Tarragon chicken with creamy white beans
Tender chicken in a creamy white bean sauce with fresh tarragon.
About 30 min · 375 kcal · 43 g protein per serving
One pan
Chicken, pumpkin and basil orzo
Chicken and orzo with soft roasted pumpkin and basil.
By The foodose editorial team. Nutrition calculated from USDA FoodData Central. Checked on paper on 12 September 2026; not yet cooked in a test kitchen or photographed, so the times and yield are estimates. How we develop our recipes
What still needs a real kitchen
- Confirm the pumpkin roasts tender in 20 to 25 minutes
- Photograph the finished plate
- Time
- About 40 min
- estimated
- Serves
- 2
- see below
- Energy
- 455 kcal
- per serving
- Protein
- 40 g
- per serving
Ingredients for 2 servings
Check off ingredients as you go.
Contains gluten, milk. Check the labels on packaged ingredients:
- chicken stock. Stock often contains celery, and sometimes gluten or soya; check the label.
- orzo. Most dry pasta is just wheat and water, but some contains egg; check the packet.
- Parmesan. Parmigiano Reggiano is made with animal rennet, so it is not vegetarian. Vegetarian Italian-style hard cheeses are widely sold.
Cooking steps
Heat the oven to 200°C / 400°F (180°C fan). Toss the pumpkin with half the oil on a tray and roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until tender and browned at the edges.
Meanwhile, cook the orzo in boiling water, following the packet, then drain it.
Warm the rest of the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken for 4 minutes, turning, then add the stock and simmer for 5 to 6 minutes, until cooked through and the liquid has reduced by half.
Cooked when: 74°C / 165°F in the thickest part. A food thermometer is the reliable way to tell.
Add the orzo and roasted pumpkin to the pan and fold them through gently, so some cubes stay whole. Take off the heat, add the Parmesan and basil and serve.
The useful detail
Fold the pumpkin in gently to retain some pieces. Stirred hard it turns to purée, which makes a good sauce but leaves nothing to find on the plate.
Make it work for you
One serving is Half the pan, about a plateful. You can switch to a smaller portion in the ingredients above; it is three quarters of this, and it contains correspondingly less energy and protein. It is an option, not a goal.
Butternut squash instead of pumpkin
Denser and sweeter, and it holds its shape better.
Per serving: about 25 kcal more, about the same protein, about the same fat.
A vegetarian hard cheese
The same in the dish, and made without animal rennet.
Per serving: about the same energy, about the same protein, about the same fat.
Turkey breast instead of chicken
Leaner, with the same safe endpoint.
Per serving: about 10 kcal less, about 1 g more protein, about 1 g less fat.
Estimated nutrition
Per standard serving, calculated from the ingredients above. Nutrition changes with substitutions, brands and how much oil stays in the pan.
A pasta dinner with a vegetable doing real work: the pumpkin adds sweetness and volume for very little energy.
| Energy | 455 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 40 g |
| Fat | 11 g |
| of which saturates | 3 g |
| Carbohydrate | 46 g |
| of which sugars | 5 g |
| Fibre | 2 g |
| Sodium | 570 mg |
Show calculation notes
Each ingredient’s weight is multiplied by its USDA FoodData Central values per 100 g. The whole recipe is added up and divided by 2. Raw weights are used for meat, fish and vegetables; beans and lentils are drained weights. All of the oil is counted as eaten. Added salt is not included; sodium from stock, bread, cheese and tinned food is.
| Ingredient | Weight used | Source | Energy | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| pumpkin | 250 g | FDC 168448Pumpkin, raw | 65 kcal | 2.5 g |
| olive oil | 9 g | FDC 171413Oil, olive, salad or cooking | 80 kcal | 0.0 g |
| chicken breast | 250 g | FDC 171077Chicken, broiler or fryers, breast, skinless, boneless, meat only, raw | 300 kcal | 56.3 g |
| chicken stock | 210 g | FDC 174536Soup, chicken broth, ready-to-serve | 13 kcal | 1.3 g |
| orzo | 100 g | FDC 169736Pasta, dry, enrichedFoodData Central records dry pasta as one entry rather than by shape. Orzo is the same durum wheat pasta, cut small. | 371 kcal | 13.0 g |
| Parmesan | 20 g | FDC 170848Cheese, parmesan, hard | 78 kcal | 7.2 g |
| fresh basil | 5 g | FDC 172232Basil, fresh | 1 kcal | 0.2 g |
| Whole recipe | Divided by 2 | 909 kcal | 80.4 g |
Per serving the energy is rounded to the nearest 5 kcal, grams to the nearest whole gram and sodium to the nearest 10 mg. Calculation method 1.0, September 2026. How the calculation works.
Storage and reheating
- In the fridge
- Cool, cover and refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking. Eat within 3 to 4 days. The orzo keeps absorbing the sauce, so add a splash of stock when reheating.
- In the freezer
- The FDA chart gives cooked poultry dishes 4 to 6 months in the freezer for best quality.
- Reheating
- Reheat until it reaches 74°C / 165°F, steaming hot throughout.
Checked against US Food and Drug Administration, Refrigerator and Freezer Storage Chart, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Leftovers and Food Safety, FoodSafety.gov, Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures and FoodSafety.gov, Cold Food Storage Chart. UK guidance from the Food Standards Agency is shorter, at two days for most leftovers.
Try another recipe
Turkey meatballs with roasted pepper sauce
Tender turkey meatballs in a smooth pepper sauce, served with orzo.
About 40 min · 585 kcal · 42 g protein per serving