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Ready in 30 minutes, our Rotisserie Chicken Skillet might be the easiest, and most flavorful, dinner you’ve made all week.
Get dinner on the table fast!
This Rotisserie Chicken Skillet is a wonderful option for those busy evenings when you need to get dinner on the table in a snap. And it is delicious to boot!
We combine rotisserie chicken, orzo, veggies, cream, and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese to create this easy and scrumptious dinner the whole family will enjoy. One reader even told us: “This recipe is the only reason my toddler eats veggies.” So it’s picky-eater approved!
Looking for recipes made with Rotisserie Chicken?
To save a little time, we used a store-bought rotisserie chicken. While we do love to create and cook from scratch, we also are fans of convenience ingredients when it doesn’t sacrifice flavor. Not only is rotisserie chicken already cooked for you, but it is wonderfully seasoned.
And, while buying a rotisserie chicken is a perfectly acceptable alternative to roasting your own chicken, you can cook your own chicken if you prefer. (Here’s a flavorful roast chicken recipe to try.)
Why You’ll Love this Rotisserie Chicken Skillet
- It’s tasty. The combination of seasoned rotisserie chicken, broth, cream, and cheese is a dish that both kids and grownups will love.
- It’s fast. This recipe can be on the table in 30 minutes.
- It’s convenient. This one-pan dinner is the perfect way to use up any leftover cooked chicken.
Reader Review
“I have tried a lot of recipes on a lot of websites looking for something – anything – that can become a weekly staple. Something that both my wife and I like, is healthy, and isn’t so difficult that I dread making it. This is finally it. It is so freaking good. Even my 3 year old doesn’t put up a stink eating it…” – Izzy
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
- Rotisserie Chicken – While this recipe specifically calls for store-bought rotisserie chicken, you can use any leftover cooked chicken you like. You’ll need 3 ½ cups of cooked meat in total. If you use chicken that you’ve cooked yourself, just keep in mind that you might need to add additional seasonings to the finished dish.
- Orzo Pasta – Orzo is a rice-shaped pasta that cooks up quickly and mixes easily with other ingredients. (You can, however, use any shaped pasta you’d like.)
- Vegetables – We use bias-cut carrots, chopped onions, and frozen peas in this recipe – but feel free to swap in other vegetables you prefer. Note that some veggies release more liquid as they cook so if you do swap in other vegetables, you might want to consider cooking them separately, then stir them in just before serving.
- Cream – Heavy cream is the main dairy ingredient in the sauce, but you can swap in light cream or half and half if you prefer. For those looking for a non-dairy alternative, one reader told us canned coconut milk worked well for her. (We haven’t tried that ourselves to confirm.)
How Do I Make Rotisserie Chicken Skillet?
1. Prep the chicken and veggies – You’ll need about 3 ½ cups of cooked meat. If you’re using rotisserie, remove the meat from the bones and cut up into bite-sized pieces.
2. Toast the orzo – Brown the orzo in a dry skillet – similar to making rice pilaf – then set aside.
3. Sauté the veggies – Sauté onions and carrots in oil for just about four minutes. They won’t be fully cooked at this point.
4. Simmer – Once the vegetables have cooked a bit, add the toasted orzo, chicken stock, and seasonings to the skillet. Cover and simmer until the orzo is cooked, about 8 minutes or so.
5. Heat through – At this point, you’ll add the chicken, cream, and remaining ingredients to the skillet. Then heat until warmed through.
6. Serve – Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I use something other than heavy cream in this recipe? Yes – you can swap in light cream or half and half for a lower-fat version. We’ve also been told that coconut milk makes a nice substitute if you’re looking for a dairy-free option.
- Can I make this with rice instead of orzo? Yes – but only with some adaptations. Orzo (a pasta) absorbs much less liquid than rice (a grain) to fully cook so the recipe, as written, won’t have enough liquid in the sauce to fully cook the rice. Additionally, the carrots would be over cooked if you simmered those for the full length of time it takes to cook the rice. We’d suggest cooking the rice separately, adding it at the end, and cutting back on the amount of cream you’re adding to create the sauce.
- Could I make this recipe ahead of time and freeze it for later? Yes, you can. Just note that cream has a tendency to separate when it has been frozen and thawed. We recommend making the recipe up until the step to add the cream, and freeze it at that point. When you thaw it out and are ready to reheat, pick up the recipe instructions right where you left off, and add the cream.
You may like these other Easy Dinner Recipes
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See the recipesThis recipe originally appeared on A Family Feast in 2014. We’ve updated the post but the delicious recipe remains the same.
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Rotisserie Chicken Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 whole rotisserie chicken, or 3 1/2 cups cooked chicken meat
- 1/2 cup uncooked orzo pasta
- 2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
- 2 cups carrots cut on the bias
- 1 cup onion cut into thick strips
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Pick the meat from the cooked chicken and roughly cut up and set aside.
- In a large dry skillet pan over medium high heat, cook orzo until lightly browned; about 3 minutes stirring frequently.
- Remove browned orzo to a bowl and add oil to hot pan.
- Add carrots and onion and sauté for 4 minutes.
- Add orzo back in along with stock, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Cover and reduce heat to a medium simmer and simmer to cook the orzo, about 8-10 minutes.
- Uncover and add parsley, peas, and cream along with cooked chicken.
- Increase heat and cook just to bring the dish to temperature and incorporate the ingredients.
- Serve with grated Parmesan sprinkled over the top.
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Annette DiBartolo says
Loved the recipe. I added frozen corn and green beans. After sampling at the dinner table, we decided to topped it with bottled green taco sauce to give it a little flavor punch. Delicious! Would like to use as the filling for chicken pot pie .
Martha says
Thanks Annette!
Marie says
I make this all the time! Quick to put together, but still so delicious! Thank you for such a great recipe!
Martha says
You’re welcome Marie – so glad you are enjoying the recipe!
Ursula says
Great recipe, how about some nutrition information.
Martha says
Hi Ursula – You can see it at the bottom of the recipe card.
Debbie says
This sounds so easy & delicious!!!
Definitely on my “ to make” list.
Martha says
Hope you enjoy the recipe Debbie!
Pat Walters says
Excellent evening dinner meal using left over rotisserie chicken. The heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, & fresh parsley added a gourmet touch!
We also added a dollop of sour cream on top of each serving!
Martha says
Great idea Pat! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Vi says
This sounds good. Do you use Italian parsley or curly parsley in this dish? Is curly parsley mainly for decoration??
Martha says
Hi Vi – We always cook with Italian flat leaf parsley. Curly parsley has a different taste (we think it tastes grassy) so usually use that only for garnish ourselves. Hope that helps!
Carol Williams says
I was looking up a dish that I could make with the left over rotisserie we had seen this one it looked delicious. Of course I had tried it, it came out very good although I had no heavy cream so I added cream corn which gave it a great flavor. Can’t wait t I make it again the right way.
Martha says
Great suggestion Carol!
Brenda says
Very yummy! My pan is already nonstick so I decreased the 2 Tbsp oil down to 1 tsp. I sauteed 8 oz sliced white mushrooms for 5 minutes first, then continued the recipe with the carrots and onions. I only had low sodium chicken broth on hand (no chicken stock) so I added 1 tsp sodium-free chicken bullion to the broth. I also used regular cream instead of heavy cream since that’s what I had on hand. This was very flavorful even with my “healthy” substitutions and it made great leftovers the next day. Thank you for the recipe!
Martha says
Thank you Brenda!
Kim Tucker says
This is super easy and amazing. My family loved it so I’m now making it for a small group.
Martha says
Thanks Kim!
Cate says
I am prepping the ingredients for this recipe and I’d like to know if I should use curly or Italian parsley?
Thanks!
Martha says
Hi Cate – We recommend flat leaf Italian parsley (but if you only have curly, that’s OK to use instead).