Dairy-Free Chicken and Vegetable Risotto
Let’s make Chicken and Vegetable Risotto! Cozy, comfy, and creamy without even a hint of dairy. One of my favorite meals for sick days or new mamas. (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)
Originally posted October 2013. Re-tested, photographed, and updated Aug 2018.
We’re in the middle of monsoon season here in the desert, which means more (read: any) cloudy days than usual. Whenever there are clouds in the sky, I get craving some cozy comfort food, and this Chicken Vegetable Risotto is one of our family favorites.
It’s the the meal I make when someone’s sick or when it’s cold (or cloudy) outside. It’s also great for new moms and friends who need a meal for dinner. It’s a great alternative to chicken soup. It’s simple, cozy, and comforting.
I’ve got a few tips and tricks that make this easy recipe faster and easier (and more dairy free–ha!) than traditional risotto, with all the luxurious creaminess you’re used to. And it all starts with simple ingredients…
Our Vegetable Chicken Risotto Recipe, At A Glance:
Simple Ingredients For Chicken Vegetable Risotto
- A Little Olive Oil. This will help you sautee the veggies & toast the rice a bit.
- Onion & Bell Pepper. A savory base that adds SO much flavor to this chicken risotto! I love to use a mix of colorful bell peppers for more color, but you can absolutely just pick one color (red bell pepper, orange bell pepper, yellow bell pepper), if you prefer.
- Arborio Rice (aka Risotto Rice). This plump, short grain rice is classic for risotto. It thickens risotto with its starchiness and gets a lovely texture when cooked.
- Chicken Broth. Or vegetable broth, or beef broth! Whichever you have on hand or works best for you. We love them all! Bone broth can add an extra protein boost, so we usually reach for that.
- Cooked Chicken. A great use for leftover roasted or rotisserie chicken! You can shred the chicken or cube the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Frozen Peas. They add a pretty pop of color, along with more fiber and even some protein!
- Green Onions. I love this note of freshness right at the end.
- Plenty of Salt & Pepper. The seasoning is simple, but works!
Optional Extras: You can absolutely add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese, if it works for your dietary needs. It’s delicious!
How To Make This Risotto, Step By Step:
- Start By Cooking The Veggies. In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat 3-4 Tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and pepper and saute 4-6 minutes, until just translucent. Add garlic clove (if using) and cook 1 minute more.
- Toast The Rice & Add Broth. Add rice to the pot and stir to coat well, adding a little extra oil if necessary. Toast the rice slightly over medium heat, then add chicken and all 8 cups of broth.
- Cook & Stir. Stir frequently over the next 20-30 minutes, or until the rice is tender and creamy. It’s okay to walk away during the first 10-15 minutes, but you’ll want to stay close during the last 10 or so minutes. Add additional broth or water, if necessary.
- Finish The Risotto. When the risotto is creamy and tender, stir in frozen peas and green onions. Add more salt and pepper, to taste. Enjoy right away & store leftover risotto in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days.
Tips & Tricks For The Best Chicken Vegetable Risotto
Why do you add the broth all at once?
In traditional risotto recipes, you add the broth about 1/2 cup at a time, slowly stirring the entire time until the risotto is creamy and the grains of rice have softened. BUT. Tyler Florence posted on his Instagram feed how he’s started making risotto by stirring the rice and all the liquid at once, rather than adding 1/2c of broth at a time to the rice. It’s SO much simpler, a little faster (about 15 minutes faster!), and the same (if not better) creamy results! It’s totally changed my life.
More Veggies To Try
You can absolutely add more veggies to this if you like. One of my favorite additions is a few handfuls of whatever greens I have in the house (usually spinach). I stir the greens in right at the end, and the residual heat from the risotto wilts the leaves and helps them blend right in. Other yummy add-in are carrots or mushrooms, which I add right at the beginning with the onion and bell pepper.
Notes for Kids & Picky Eaters
Some kids have texture issues with different veggies (mine do!). You can help off-set this by grating (or even pureeing) your onion instead of dicing it. The grated onion will blend in a LOT better texturally with the arborio rice. Also, if your kids eat carrots, they may find it easier to eat the bell peppers if you stick to orange peppers. For some reason, they don’t seem as “scary” as the brighter reds and yellows. Or, you can swap in carrots in place of the peppers for a slightly different flavor.
Vegetarian or Vegan?
You can still make this! Omit the chicken and up the veggies (add 1 cup diced carrots and 1 cup minced mushrooms) in with the bell pepper and onion and use vegetable broth.
⭐ Don’t forget to leave a star review and comment below when you make our Dairy-Free Chicken Vegetable Risotto recipe. I can’t wait to hear how it goes!
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Chicken & Vegetable Risotto
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: about 8 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This easy dairy free chicken vegetable risotto recipe is a family favorite! It’s cozy and comforting, but not a lot of fuss. Feel free to use your favorite kind of broth here–veggie, chicken, and beef broth all work!
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced (about 1 heaping cup)
- 1 bell pepper, diced (about 1–1 1/2 cups. I prefer to use a mix of colors–use what you like!)
- 1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
- 2 cups arborio rice
- 8 cups chicken broth* (or 8 cups water + 2–3 Tbsp. bouillon*)
- 2 cups cooked cubed or shredded chicken breast or chicken thighs
- 3/4 – 1 cup frozen peas (don’t thaw)
- 2 green onions, sliced
- kosher salt and black pepper, to taste.
Optional Garnish: fresh parsley, fresh thyme, or Parmesan cheese (if not dairy-free)
Instructions
- Start By Cooking The Veggies. In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat 3-4 Tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and pepper and saute 4-6 minutes, until just translucent. Add garlic clove (if using) and cook 1 minute more. Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
- Toast The Rice & Add Broth. Add rice to the pot and stir to coat well, adding a little extra oil if necessary. Toast the rice slightly over medium heat, then add chicken and all 8 cups of broth.
- Cook & Stir. Stir frequently over the next 20-30 minutes, or until the rice is tender and creamy. It’s okay to walk away during the first 10-15 minutes, but you’ll want to stay close during the last 10 or so minutes. Add additional broth or water, if necessary.
- Finish The Risotto. When the risotto is creamy and tender, stir in frozen peas and green onions. Add more salt and pepper, to taste. Enjoy right away & store leftover risotto in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days.
Notes
- *Gluten & Dairy Free Notes: Many commercial broths and bouillons contain gluten and/or dairy. Be VERY careful when reading your labels.
- Why do you add the broth all at once? In traditional risotto recipes, you add the broth about 1/2 cup at a time, slowly stirring the entire time until the risotto is creamy and the grains of rice have softened. BUT. Tyler Florence posted on his Instagram feed how he’s started making risotto by stirring the rice and all the liquid at once, rather than adding 1/2c of broth at a time to the rice. It’s SO much simpler, a little faster (about 15 minutes faster!), and the same (if not better) creamy results!
- Let’s Talk Broth. I’ve made this MANY times in the last five years. I’ve tried it with chicken broth, vegetable broth, and beef broth and really enjoyed all of them. Use what you like and what you have! Good-quality broth is divine. If you’re out of broth but have a good quality bouillon, that works great, too.
- More Veggies. You can absolutely add more veggies to this if you like. One of my favorite additions is a few handfuls of whatever greens I have in the house (usually spinach). I stir the greens in right at the end, and the residual heat from the risotto wilts the leaves and helps them blend right in. Other yummy add-in are carrots or mushrooms, which I add right at the beginning with the onion and bell pepper.
- Vegetarian or Vegan? You can still make this! Omit the chicken and up the veggies (add 1 cup diced carrots and 1 cup minced mushrooms) in with the bell pepper and onion and use vegetable broth.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: risotto, dairy free risotto, chicken vegetable risotto, chicken risotto, vegetable risotto, gluten free risotto, risotto recipe
This sounds yummy and simple. (My favorite combination!)
This looks heavenly! I’m sorry you guys have been sick! We all have a little cold this week but so far it hasn’t been too bad. I hope you have a better week!
Thanks for posting this! It looks delicious. I am a fan of Risotto. I love the idea of adding broth all at once. I can’t wait to try it. By the way, I appreciate that you provide a link to the original recipe when you adapt one. Sometimes there is interesting information in those recipes, too. Hope everyone is well soon!
This looks delightful! My daughter who just turned 2 is allergic to milk. I have been struggling to find dairy free recipes for things I used to love cooking. Thank you for this one! Also so glad for the tip about dairy in some broths. It’s crazy all the hidden places dairy is.
★★★★★
I haven’t made risotto is a long time, but this sounds yummy and even my dairy free child could enjoy it…Yay! We also had the death cold here…it turned into borderline pnemonia with one child, a double ear infection with another, stayed a cold with a third, and skipped the fourth – though it did not skip mom and dad…I am printing this for the next time illness hits, or Sunday dinner since it is cold and this sounds wonderful 🙂
I just wanted to come back to this recipe and tell you how amazing this was! I used beef and chicken broth and added some carrots to the mix…so yummy! I ate leftovers for lunch…thanks for the awesome recipes!
Thank you for an easy, gluten free, dairy free, and alcohol free risotto recipe! I’m so excited to make it this week!
Made this last night and just finished a bowl of leftovers for lunch today. Delicious. I might need a second bowl. 🙂
★★★★★
This looks so delicious! I’m 100% adding this to next weeks menu plan!
Ahh! I hope you LOVE IT!
I think I have all these ingredients so might try it tonight! I am loving the idea of adding the broth all at once!
It’s a game changer! So much lower maintenance–and that’s exactly what I need, since I’m usually helping kids with homework and chopping veggies for salad and don’t have 100% attention to give to the risotto. (ha!)
Looks delicious! Can I substitute long grain white rice here?
Haley – Sort of? In a pinch, I’d say yes, but other types of rice won’t hold up the same with that much cooking and stirring, so they’ll break down and can turn mushy pretty easily. For that reason, I wouldn’t recommend it unless it’s your only choice. If that won’t bother you texturally, then you could probably go for it! You may want to start with more like 6-7 cups of liquid instead of 8 if you go that route.
I’m going to make this tonight with our leftover Tgiving turkey and turkey broth 🙂
Ooh! That sounds great–hope you love it!
This was VERY easy! It was a little bit bland for our family, but I did use chicken stock instead of beef (my beef wasn’t GF). I’m not sure if this played that much of a role in it, by I added fresh Parmesan cheese to my kids and hubby’s (since they don’t have to be Dairy Free, luck them!). They all liked it! Next time, I’ll add some garlic and more seasoning, but overall it was great!!
★★★★
Sounds like a perfect plan for next time! 🙂
I have a vegetarian friend visiting. Could I make this without the chicken or add it at the end after taking out a serving?
Yes! That’ll work like a charm 🙂 And you’ll want to use a good-quality veggie broth in place of the chicken or beef broth. (We like Imagine Organic brand–the flavor is so good!)
I’ve made this recipe so many times now and absolutely loved it. Thank you so much for sharing!
★★★★★
I’m SO GLAD Claudia! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this review. You totally made my day!