Chicken and Shrimp Orzo Paella Recipe

Name: Chicken and Shrimp Orzo Paella
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs; olive oil for saute; 8 jumbo gulf shrimp peeled and deveined; 12 small clams washed (littlenecks or pasta clams, optional); 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (or regular paprika); 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves; 1/2 teaspoon sea salt; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 2 tablespoons flour; 1 small onion diced; 1 large red bell pepper diced; 4 stalks of celery diced; 2 cloves garlic sliced; 1 1/2 cups orzo (or whole wheat orzo); 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes in juice (organic); 1 cup chicken broth; pinch of saffron threads; 2 tablespoon cilantro finely chopped

August 28, 2018 by Chef Dennis Littley 42 Comments

You'll love my healthy and delicious Chicken and Shrimp Orzo Paella. Not only is this restaurant style dish easy to make it can be on your table in minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

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My Chicken and Shrimp Orzo Paella could be on your dinner table tonight. It’s easy to make, healthy and delicious! So what are you waiting for?

The combination of these flavors with a subtle hint of saffron, the smokiness of the paprika, and the hint of oregano add a lot to this dish. And the holy trinity of veggies, onions, peppers, and celery paired with garlic and tomatoes make it even more delicious!

What Ingredients do you need to make Orzo Paella?

Let’s start by gathering our ingredients for my Shrimp and Chicken Orzo Paella. In chef speak this is called the mise en place. All you need is a few ingredients and you’re ready to get cooking. I did add clams to my version and forgot to add them into this pic, but they are optional.

How do I cook Orzo Paella?

You can personalize this dish using just chicken and adding sausage. Including more seafood as I did with the clams is also a good option. You can also substitute the Orzo with Whole Wheat Orzo, white or Brown Rice or any of your favorite grains.

I hope you enjoyed this not so classical orzo paella recipe. It’s one of my Restaurant Style Dishes that you can prepare faster than picking up takeout in your own home tonight at a fraction of the cost of dining out at your favorite restaurant.

What is Orzo?

My friends are always asking me what is Orzo? Orzo (also known as risoni) is a form of short-cut pasta, shaped like a large grain of rice. In Italian orzo literally translates to barley.

Here are some other recipes you may like:

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4.84 from 12 votes

Chicken and Shrimp Orzo Paella

You'll love my healthy and delicious Chicken and Shrimp Orzo Paella. Not only is this restaurant style dish easy to make it can be on your table in minutes

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Entree

Cuisine: Spanish

Keyword: easy recipes, paella

Servings:

Calories: 853kcal

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
olive oil for saute
8 jumbo gulf shrimp peeled and deveined
12 small clams washed littlenecks or pasta clams, optional
1 teaspoon smoked paprika or regular paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons flour
1 small onion diced
1 large red bell pepper diced
4 stalks of celery diced
2 cloves garlic sliced
1 1/2 cups orzo or whole wheat orzo
15 ounce can of diced tomatoes in juice organic
1 cup chicken broth
pinch of saffron threads
2 tablespoon cilantro finely chopped

Instructions

mix flour with smoked paprika, oregano, sea salt and black pepper
dredge chicken thighs in seasoning mix coating both sides fully
heat pan over medium high heat and add olive oil
saute chicken thighs in pan 2 minutes per side to get good color
remove chicken from pan and add additional olive oil
add peppers, onions, celery and garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes
add shrimp into the veggie mixture for a minute to cook partially then remove shrimp from the pan
add orzo, tomatoes, chicken stock and saffron and mix well cook for 2 minutes stirring well so orzo doesn't stick
add chicken thighs and clams on top of mixture, turn heat down to low and allow to cook fully (10 minutes)
at about 7 minutes into the cooking add shrimp to the pan and replace the lid
stir mixture together as needed to ensure the orzo doesn't stick to the pan
Plate up your masterpiece and serve
*make sure not to have heat too high

Nutrition

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About Chef Dennis

Chef Dennis is a semi-retired Chef, writer/blogger, photographer, recipe developer and creator of A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis aka Ask Chef Dennis®. Chef Dennis worked professionally in White Table Cloth Restaurants for 40 years and has been developing easy to make, restaurant-style recipes since 2009. The second phase of his reinvention from chef to blogger has earned him a place at the Worlds Dinner Table. Join him on his Culinary Journey enjoying his easy to make Restaurant Style recipes and travel adventures. For more details, check out his About page.

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