This one pot Chicken and Pea Risotto is total comfort food. Perfectly cooked creamy rice with chunks of chicken and peas. A great way to use up leftover chicken and easy to adapt with your favourite vegetables. It's so simple to make, and you can have restaurant quality risotto without having to leave the house. It's a favourite with kids too.
Risotto might be the ultimate comfort food, and it's so simple to make too. Delicious, cheesy comfort food. Unlike some risottos that are a labour of love, this one is ready in just 30 minutes and makes use of leftover chicken. A great fridge raid meal too, as you can add a variety of vegetables.
Looking for some other ways to use up leftover chicken? Why not try our Chicken Quesadillas, Leftover Chicken Pasta or BBQ Chicken Salad.
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Ingredients needed
- Oil - A good quality olive oil.
- Shallots - This adds a lovely sweetness to the base of the dish, however you could swap them for a small brown onion.
- Garlic - Freshly crushed is always best, but you can use frozen garlic to save time.
- Arborio rice - We used arborio rice as that gives the best creamy risotto. However, you could use another rice, but cooking times would vary and you wouldn't get the same results.
- Stock - Use a good quality chicken stock for a really rich flavour. You can use vegetable stock if you prefer. If making this for small children, then use a low salt stock.
- Cooked chicken - To make this dish super easy, we used leftovers from a roast chicken. However, you could fry some small chunks of chicken breast to use in this.
- Peas - These add a lovely pop of colour and a portion of vegetables. Frozen work best.
- Crème fraiche - This adds some lovely extra creaminess to the chicken and pea risotto. You could swap it for cream cheese or quark if you prefer.
- Salt and pepper - Season to taste.
- Hard cheese - You can use any cheese that melts well, like a mature cheddar or mozzarella (although this will make it very stringy).
A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
How to make chicken and pea risotto - Step by step
One: Heat the oil in the pan and then add the shallots and garlic. Gently cook for 3 minutes until softened.
Two: Add the rice and stir well so it absorbs the oil.
Three: Add in a ladle of stock and stir. Simmer for 15 minutes, adding a ladle each time the liquid has reduced and stirring every couple of minutes, until the stock has all reduced.
Four: Stir in the chicken, peas and cook for 5 minutes until the chickens has heated through.
Five: Add the crème fraiche, salt, pepper and Parmesan, stir and serve.
Why should you try it?
- Quick - This chicken and pea risotto is ready in just 30 minutes and with minimal prep time too.
- High in Protein - Thanks to the chicken and peas, this is a high protein, and filling, meal.
- Easy to adapt - We have given options for different vegetables and cheese that you can use in this recipe to adapt it.
- Impressive date night meal - Risotto is such a great date night meal, as it feels far more indulgent than it actually is.
Variations
For this recipe we used some leftover meat from a whole chicken that we cooked the day before. If you wanted to use fresh chicken, then before you start the risotto, grill some chicken breast and then cut it into small pieces. Or you could fry some chicken in the pan before adding the shallots and garlic. You don't have to use chicken either - this works well with turkey too or even use king prawns. Why not try our Slow Cooker Whole Chicken recipe, and use some of it in this.
The great thing about a risotto, is that it is easy to adapt. Use this a base recipe and then add extra ingredients depending on what your family love. Here are some other additions that work really well:
- Cooked chopped bacon
- Chorizo (cook it at the same time as the shallots)
- Asparagus
- Spinach
- Chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- Shittake and chestnut mushrooms
- Pesto
- Grilled cod or salmon
- Roasted butternut squash
- Grilled king prawns
What to with serve with risotto
This chicken and pea risotto is pretty much a full meal already, however we are always a fan of serving extra vegetables on the side where we can. Looking for some side dishes to go with this? Why not try these:
- Roasted Lemon Asparagus
- Cheesy Garlic Bread
- Buttered Leeks
- Baked Carrot Fries
- Garlic Spring Greens
- Beetroot and Goats Cheese Salad
- Roasted Tenderstem Broccoli
- Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
- Garlic and Parsley Roasted Carrots
Storage
Store: Risotto is always best made fresh, however if you do have some leftover then you can store it covered in the fridge for up to two days. Make sure that you follow food safety guidelines for cooked rice - do not leave it at room temperature and cool it very quickly. You then need to make sure to reheat it fully before serving.
Freeze: We wouldn’t recommend freezing risotto, because the rice becomes really hard when frozen and the texture just isn’t right when it is defrosted and reheated.
Reheat: To reheat, preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Place the cold risotto in an oven proof dish, and add a liquid like white wine, stock or simply water - just enough to loosen the rice. You can add a knob of butter too if desired. Bake for around 10 minutes until heated through, stirring every 2 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
The secret is cooking it low and slow and adding a little bit of stock at a time. This gives you the best creamy risotto. Using the right rice is important too.
Whilst the chicken and pea risotto is cooking, leave the lid off. However, we recommend putting the lid on for a couple of minutes once finished cooking, as this will allow it to get the perfect texture.
No, you don't need to use wine in risotto, although it does give it an extra rich flavour.
As long as you make sure the stock is gluten free and there is no cross contamination, then this can be gluten free.
Yes, stir it every time you add a ladle of stock.
You don't add all the stock at once in a risotto. You add a ladle at a time, so the rice can gradually soak up the stock which gives you a creamier risotto at the end.
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Recipe
Chicken and Pea Risotto
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 shallots diced
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 125 g arborio rice
- 700 ml chicken stock
- 120 g leftover cooked chicken chopped
- 75 g frozen peas
- 2 tablespoon creme fraiche
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
- 40 g Italian hard cheese grated
Instructions
- Heat the oil in the pan and then add the shallots and garlic. Gently cook for 3 minutes until softened.1 tablespoon olive oil, 3 shallots, 2 garlic cloves
- Add the rice and stir well so it absorbs the oil.125 g arborio rice
- Add the all but 100ml of stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes, until the stock has reduced.700 ml chicken stock
- Stir in the chicken, peas and rest of the stock and cook for 5 minutes until the chickens has heated through.75 g frozen peas, 120 g leftover cooked chicken
- Add the creme fraiche, salt, pepper and Parmesan, stir and serve.2 tablespoon creme fraiche, 1 pinch salt and pepper, 40 g Italian hard cheese
Notes
- You can use turkey instead of chicken, if you prefer. Or even king prawns.
- Make sure you stir it every couple of minutes when simmering.
- Don't skip frying the rice before adding the stock, as this is important for the final consistency of the dish.
- You could swap the arborio rice for brown rice for extra nutrition, however it would change the cooking time.
- Give this dish a veggie boost by stirring in some spinach before serving.
- We wouldn’t recommend freezing risotto.
- Add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end to really freshen this dish up.
- We used all stock in this recipe, however you could swap 100ml of it for white wine.
- We recommend using a good quality pot to cook the risotto in, we used this Le Creuset Casserole Dish.(aff)
Adrianne
I love risotto and yours looks so goof, yum!! I can't wait to give this a go, so cold here, this will be perfect!
Sue
Sounds delicious and so easy ~ I might try it out in my Instant Pot!
Nart at Cooking with Nart
I love risotto and tried this recipe. I was so easy to ,ake and such a delight!
Farah Maizar
Chicken and peas are a perfect pairing! And love how creamy and beautiful this looks can't wait to try it!!
Julia
I've never tried adding creme fraiche to risotto, but like the idea. Thanks for the inspiration!
Jen
I've always been intimidated by risotto because I've heard it hard to make but your instructions look fairly easy. Thanks for breaking down the recipe and giving me the confidence to try.
mohan kumar
What a fabulous recipe! So easy and tasty!Thank you so much for the recipe!
Heidy
Your Chicken and Pea Risotto recipe came out spot on. I loved it and will be making it again soon.
Sandhya Hariharan
One Pot Risotto recipe is simply a delicious way to use up all the leftovers.
veenaazmanov
A healthy and delicious combination and the best Happy meal option too.
Angela
I love the ease of this meal. I could add or subtract depending on what I had available in my frig. And as a huge bonus, my kids loved it. I will definitely be making it again.
Jo
Delicious and easy family meal. My kids loved it and asked for seconds.
Sarah
I love risotto and this was absolutely delicious. So good in fact, I made it twice!