One Pan Mediterranean Chicken Meatballs and Orzo
By Sammi Brondo — August 26, 2026
This easy One Pan Mediterranean Chicken Meatballs and Orzo is a flavorful 35-minute dinner made with tender ground chicken meatballs, lemony garlic orzo, sun-dried tomatoes, Castelvetrano olives, and feta. Everything cooks in one pan for a simple weeknight meal with minimal cleanup.
Everyone needs a good one pan meal in their recipe rolodex.
It can be so hard coming up with ideas to make for dinner night after night. Double that difficulty if you have even remotely picking kids.
I typically go back to the same few meals each week. Turkey meatballs, black bean tacos, and of course, the OG: mac & cheese.
I do like to mix it up sometimes though! Because everyone can get bored eating the same meals on repeat, myself included.
And these one pan meatballs are so awesome to add to that list.
Of course, the highlight is that they come together in one just pan. Less cleaning, less work… just overall less to do, which is always a win in my book.
They’re full of flavor – made with shallots, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes, and then paired with a lemony garlic orzo. To the orzo, you’ll add Castelvetrano olives, more sun-dried tomatoes, and feta. A Mediterranean dream.
I very firmly believe that food and nutrition should be simple and easy.
We have to eat every single day. It’s not supposed to be too complicated or stressful!
Food should be fun. It should be enjoyable. It should taste good and feel simple to make.
And even though groceries are a fortune right now across the board, you don’t need any *extra* expensive ingredients in order to create something nutritious and delicious.
So add this incredibly flavorful One Pan Mediterranean Chicken Meatballs and Orzo to your rotation. You’ll be so glad you did.
Why You’ll Love These Chicken Meatballs and Orzo
This easy one pan meal is truly so simple. Everything comes together in just one pan with so much flavor.
This dish is full of nourishing ingredients, like orzo, sun-dried tomato, olives, and chicken. It’s high in protein and contains many heart-healthy unsaturated fats.
It’s a flavorful dish that not only makes a complete meal, but is also great for meal prep. Make this recipe ahead of time and enjoy leftovers the next day too,
How to Make One Pan Mediterranean Chicken Meatballs and Orzo
Prep ingredients
You’ll need: ground chicken, 1 shallot, garlic, breadcrumbs, sun-dried tomatoes, breadcrumbs, paprika, oregano, chicken broth, lemon, orzo, Castelvetrano olives, feta, and dill.
Add meatballs ingredients to food processor
Add the ground chicken, shallot, garlic, breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, oregano, paprika, salt, and pepper to a large food processor. Pulse until everything is well combined, for about 30 seconds.
Roll into meatballs
Using your hands, roll the mixture into meatballs (about 2 tablespoons in size). The mixture will be sticky. You’ll have about 12-14 meatballs.
Cook until golden
Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the meatballs. Sear the meatballs on each side until golden brown and almost cooked through. Transfer the meatballs to a plate.
Cook orzo
Add 2 cups of the chicken broth, plus the minced garlic and juice of 1/2 lemon to the skillet. Add the orzo and stir to mix. Bring to a boil and cook for 3-5 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until the orzo is soft and has absorbed the liquid.
Add the sun-dried tomatoes and olives
Turn the heat down to medium and add the sun-dried tomatoes and olives to the orzo and add the meatballs back in. Add the remaining 1/3 cup of broth. Cook for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the meatballs reach an internal temperature of 165 F.
Top & serve
Top One Pan Mediterranean Chicken Meatballs with feta cheese and fresh dill.
If You Like These Chicken Meatballs and Orzo, Try These One Pan Meals
- Easy One Pot Chicken Pot Pie: A classic comforting dish made so easy.
- One Pot Skillet Lasagna: This is my favorite way to make lasagna!
- Sheet Pan Spring Salmon, Potatoes and Snap Peas: A flavorful recipe for spring.
- Creamy Tuscan Salmon (30 Minute Meal!): This hearty dish is so cozy and full of flavor.
- No-Boil Veggie Baked Ziti: As easy as it gets! Make this baked ziti right in the baking dish.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chicken: While I don’t recommend using ground turkey in this One Pan Mediterranean Chicken Meatballs and Orzo recipe (it’ll get dry pretty easily), ground beef will work. Make sure the meatballs brown on the outside and cook through on the inside.
- Garlic: As always with garlic, measure with your heart 🙂
- Breadcrumbs: Breadcrumbs help keep the meatball mixture cohesive.
- Sun-dried tomatoes: Make sure to use the ones in oil. You won’t use the oil from the tomatoes, but the ones that are in oil are a bit more flavorful and juicier than the ones that are not.
- Spices: You’ll need oregano and paprika.
- Chicken broth: Feel free to swap for vegetable broth or even bone broth in this One Pan Mediterranean Chicken Meatballs and Orzo recipe.
- Orzo: Orzo is a type of pasta that’s cut short, like a grain of rice. It’s hearty and cooks fast. To make this recipe gluten-free, you can swap the orzo for quinoa. Cook the quinoa a little longer to ensure it’s fluffy and cooked through.
- Olives: This recipe uses Castelvetrano olives. You can also use Kalamata olives instead.
- Feta: While the feta cheese is just a garnish, I highly recommend it in order to add the most flavor to the dish. If you’d prefer to keep this dairy-free, skip the feta. I recommend using feta in brine and crumbling it yourself instead of buying pre-crumbled feta.
One Pan Mediterranean Chicken Meatballs and Orzo Notes
- Pan: I recommend making this using a non-stick skillet. This will give your meatballs the best browning, while ensuring they don’t stick to the pan.
- Cooking the chicken: If you’ve ever worried that chicken is cooked through (who hasn’t!), it’s worth it to get an inexpensive food thermometer. It’s precise and easy, so you’ll never have to wonder if your chicken is fully cooked.
- Storage: Store One Pan Mediterranean Chicken Meatballs and Orzo leftovers (or make ahead!) in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat, you can microwave or add it to a skillet on the stove over medium heat. I recommend adding a little broth when reheating so to keep the meatballs from getting too dry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Equipment
- 1 Skillet
Ingredients
Chicken Meatballs
- Chicken meatballs:
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 shallot roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Lemon Garlic Orzo
- 2 1/3 cups chicken broth divided
- 1 clove garlic minced
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 cup dry orzo
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes
- 1/3 cup pitted Castelvetrano olives roughly chopped
- To top/garnish: fresh dill feta cheese
Instructions
- Add the ground chicken, shallot, garlic, breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, oregano, paprika, salt, and pepper to a large food processor. Pulse until everything is well combined, for about 30 seconds.
- Using your hands, roll the mixture into meatballs (about 2 tablespoons in size). The mixture will be sticky. You’ll have about 12-14 meatballs.
- Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the meatballs. Sear the meatballs on each side until golden brown and almost cooked through. Transfer the meatballs to a plate.
- Add 2 cups of the chicken broth, plus the minced garlic and juice of 1/2 lemon to the skillet. Add the orzo and stir to mix. Bring to a boil and cook for 3-5 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until the orzo is soft and has absorbed the liquid.
- Turn the heat down to medium and add the sun-dried tomatoes and olives to the orzo and add the meatballs back in. Add the remaining 1/3 cup of broth. Cook for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the meatballs reach an internal temperature of 165 F (if the meatballs seem dry or need to cook longer, add an additional 1/3 cup of broth).
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