This Chicken Pesto Risotto is super creamy and loaded with healthy ingredients. This no fuss risotto recipe made on the stove top is a great addition to your weekly meal plan.
Ingredients for Chicken Pesto Risotto
While risotto has a wrap for being fussy we want to encourage you to give this recipe a try! As long as you have a little patience and can hang by the stove you’ll have a delicious and easy to make risotto for dinner in about 30 minutes. For this recipe you will need:
- olive oil
- sweet onion
- garlic
- chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
- white wine
- arborio rice
- pesto (try our Homemade Vegan Cashew Pesto)
- cooked chicken
This is a perfect recipe for when you have some leftover chicken in the fridge or make this recipe really easy and grab a cooked rotisserie style chicken from the grocery store to use like we did!
How to Make Chicken Pesto Risotto
Before starting to cook risotto it is important to have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go. For this recipe that includes chopping the onion, garlic and chicken. Also, if you are making a homemade pesto be sure to have it ready to go.
To start, in a small saucepan, bring chicken broth to a simmer and keep over hot burner. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Next, add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes or until fragrant.
Stir in the arborio rice to coat in garlic and onion. Add white wine and cook until absorbed stirring very frequently.
Then, add the broth in small additions. A ladle is perfect to use for this part. Be sure to stir frequently and make sure all broth is absorbed before adding more. The more you stir the creamier the risotto will become.
Once all broth is cooked in remove from the heat. Then, stir in pesto and chicken until well combined. Serve immediately. If desired, top with additional basil and parmesan cheese.
More Risotto Recipes
Frequently Asked Questions
Arborio rice is gluten free so just be sure that you’re remaining ingredients are gluten free. The only ingredients you should need to check are the chicken broth and store-bought pesto if you don’t make your own.
Any kind of precooked chicken can be used for this recipe. We got a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and used the chicken breasts. You can also use shredded chicken.
Absolutely! To make this recipe dairy free just use our Homemade Vegan Cashew Pesto. This recipe uses cashews and nutritional yeast instead of parmesan cheese.
Creamy risotto just takes a little bit of patience. The slower you add in in the liquid and the more you stir the creamier the risotto will get. Pour yourself a glass of wine and spend some time at the stove enjoying the cooking process.
Either can be used. Chicken stock may offer a deeper flavor than chicken broth since it is usually cooked longer and with more bones. Whichever one you have on hand will work well for this recipe. If you want to go homemade you can try making a batch of our Chicken Bone Broth to have on hand for cooking.
No, only arborio rice can be used to make risotto. Other varieties of rice will not create the same creamy texture as arborio rice. Arborio rice can be found in any grocery store in the rice section.
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Looking for more comfort food recipes? Try our One Pot Lemon Herb Chicken and Rice, Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Lasagna, Crock Pot Cowboy Soup, Easy Tin Foil Baked Chicken, Air Fryer Cube Steak Recipe, Vegan Baked Spaghetti Recipe and Shepherd’s Pie.
Chicken Pesto Risotto
This Chicken Pesto Risotto is super creamy and loaded with healthy ingredients. This no fuss risotto recipe made on the stove top is a great addition to your weekly meal plan.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 sweet onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons garlic, chopped
- 1 cup arborio rice
- 2/3 cup white wine
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup pesto
- 2 cups cooked chicken, diced
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, bring chicken broth to a simmer and keep over hot burner.
- Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.
- Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes or until fragrant.
- Stir in rice to coat in garlic and onion.
- Add white wine and cook until absorbed stirring very frequently.
- Add broth in small additions. Be sure to stir frequently and make sure all broth is absorbed before adding more. The more you stir the creamier the risotto will become.
- Once all broth is cooked in remove from the heat.
- Stir in pesto and chicken.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Try our Homemade Vegan Cashew Pesto for this recipe.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 497Total Fat: 32gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 23gCholesterol: 76mgSodium: 1136mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 1gSugar: 4gProtein: 23g