This baked chicken risotto is so easy because the oven does all the work for you, my young sons love this family favourite.
This baked chicken bacon and pea risotto is one of my favourite family dinners. The combination of the chicken and bacon go so well together and the peas give it a nice touch of green to finish it off.
This risotto is baked in the oven so it takes the hassle out of standing at the stove and stirring the whole time like you would with a standard risotto.
How to make baked chicken risotto:
I like to use chicken thighs for this recipe because they stay nice and moist once cooked and won’t dry, but you can use chicken breast if you prefer.
You start this recipe on the stove top by sautéing onion and garlic then frying the bacon and chicken until browned. You don’t need to cook the chicken all the way through as it will cook again in the oven with rice.
This risotto only needs to be stirred once halfway through cooking. I finish it off with butter, parmesan and then the peas, garnish with parsley and extra grated parmesan.
You can put your own spin to this recipe by adding different meat or protein, in the photo below I have left out the chicken and bacon and added prawns and peas. You could also make it vegetarian and use mushrooms, just brown them at the start in place of the bacon and chicken.
For the prawn version I just placed the raw prawns on top of the risotto and put them under the grill for the last 10 minutes of cooking, until they were pink and cooked through.
Depending on the size of your dish, you may want to reduce the amount of stock. In this recipe I have used a 30cm wide, shallow dish. This greater surface area helps the rice to absorb the stock.
Common questions about baked chicken risotto:
Can I add other vegetables? Yes definitely, if you want to add mushrooms do so at the beginning with the onions. If you want to add rocket, spinach or other greens I would add these at the end and stir through with the butter.
What is arborio rice? Arborio is an Italian short-grain rice. Because it is a high-starch grain, it is ideal for making creamy risottos.
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If you want some new ideas for risotto try my Baked risotto with mushroom and sausage or Bacon and butternut risotto
*Disclaimer*
If you want to make this recipe gluten free: Always check the label on processed foods, including sauce bottles.
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Baked chicken, bacon and pea risotto
This baked risotto is so easy because the oven does all the work for you. The combination of chicken and bacon are delicious.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp of olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 6 bacon rashers, sliced
- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 4 chicken thighs, sliced thinly
- 1 ½ cups of arborio rice
- 3 ½ cups of chicken stock
- 25g of butter
- ½ cup of grated parmesan
- 1 cup of peas, thawed
- 1 handful of Italian parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180ºC.
- In an ovenproof dish sauté onion in oil for a few minutes, add bacon and brown.
- Add crushed garlic and chicken thighs then stir until chicken has browned.
- Add rice and pour stock in slowly while stirring it all together, cover and put into oven.
- Cook for 35 minutes stirring once halfway through cooking.
- Remove from oven then add butter, parmesan and peas. Gently fold together until butter has melted.
- Season to taste, garnish with parsley and more parmesan.
Notes
Always check the label on processed foods, including sauce bottles, to ensure they are completely gluten free.
- Depending on the size of your dish, you may want to reduce the amount of stock. In this recipe I have used a 30cm wide, shallow dish. This greater surface area helps the rice to absorb the stock.
- You can swap out the chicken and bacon for other protein if you prefer, prawns work really well.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 478Total Fat: 26gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 143mgSodium: 760mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 2gSugar: 5gProtein: 34g
Nutritional values are approximate. Please use your own calculations if you require a special diet.
Natalie
I just tried this and after 35 mins in the oven there is still so much liquid and the rice isn't cooked! What has happened?
Vanya
Hi there, maybe your oven if different to mine. Just cook it for longer until the rice it cooked through.
Natalie
I actually think it was different pot size! Yours seems bigger and flatter than mine. I got there in the end though and now dinner is all ready for tomorrow night!
Vanya
Oh yay that is good to hear!
Ana
Waaaaay too much stock. It took an hour + for the liquid to soak in.
VJ cooks
Oh that's weird, I've never had that feedback and it works every time for me. Perhaps my oven is hotter than yours?
michelle
Oh wish id read comments. This is soup consistency after 35mins. Ensure you adjust your stock or use a shallow dish
Karen
Hi Vanya, mines really liquidy too. I added 4 cups of chicken stock with 1 1/2 cups of Arborio rice and it was still like a soup after 35 minutes. I’ve added another cup of rice and taken the cover off. Hopefully that works!
VJ cooks
Sorry to hear that, Karen. I don't have this issue but I can see a few other people do so we will investigate what could be the cause. Thanks for your feedback.
Sarah
Morena Vanya, Would this recipe freeze well?
VJ cooks
Hi Sarah, the short answer is no, sorry. Rice can harden and change texture once frozen and then reheated. If you were to make it specifically to freeze, you could cook the rice a little less so that when you defrost and reheat it, it can 'finish off' cooking. Otherwise it can go soggy. If you're not too fussed about the texture you can freeze and reheat it. Allow the risotto to cool completely, then get it in the freezer as soon as possible, ideally within an hour of cooking.
Sian
Bugger i wish i had read these comments before making this to reduce the liquid stock amount! 35 minutes in the oven at 200 & i un covered it now to try get rid of the excess liquid. Instead of 4 cups maybe 2 cups would have been enough?
VJ cooks
Hi Sian, thanks for your feedback. I have never had this issue but given a few readers have, I've reduced the stock by half a cup in the recipe. I have always used a large 30-32 cm dish to make this baked risotto which makes a difference in reducing the liquid.
Yve
Can you cook this from the stage of adding rice in a crock pot/slow cooker?
VJ cooks
I haven't tried that sorry. I imagine it would take a lot longer to cook that way and you would have to stir in between. Let me know how you get on!