Slow Cooker

Slow-Cooker White Wine Chicken With Orzo From Eleni Vonissakou

by:
September 25, 2019
4.6
20 Ratings
Slow-Cooker White Wine Chicken With Orzo From Eleni Vonissakou
Photo by Eleni Vonissakou
  • Cook time 6 hours 35 minutes
  • Serves 4 to 6
Author Notes

Reprinted with permission from The Greek Slow Cooker by Eleni Vonissakou, Page Street Publishing Co. 2019. Photo credit: Eleni Vonissakou and Constantina Papageorgiou. —Food52

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 cup (140g) finely chopped onion, lightly packed
  • 2 pounds (900g) boneless, skinless chicken thigh fillets
  • 1/2 cup (120ml) good-quality white wine
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) olive oil
  • 1/4 cup (15g) fresh parsley, finely chopped, tightly packed
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 8 1/2 ounces (240g) orzo pasta
  • 1 cup (240ml) boiling water, plus extra if needed
  • Grated Greek Gruyère or kefalotyri cheese, to serve
Directions
  1. In the slow cooker insert, combine the onion, chicken, wine, lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, salt, pepper and thyme.
  2. Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours, or until the chicken is tender and falling apart.
  3. Turn the cooker to high and add the orzo. Stir and cook on high until the orzo has absorbed most of the liquid already in the slow cooker. Start adding hot water, 1/2 cup (120 ml) to begin with and then 1/4 cup (60 ml) at a time, as needed for the pasta to cook through. Total cooking time for the pasta should be 25 to 35 minutes. Turn the slow cooker off when the orzo is al dente and the consistency is quite wet and “sloppy” looking, since the pasta will continue to absorb liquid as it rests.
  4. Serve immediately with the grated cheese.
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11 Reviews

Nancy B.
Nancy B. January 24, 2024
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I made it for the first time today. After reading everyone's comments, I decided to add five cloves of finely chopped garlic, I substituted the white wine and the additional water required toward the end with salt reduced chicken stock. I increased the parsley to 1/2 cup, added 1 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes and it was cooked in my 3.5 L slow cooker for a total of 5 1/2 hours. I served it up and topped my portion with feta cheese and Parmesan cheese. My question is this: can this be frozen ? I ask because I live alone and am widowed. It would be great to have meals ready to take out of the freezer as required. Thank you so very much for this exceptional recipe and for everyone else's helpful comments. Greetings from Sydney Australia! 😊
 
Linda D.
Linda D. May 9, 2023
Absolutely delicious! Thank you so very much, Eleni. The only changes I made were cooking and serving the starch on the side. Last night I served the dish with sticky rice; leftovers will get a pasta side. My market did not have the Greek cheese so I shredded some parm and that was delicious.
 
Erin
Erin March 25, 2023
I love this recipe. I think I've been making it since it came out. I have used both fresh and dried herbs and loved the results. I use boxed chicken stock or bullion & water instead of plain water.

Tonight I did something crazy and did this recipe with calamari and seafood stock. Still fantastic.
 
Stephanie H.
Stephanie H. August 1, 2022
So my kitchen has been down for 2 weeks due to remodeling. I'm tired of pizza and other junk food. I needed a crockpot recipe for the only meat I had (chicken), using only ingredients I had, no spices because they were all packed up, minimal prep because everything is torn apart, and leftovers for a day or two. This was such a good dish. Basic, warm, comforting. Enough zing from the lemon and white wine to keep it interesting, fresh cheese at the end (I used what I had - parm) to finish it off.
I made it exactly as written, but I wonder about adding some garlic next time!
 
Pam
Pam December 3, 2021
Solid recipe. I've made this a handful of times, and it's both super easy and delicious. For some extra veggies I added spinach at the end when the orzo was al dente. It wilted beautifully and added some nice color.
 
Ash
Ash June 2, 2020
Very tasty and simple recipe. Next time will serve with a lemon wedge on the side; the little bit of brightness would have been nice. Don’t miss the cheese at the end, it added great flavor!
 
Rachel M.
Rachel M. April 8, 2020
This recipe was delicious! so easy and very flavorful.
 
Mary E.
Mary E. April 2, 2020
Works well in the Instant Pot also, as long as you add half a cup of chicken broth before pressure cooking. (Or more wine. I won’t judge. Just get a cup of liquid in there.) I did the initial step on manual for 8 minutes, then made the orzo using the saute function on medium.
 
FrugalCat
FrugalCat March 18, 2020
I used whole wheat pasta and did not need extra cooking time. I also topped it with feta cheese, crumbled.
 
KatieBrooks
KatieBrooks January 29, 2020
Just looking for some help? If I do this with whole wheat pasta, do I change the cooking time?
 
glammie
glammie September 19, 2021
You may need an extra ten minutes or so but just cook until it's done. It's not an exact science. Just cook until the pasta is done.