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 to 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:
Chicken and Shrimp Orzo Paella
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
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ 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 ½ 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 the mixture, turn the 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 the 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 the heat too high
Paula Montenegro says
What a gorgeous dish, so flavorful! It’s like a sophisticated version of arroz con pollo. I’m definitely making it this week. Thanks for sharing.
Jo says
Paella looks absolutely delicious! I can imagine the wonderful flavors in it. It looks perfect and I love how simple and perfect this chicken and shrimp paelle looks.
UMA says
I like to make restaurant-style food at home. This looks easy and the procedure is neat. Definitely passing this recipe to my friend who loves paella.
Marisa F. Stewart says
This is just the type of recipe I love to prepare on the weekends. A little exotic but not so much so that the ingredients are difficult to find. I have saffron in my spice cabinet waiting for me. I also like the use of orzo instead of rice. This recipe is perfect for the week between Christmas and New Years.
Veronika says
This is a perfect comforting meal to enjoy these cold nights! Thanks for all the tips and tricks to make the process easier. I will definitely make it soon!)
Danielle says
Now this is the paella to make over the holidays! Delicious combination of shrimp and chicken must make it an unforgettable experience! Can’t wait to recreate this recipe at home.
Kelly Anthony says
If paella is on the menu in a restaurant I always order it. I can’t wait to make this quick and easy at-home version.
Leslie says
Love this Restaurant style recipe here! It’s pure heaven! Great flavors and easy to make. It’s perfect!
Amy H says
Wow! This looks so good! And the recipe looks pretty straightforward to follow.
Fatima Torres says
Paella has always been on my go-to dishes! I love this combination. Worth giving it a try sometime.
Rika Livingston says
I love Paella and seafood! This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try the recipe.
Star Traci says
Wow! My family might start thinking I am a real cook with this dish, It looks amazing,
Victoria says
OMG this looks amazing. Chicken and shrimp are freezer staples of mine, so I bet I could pull this off this week lol.
Lynndee says
We always enjoy a good paella, but it’s been a while since I prepared one here at home. I will have to make one again and I’m going to follow your recipe this time.
Rena says
This looks amazing! I didn’t know what orzo was either so thanks for the explanation. I would definitely add some sausage just because I love the taste of Chicken/shrimp/sausage.