With delicious chicken thighs served over a creamy bed of rice and mushroom, this chicken risotto recipe brings a filling, hearty main that's ready in under 30 minutes.
What’s better, our formula is easy to follow, yet produces exceptionally tasty results. So why not try this to give your weeknight dishes a flavorful Italian flair?
Ingredients for Chicken Risotto
- For the Chicken
We opt for skin-on boneless chicken thighs in this recipe. Chicken thighs have a higher moisture content so it's absolutely tender and juicy. Pan-searing the chicken also gives it a gorgeous golden-brown color and delicious crispy skin.
To season, we toss the meat with paprika, Cajun seasoning, and garlic powder for a delicious savory kick.
- For the Mushroom Risotto
A creamy mushroom risotto is simply classic.
For this recipe, we select the typical Italian-grown arborio rice, thanks to its amazing ability to absorb liquids. This short-grain type of rice produces a starchy taste and creamy texture when cooked with a stock.
To make it, we first saute garlic and onion in olive oil to kick up the flavor before adding the white mushrooms, then the rice, chicken broth, milk, and other spices, including salt, pepper, onion powder, and Italian seasoning.
- For the Topping
To give it a nice finish, sprinkle some shredded parmesan cheese and chopped parsley on top.
Is Chicken Risotto Healthy?
Yes, our chicken risotto makes a nutritious meal. Here’s why:
First off, the chicken thighs in our dish provide a lot of high-quality protein. One serving of our chicken risotto contains 31.8 grams, a significant amount.
Our dish also includes extra carbohydrates from arborio rice to make it more filling. Additionally, rice contains a number of vital vitamins and minerals that have many positive health effects.
On top of that, the added white mushrooms give our dish a boost of fiber and other nutrients.
Overall, we have carefully estimated the amount of each ingredient to meet the nutritional goals set by the 2020 – 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Specifically, for each serving, there are 500 calories, 6.7 g saturated fats, and 581 mg sodium.
How to Store and Reheat
You can keep the leftover chicken risotto in an airtight container in the fridge for around 3 to 4 days.
This chicken risotto recipe also freezes well, so you can store leftovers in the freezer for later use.
For reheating, give it a quick stir-fry on the stovetop or use the microwave.
What to Serve With Chicken Risotto
Here are some delicious sides to serve with our chicken risotto for a well-rounded meal:
- Healthy Watermelon Arugula Salad Recipe
- Spinach Salad Recipe
- Kale Salad Recipe
- Salad Mix Recipe
- Spring Salad Recipe
Chicken Risotto Recipe
This 30-minute chicken risotto recipe makes a quick and filling meal with deliciously savory chicken thighs on top of creamy mushroom risotto, perfect for lunches or weeknight dinners.
- cook TIME 25 mins
- prep TIME 5 mins
- total TIME 30 mins
- COURSE Main Dish
- CUISINE American, Italian
- SERVINGS servings
- CALORIES 613 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 1.5 tsppaprika
- 6 ozwhite mushrooms (sliced)
- 1 tbspgarlic (minced)
- 2 tbspparsley (chopped)
- 4 tbspheavy cream
- 3 ozonion (diced)
- 0.5 tspsalt
- 0.5 tspground black pepper
- 0.5 tspgarlic powder
- 1 tspItalian seasoning
- 0.5 tsponion powder
- 1.5 tbspolive oil
- 16 ozskin-on boneless chicken thigh
- 1.3 cupuncooked arborio rice
- 0.5 cupmilk
- 0.5 ozparmesan cheese (shredded)
- 2 cupsunsalted chicken broth
- 1 tspCajun seasoning
INSTRUCTIONS
Prep:
Slice the white mushrooms lengthwise to make thin slices.
Dice the onion: Half the onion lengthwise and peel the skin. Make vertical slices 1/8" apart from each other towards the root, but leave about 1/8" so they're still intact. Turn the half 90 degrees, and grip the root. From the bottom, make horizontal cuts 1/8" apart from each other into the onion, also leaving 1/8" to keep everything intact. Slice the onion to have even cubes.
Peel and mince the garlic: Cut to remove the root part of each garlic clove and mash them down with a knife to remove the peel with ease. Mince the peeled cloves.
Finely chop the parsley.
Cook:
Season the chicken: In a large bowl, add 16 oz skin-on boneless chicken thighs, 1 1/2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp Cajun seasoning, and 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Toss well to coat evenly.
Pan-sear the chicken: In a skillet over medium heat, add 1/2 tbsp olive oil. After a few seconds when the oil is hot and ready, add in the chicken and pan-sear both sides for a total of 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Saute the garlic and onion: In the same skillet, add 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp garlic, and 3 oz onion. Saute for 2 minutes.
Add the mushroom: Add 6 oz white mushroom and stir-fry for 3 minutes.
Add the rice, chicken broth, milk, and other spices: Add 1 1/4 cup uncooked arborio rice, 2 cups unsalted chicken broth, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, and 1/2 tsp salt. Stir well. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then turn the heat back to low and stir for around 12 minutes or until absorbed completely. (The rice should be 70% cooked)
Add the chicken, cheese, parsley and serve: Add the pan-seared chicken on top, then sprinkle with 0.5 oz shredded parmesan cheese and 2 tbsp chopped parsley. Enjoy!
NUTRITION
Tuyet Pham
Chef, Culinary Consultant
Luna Regina
Writer, Author