Boursin Orzo Bake with Chicken and Veggies

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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.

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. 🤘🏼🧀🧄

Ingredients You’ll Need to Make this Boursin Orzo Bake:

• 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: 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 Recipe:

Start the sweet potatoes and garlic: Preheat the oven to 425ºF and grease a large baking dish. Trim the root ends from the garlic cloves, but leave the peels on to prevent the garlic from drying out while roasting. This also makes it easy to squeeze out the softened garlic later. Add the sweet potatoes and garlic to the dish and toss with olive oil, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes.

Add the chicken and Boursin: While the sweet potatoes roast, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cube the chicken, pat it dry with a paper towel and season with the remaining salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.

Remove the casserole dish from the oven, scooch the sweet potatoes and garlic to the side and add the Boursin and chicken. Add another splash of olive oil and roast for another 15 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF.

Cook the orzo: While everything finishes roasting, cook the orzo in the boiling water according to package directions until al dente. Before draining, reserve at least 1 ½ cups of the starchy pasta water.

Once the baking dish comes out of the oven, squeeze the roasted garlic from its peels and mash it into a paste with a fork.

Mix everything together: Add the cooked orzo and chopped spinach to the dish, then pour in about half of the reserved pasta water and toss everything together. Add splashes of pasta water as needed until you have a light, creamy, cheesy sauce coating the orzo, chicken and veggies.

Finish it off: Sprinkle Parmesan over the top. For an extra golden, cheesy finish, pop the dish back into the oven on broil for 2–3 minutes. Serve hot with fresh thyme or basil.

A big ol’ bowl of comfort food. LOVE.

Watch How to Make My Boursin Orzo Bake:

If you try and like this recipe, please don’t forget to leave a comment and star rating down below! For more lifestyle, behind-the-scenes and ‘eating in real life’ type of content, come find me over on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Facebook, or Youtube – I love connecting with you all there!

Boursin Orzo Bake with Chicken and Veggies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 28 reviews

• Author: Erica Baty
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings
• Category: Main Dish
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: High-Protein

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Description

Tender chicken, pillowy orzo, roasted sweet taters, lots of spinach and flavorful Boursin cheese- this Boursin orzo bake has your dinner query SOLVED!

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Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
• 1 large sweet potato, cubed in ½-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 ¼ cup orzo, uncooked
• 1 ½ cup starchy pasta water
• 3 cups baby spinach, chopped
• ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Grease a 9×13 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Serve hot with a sprinkle of fresh thyme or basil. OOF. Creamy, cozy and oh, so yum!

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Notes

Refer to above blog post for ingredient information, step-by-step photos, expert tips 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

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