and it is absolutely delicious!! Definitely make the meatballs ahead of time if you are time constrained. The whole family loves them, love all the pesto flavor. This was also excellent leftover!
So happy to hear that!
What’s the best make and take method? I’m taking this to a friend’s house, and they likely won’t eat it for 1-2 hours after I make it. I’m thinking I take it up to just before the cheese part, cover it with foil, and let them put the cheese on and bake just before they eat? Amy other considerations so he doesn’t get glued or dry?
Yes, that’s what I would suggest for prepping it and heating/baking it later!
Tasty recipe! A bit laborious, but then I also made my own pesto which upped the effort. But all worth it, so good! I wanted more veg so I added chopped zucchini to the pan with the shrooms, and I didn’t have orzo so I subbed anelli (that I bought for your spaghetti-o recipe!) and it worked swell. Next time I think I’ll add more veg, red pepper, onion, and/or tomato, and skip the mozz (didn’t need it) n stick with parm. The meatballs have an amazing flavor, I think this will go in rotation! Thankee as always!
Love that! This one’s great for customizing 🙂 Glad you enjoyed!
This looks amazing and I am a fan of your recipes! Where I live, I can’t find gluten free orzo. Could I use rice and what other modifications would you make?
Yes, 1 3/4 cups rice should work as a replacement!
Delicious! Pretty easy to put together for a Sunday dinner. Did everything thru cooking mushrooms and then when within 45 minutes of dinner, did the rest. Worked out fine! Keeper recipeQQ
Delicious! Made thru cooking the mushrooms. Then 45 minutes prior to dinner, did the rest. Worked out fine. Keeper recipe.
Perfect! Glad it was a hit!
This looks amazing! I am celiac so need gluten free and cannot find gluten free orzo where I am. Any suggestions how can I make this as a rice based dish rather than orzo?
Yes, 1 3/4 cups of rice should work! Otherwise you could use a gluten-free short pasta (I saw a reader use ditalini with success).
Is that supposed to say 1lb of dry uncooked orzo or 1 cup of dry uncooked orzo?
1lb dry uncooked!
I’ve made this so many times. It slaps. It can easily be a 2 night dinner and it tastes so good left over. Highly recommend.
We’re obsessed with this one!
This was absolutely delicious! I printed the instructions and it couldn’t have been easier to follow along with the recipe. It was very flavorful and can’t wait to make it again!
Perfect!!
I’ve made this recipe twice now and the guys I cook it for have loved it. It’s so delicious and it blesses me to just use my dutch oven. I’m not a mushroom fan so I just totally omitted that part and it was still great!
So happy to hear that!
My husband and kids requested this before I went out of town for the weekend so they could eat the leftovers! It is so delicious! I love everything Ambitious Kitchen has to offer!
Amazing! Perfect family dinner 🙂
Is this a good recipe for postpartum meal prep/freezing? Not sure if it would freeze up well or not?
Hmm I haven’t tested freezing this — I’d just be afraid the texture of the orzo with the cheese might get a bit odd when re-heating. You could absolutely freeze the meatballs ahead of time though!
This was pretty easy even though I hate making meatballs. It was delicious!!