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
Scale
- 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