Creamy Chicken Risotto

August 23, 2012 By Leanne Vogel March 29, 2017

3 entrees in one week? I don’t think this has ever happened on the blog. I’m the girl that enjoys pancakes for dinner, gluten-free cupcakes in the afternoon, and chowing down on homemade granola… not gushing over a rib-sticking, comforting meal. Hypothetically if my sweet tooth were to never return, I think it’s fair to say that I could live on this risotto. It’s creamy yet light, rich but not full of oil, dairy-free, made up of 9 easy to find ingredients, oh and did I mention it’s delicious? I’ve enjoyed my fair share of risottos in my day, but none of them were made by me. Seems strange, doesn’t it? I’d always thought that homemade risottos were too complicated – lots of boiling, chopping, preparing, but when I saw how easy it was to do (thanks Tyler Florence), I figured it was about time for me to make the jump and create my very own risotto recipe.

The directions just look long but don’t be intimidated like I was. It’s really just like making a stir-fry, only you cook the rice with the stir-fry. Easy peasy!

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5.0 from 4 reviews

Creamy Chicken Risotto

Author: Leanne Vogel

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: 6 cups, 4 servings

This risotto is made up of simple, easy to find ingredients that combine to make one hearty, flavorful risotto.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2-1/2 cups gluten-free chicken broth
2 cups unsweetened almond milk
1-1/2 cups risotto rice
½ cup white cooking wine
2 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed (yield 12 oz. cooked)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

Place olive oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook for up to 8 minutes, until onion is translucent.
Meanwhile, heat chicken broth and almond milk in a medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer.
Add rice to onion mixture and stir for one minute.
Add wine to pan to de-glaze. Cook until the wine has reduced completely.
Add cooked and cubed chicken breast.
Slowly add 1 cup of hot broth to the rice mixture. Bring mixture to a gentle boil, stirring occasionally until the broth is absorbed.
Add another 1 cup broth, stir until absorbed.
Add in ½ cup broth at a time allowing each portion to absorb before adding another. This process should take about 25 - 30 minutes.
Once complete, risotto mixture should be tender. Stir in fresh parsley and serve.
To store, place in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Or, place in the freezer to extend lifetime, up to 2 months.

View nutrition info

I realized as I was chopping up the chicken I’d just cooked that I didn’t have any chicken broth so I chose to use bouillon instead of running out to the store. Either one will do the trick. I used one with sodium so I didn’t have to add any additional salt to the recipe.

We haven’t been to our butcher in a while just because I’m no longer working in the city and finding an opportunity to use the car to go on a couple of errands has been pretty challenging to do lately! When this happens, I purchase PC Free From meats, meat raised free from antibiotics and hormones. It’s better than your average store-bought meat, but I’m still a bit skeptical of it.

You can use leftover chicken, or bake the chicken breast beforehand for this recipe. I wanted to make a recipe that I could re-purpose for all the leftover chicken we seem to accumulate throughout the week. Begin by placing the olive oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook for up to 8 minutes, until onion is translucent. Once complete, add rice to the mix and cook for one minute. Add wine to de-glaze the pan (my favorite part) While this is happening, heat chicken broth and almond milk in a medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer.

Once the wine has reduced, add cooked and cubed chicken. Then, add a ladle or so of hot broth to the rice mixture. Bring to a boil, wait until it’s absorbed, then add more. Continue this until all of the broth is gone and the rice is tender. I left it to sit on the stove and stirred every couple of minutes.