Alfredo Chicken Orzo Bakes
on Sep 20, 2025
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If you’re looking for a comforting, high-protein meal prep that doesn’t skimp on flavor, these Alfredo Chicken Orzo Bakes are the perfect addition to your weekly routine. They’re warm, cheesy, packed with lean protein, and come together in single-serve portions that make staying on track with your macros so much easier.
The best part? These bowls bake in the oven while you move on with your day—meal prep doesn’t get much simpler than that.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- High protein: 52g of protein per bowl keeps you full and fueled.
- Meal prep friendly: Bakes up in 5 separate containers, ready to reheat for the week.
- Comfort food made healthier: Creamy sauce, cheesy goodness, but lightened up with fat-free milk and cottage cheese.
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION / MACROS
Makes: 5 servings
Serving size: 1 bowl
Calories: 505
Macros: 52p / 30.5c / 17.6f (1.5 fiber)
Search the food database in MyFitnessPal and MacrosFirst for Stay Fit Mom Alfredo Chicken Orzo Bowls.
INGREDIENTS
- Orzo
- Chicken broth
- Garlic
- Onion
- Mushrooms
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Flour
- Fat free milk
- Dried parsley
- Italian seasoning
- Paprika
- Nutmeg
- Red pepper flakes
- Cottage cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- Boneless, skinless chicken breast
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
Substitution Ideas
- Orzo vs. rice: If you don’t have orzo on hand, you can easily swap it out for rice at a 1:1 ratio. The macros will be almost identical, and you’ll still get a creamy, hearty bake.
- Cheese options: Swap Parmesan for mozzarella or a reduced-fat cheddar if you prefer a different flavor.
- Vegetables: Feel free to load this up with spinach, zucchini, or bell peppers for extra micronutrients.
What is Orzo?
If you’ve never cooked with orzo before, you might mistake it for rice—it’s actually a tiny, rice-shaped pasta. Orzo cooks up tender and slightly chewy, making it perfect for casseroles, soups, and meal prep recipes like this one.
Because it’s pasta, orzo absorbs flavors beautifully—like the creamy garlic-Parmesan sauce in this recipe. It also reheats well, which makes it a great option for prepping ahead of time.
If you don’t have orzo in your pantry, don’t worry—you can substitute rice at a 1:1 ratio and still get a similar, delicious result with nearly identical macros.
Recipe Tip
Make sure your orzo is completely coated in sauce before baking. This ensures every bite turns out tender and creamy—no dry pasta stuck to the edges!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Prep your bowls
Preheat oven to 350°F and place 5 oven-safe meal prep containers on a cookie sheet. Add 3 tbsp orzo and 2 tbsp chicken broth to each container.
Step 2: Make the creamy sauce
In a saucepan, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add garlic, cook 30 seconds. Stir in onion and mushrooms, cooking 7–8 minutes until soft. Sprinkle in flour, mix well. Slowly whisk in milk, ¼ cup at a time, letting it thicken before adding more. Stir in parsley, Italian seasoning, paprika, nutmeg, and red pepper flakes. Simmer 5 minutes, then stir in cottage cheese.
Step 3: Assemble
Evenly distribute sauce into the bowls (about ½ cup each). Add 28g Parmesan per bowl and stir until orzo is coated.
Step 4: Add the chicken
Dice chicken and season with garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Place 5 oz chicken in each bowl (on top, don’t stir in).
Step 5: Bake & store
Bake uncovered 35–40 minutes, or until chicken reaches 165°F. Let cool, then cover and refrigerate. Reheat 2–3 minutes in the microwave before enjoying.
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MEAL PREP SUPPLIES USED
4 cup glass bowls – My meal prep recipes always use this size of bowl and they are perfect! Make sure you are purchasing bowls that say they are oven safe!
More Meal Prep Recipes Using Orzo
- Sun Dried Chicken Orzo Easy Bakes
- Greek Chicken Orzo Bakes
- Spinach Artichoke Chicken Orzo Bakes
- Creamy Garlic Mushroom Orzo Bakes
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Macros included for all recipes and pre loaded in the apps for easy macro tracking!
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Alfredo Chicken Orzo Bakes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 15 tablespoons orzo, uncooked (5.25oz)
- 10 tablespoons chicken broth
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 large onion, diced (70g)
- 5 ounces mushrooms, diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups fat free milk
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 110g
- 1 1/4 cups parmesan cheese, 140g
- 25 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and arrange 5 oven safe containers on a cookie sheet.
- To each bowl add 3 tablespoons of orzo and 2 tablespoons of chicken broth.
- Heat up the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Once warm add the garlic and let simmer about 30 seconds. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook for 7-8 minutes until the mushrooms are soft.
- Add the butter. Once melted stir in the flour and mix well.
- Slowly add about 1/4 cup of milk at a time, bringing the roux to a light simmer each time before adding more milk. Once all milk is incorporated add the spices and let it simmer a few minutes until you have a thick and creamy sauce (about 5 minutes).
- Remove from heat and stir in the cottage cheese.
- Evenly distribute the sauce into the 5 bowls (about 1/2 cup each bowl). Add 28g of parmesan to each bowl and mix it all well. Make sure all uncooked orzo is smothered in sauce and not stuck to the edges of the bowls.
- Dice up chicken and season it with some parsley, Italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Place 5 ounces of chicken in each bowl right on top of the orzo, but do not mix the chicken in.
- Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees.
- Let cool before covering with lids and placing in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.
Notes
- Search the MyFitnessPal or MacrosFirst app food databases for Stay Fit Mom Alfredo Chicken Orzo Bakes to log in your food diary.
My super picky teen loved it . I added bone broth instead of chicken stock so it was higher protein too.
Can you use another kind of pasta, other than orzo? Like penne?
No, any pasta will not work. You can however use rice instead.
So easy and delicious! Will be making it over and over again!
Can I substitute brown rice? Would it change the cook time or the amount of broth?
Hi Hillary,
You can substitute rice, but brown rice can be difficult because it takes longer to cook. I suggest using a basmati or jasmine rice for best results.
Can I add spinach for an extra veggie punch?
Maybe when the mushrooms are cooking?
Been loving your site and recipes really helping my journey!
Spinach is a great idea. I would mix some right into the sauce at the end before distributing it into the bowls.