Boursin Orzo Bake with Chicken and Veggies
Creamy and cheesy but balanced and nutrient-dense, this Boursin orzo bake is a main course the whole family will love. It is packed with fall flavors like roasted garlic and sweet potatoes, balanced with lean chicken breast and nutritious spinach and all wrapped up in a silky Boursin cheese sauce.
Erica’s Notes
Hoooo baybay this is a good one! So, if you have my first cookbook, I have a very similar recipe to this one, but with butternut squash instead of sweet potato. I just couldn’t stay away from this easy dinner and felt it needed a permanent spot on the blog.
A note on this ‘orzo bake’. I do know that many recipes call for the orzo to be cooked IN the oven with the veggies and cheese with a liquid like vegetable or chicken stock. I’ll be honest, I have a hard time with those style of recipes as I think that 1) the veggies always end up way overcooked and 2) the pasta never cooks evenly.
SO, almost everything gets roasted in the same pan, but we use a small pan to boil the orzo separately. And instead of broth, we use starchy pasta water, which has a wonderful flavor (make sure to salt it) and has the added bonus of containing pasta starch that helps thicken the sauce.
Even my pickiest eaters gobbled this up! AND tip: if you do have picky eaters and want to make this family-friendly- you can pull aside the separate components (orzo, sweet potato, cooked chicken) to serve separately if your kiddo doesn’t like things mixed.
This Boursin orzo bake is reminiscent of baked feta pasta, a viral recipe that went wild on the internet a few years ago (for good reason). It is versatile, filling, nutritious, delicious and requires minimal effort. The overall taste is superb and so perfect for a cozy dinner. Thank you Boursin for being so delicious. 🤘🏼🧀🧄
Simple Ingredients You’ll Need
Chicken breast: boneless, skinless chicken breast adds quality, lean protein to this Boursin cheese orzo. You could also use chicken tenderloins or boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
Sweet potato: use any variety of sweet potato you like, or a different type of winter squash like butternut or delicata.
Garlic: since we are roasting the garlic, you’ll want to make sure you use whole, unpeeled garlic cloves otherwise it will dry out.
Olive oil: extra virgin olive oil provides moisture and flavor for the roasted veggies, chicken and cheese. Find it in that baking aisle with the other oils and vinegar at any regular grocery store.
Seasonings: the seasonings are very simple for this recipe as we let the flavors of garlic, sweet potato and Boursin cheese shine. You’ll need sea salt or kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper and an Italian seasoning blend. A tsp oregano and/or basil will work if you don’t have Italian seasoning.
Boursin cheese: Boursin cheese is a soft, creamy and flavorful French cheese typically blended with herbs, garlic and spices. I always get the 3-pack from Costco because it’s the best price there. I used garlic and fine herb Boursin for this dish.
Orzo: orzo is a small rice-shaped pasta. You can find it in the pasta aisle of any grocery store.
Spinach: fresh baby spinach is an easy way to add a pop of color, nutrition and balance! You fold it right in at the end; no extra cooking time required.
Parmesan cheese: a sprinkle of parmesan cheese adds the final slightly salty, cheesy finish.
How to Make this Boursin Orzo Bake
Give the sweet potatoes and garlic a head start
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a large baking dish. Trim the root end of the garlic cloves off but leave the peel on. If you take the clove out the peel it will dry out. Trimming the root end off allows you to easily squeeze out the garlic after its been roasted.
Place the sweet potato cubes and garlic cloves in the prepared dish and drizzle with half the olive oil, ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, using your hands to toss until everything is well coated. Roast for 20 minutes.
Add the chicken and Boursin cheese
Cube the chicken, pat it dry with a paper towel and season with remaining ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper and remaining teaspoon of Italian seasoning. At this time, you can also bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.
Remove the casserole dish from the oven, and scooch the sweet potatoes and garlic over to make room for the cheese and chicken. Place Boursin cheese in the center of the baking dish and add the cubed chicken to the opposite side from the sweet potatoes. Give everything another splash of olive oil and return the dish to the oven for 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and everything is slightly golden brown.
Boil the orzo
Add uncooked orzo to the boiling water and cook according to the package instructions, usually around 9-11 minutes, until al dente. Using a liquid measuring cup, save at least 1 ½ cups of starchy pasta water during the final minute of cooking time.
Mix it all up
Drain the orzo. Take cooked chicken, Boursin and veggies from the oven. Squeeze the garlic cloves from their peels and use a fork to smash the roasted garlic into a paste.
Add the cooked orzo and chopped spinach straight to the dish. Drizzle half of the reserved pasta water over everything and then toss to combine. Continue to add splashes of pasta water until your desired consistency is reached, I used about 1 ¼ cups total. The goal is a light, creamy, cheesy sauce that coats everything. Sprinkle everything with the parmesan cheese.
Finish in the oven
Optional but recommended, is to pop the orzo bake back into the oven on broil for 2-3 minutes to melt the Parmesan and develop a final bit of color.
Expert Tips for an Awesome Boursin Orzo Bake
- Buy the 3-pack of Boursin cheese from Costco for the best deal! Then use one Boursin for easy entertaining (serve with crackers and fig jam!) and the final Boursin to make this Boursin tomato pasta.
- Buy a block of parmesan cheese and grate it yourself for best flavor.
- Don’t forget to reserve the pasta water! Use a liquid measuring cup to scoop up the water during the final minute of orzo cook time so the liquid is the ‘starchiest’. This helps make the sauce silky and cohesive.
- Cube the chicken and sweet potatoes in pretty small, ½-1-inch chunks, so they cook quickly and evenly.
- Add a pinch of red pepper flakes along with the seasonings if you like a little kick of heat!
- Option to add extra veggies like thinly sliced shallot, red onion, broccoli or cauliflower! (add these when you start the sweet potatoes and garlic)
FAQs
Although I haven’t tried this, I’m confident you can use any short pasta like fusilli, Gemelli, penne, or small to medium shells.
No. It will not have the same flavor or thickening abilities as the pasta water.
Yes! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. To reheat: add an ice cube or splash of water, cover and microwave for 1-2 minutes, stirring at the one minute mark. The ice cube or water provides moisture and helps the orzo return to its former saucy glory.
If you love this Boursin orzo bake you’ll love these other easy recipes!
If you try and like this recipe please don’t forget to leave a comment and star rating down below! If you love more lifestyle, behind the scenes and ‘eating in real life’ type of content come find me over on Instagram, @itsaflavorfullife, I love connecting with you all there!
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Boursin Orzo Bake with Chicken and Veggies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Tender chicken, pillowy orzo, roasted sweet taters, lots of spinach and flavorful Boursin cheese- this Boursin orzo bake has your dinner query SOLVED!
Ingredients
- 1lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
- 1 large sweet potato, cubed in 1/2-inch chunks
- 6 whole cloves garlic, root ends trimmed
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 5.2oz round Boursin cheese
- 1 1/4 cup orzo, uncooked
- 1 1/2 cup starchy pasta water
- 3 cups spinach, chopped
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a 9×13 or 10×15 casserole dish. Trim the root end of the garlic cloves off but leave the peel on. If you take the clove out the peel it will dry out. Trimming the root end allows you to easily squeeze out the garlic after it has been roasted.
- Place the sweet potato cubes and garlic cloves in the prepared dish and drizzle with 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, using your hands to toss until everything is well coated. Roast for 20 minutes.
- While you’re giving the sweet potatoes and garlic a head start, prepare the chicken. Cube the chicken, pat it dry with a paper towel and season with remaining ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper and teaspoon of Italian seasoning. At this time, you can also bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.
- Remove the casserole dish from the oven, and scooch the sweet potatoes and garlic over to make room for the cheese and chicken. Place Boursin cheese in the center of the baking dish and add the cubed chicken. Drizzle everything with the remaining 1½ tablespoons olive oil and return the casserole dish to the oven for 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and everything is slightly golden brown.
- While everything finishes roasting, start the orzo. Add orzo to the boiling water and cook according to the package instructions, usually around 9-11 minutes, until al dente. Using a liquid measuring cup, save at least 1 ½ cups of starchy pasta water during the final minute of cook time.
- Drain the orzo. Take chicken, Boursin and veggies from the oven. Squeeze the garlic cloves from their peels and use a fork to smash the roasted garlic into a paste. Add the cooked orzo and chopped spinach straight to the dish. Drizzle half of the reserved pasta water over everything and then toss to combine. Continue to add splashes of pasta water until everything is combined and your desired consistency is reached, I used about 1 ¼ cups total. The goal is a light, creamy, cheesy sauce that coats everything. Sprinkle everything with the parmesan cheese. Optional but recommended, is to pop the orzo bake back into the oven on broil for 2-3 minutes to melt the Parmesan and develop a final bit of color.
- Serve hot with a sprinkle of fresh thyme or basil. OOF. Creamy, cozy and oh, so yum!
Notes
Refer to above blog post for tips, step by step photos and answers to frequently asked questions.
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 recipe
- Calories: 572
- Sugar: 2.9 g
- Sodium: 715.3 mg
- Fat: 27.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 35.9 g
- Fiber: 3.3 g
- Protein: 42.9 g
- Cholesterol: 118 mg
Shallots are in shown the video but not listed in the recipe ingredients. How many do you use??
Hi! You can use 1-2, just throw them in at the same time as the sweet potatoes and garlic!
This recipe was so delicious and easy to put together! I followed Erica’s suggestion to add broccoli which was perfect. This cozy, nutritious meal is added to the rotation!
Woot woot! Happy to hear it Whitney, thank you!!
Hi, this dish looks amazing! However, I noticed in your video you included shallots, but they weren’t listed as an ingredient in the recipe. I am making this tonight (with shallots). It looks delicious! Thanks for the idea
Hi Tiffany! So I tried this recipe both with and without and both are great! For simplicity I left the shallots out of the ‘official’ recipe but in the variation ideas section I note several different veggies you can add for even more flavor and nutrition!
Just made this for the week. Accidentally bought peeled garlic cloves so was worried and used minced instead. Huge portions so divided into 5 individual meals. Used the garlic/herb Boursin and wow! So delicious.
Awesome, glad to hear the minced garlic turned out just fine! Thanks for trying and for your review Jessica!
Delicious! And very easy to make.
Woohoo! Happy to hear it, thank you Ioana!
This was so delicious! We will definitely make again!
Yaaay!! Happy you loved it Janine, thank you for trying!
This was delicious! I will definitely make again. My family loved it as well.
We made this with the Boursin non-dairy cheese. I just weighed it out since it is in a tub. I also left out the Parmesan cheese. It was so delicious and easy. Will definitely be making this again.
Ooh love the dairy free idea! Thanks for sharing, I didn’t even know Boursin had a non-dairy version!
I’ve made a double batch of this recipe twice in the past week for large groups and it’s perfect. 🤌🏼 So easy to throw in whatever veggies you have on hand, the second time I used sweet potatoes, carrots and broccoli and it was delicious. It has quickly become a staple dinner in our house!
Woooohoooo! Yes, the versatility right!? So clutch. Glad you enjoyed this one Emily, thank you for your rating and review 😘
Just had this for dinner. Absolutely delish and prep was easy and quick. Was A HIT with our 3-generation family.
Amazing, thank you for trying it Cindy! So happy to hear everyone liked it 🙂
This was so good! I ended up making with the shallots like in your video and then added the juice of 1 lemon before mixing it all up!
PERFECT! Thank you Natalie!
So good & so simple! As a new mom I need easy, healthy go-to recipes! It’s a Flavorful Recipes are always amazing & this is no exception! Hubs gave it a 10/10 too 🙂
I don’t usually leave comments, but I’m a frequent user of your recipes. Just had to thank you for making my life as the family cook so much better. Your recipes are not overly-fussy, but are absolutely 5-star. Found this one when I had some prepped leftover herbed yogurt baked chicken to use up, and knew the flavors would go well with the herby cheese. Since it was already cooked, I just threw it on top of the pan for the last few minutes of cooking time to warm through. My whole family DEVOURED this. I doubled it to serve 10 people, and only have a little leftover. This will be on regular rotations at our house.
Angie, it was my favorite thing EVER when people who don’t usually leave comments, leave a comment lol! I appreciate it so much, thank you for trying my recipes!
This was really good. I was aprehensive because of the lack of color, but the flavor was awesome! Will try adding broccoli next time.
I made this today and it has such a good flavor to it. This was my first time using Boursin cheese and won’t be my last. My family of picky eaters loved it too.
yaaayyy! Happy to hear it Rebecca, thanks for your review!
This recipe is easy, full of flavor, and a crowd pleaser at my house. I’ve made with sweet potato or butternut squash and both are tasty. Thank you for this simple weeknight dinner option. 👌
This a delicious and quite easy dinner to put together! I will define adding this to my dinner rotation! My two year old loved it as well!
Woot woot! So happy to hear it Jillian, thank you!
I was wondering if you have any suggestions for replacing the Boursin with?
Thanks
It will work with feta, goat cheese or even cream cheese!
This was like a hug in a bowl. My whole family really enjoyed this easy and delicious meal. Thanks for the detailed recipe and inspiration!
This is one of the best and easiest weeknight meals. It will be going on regular rotation as we approach fall! I add shallots and it’s chef kiss! In truth, every one of your recipes quickly becomes a family favourite.
Thank you for all the deliciousness, from a Canadian fan!
Aw yay thank you so much Erin! Glad you loved it!
This dish was the best and my pickiest eater loved it too. So much flavor & color to to the dish. Definitely going on rotation.
This recipe has quickly become a weeknight staple for me! It is delicious and nourishing, and I always get compliments 🙂 It’s also so easy to prepare!
Liked a lot of the flavors in this dish, but my family and I weren’t a fan of the sweet potatoes in it. Maybe it would be better with a roasted veggie instead.
I hope you try again with a different veggie, thanks Katie!
I made this with butternut squash instead of sweet potato and it was delicious!
Wow, this was delicious! I made it two nights ago and am already planning to make it again in a couple days. The only thing I changed was using some cut up Kirkland chicken sausage in place of the chicken breasts because I had some that needed to be used up. I actually can’t wait to eat it again!
SO GOOD! My husband and my 18 month old both loved this dish. I followed the recipe but will probably add a little more sweet potato next time. This one earned it’s spot in the fall lineup
We just got done eating this and my husband’s exact words were “this is amazing!” Thanks, Erica, for yet another super flavorful, well balanced meal. Will be making this on the regular!