Chicken and Leek Risotto

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This is the best chicken and leek risotto recipe. This risotto is rich and creamy, and made with butter, leeks, chicken, spices and green peas to give it an extra bit of flavour and colour. You will love how easy it is to make and that it also makes great leftovers! It’s the ultimate healthy comfort food.

A bowl of chicken and leek risotto with peas and a spoon in it.

Why this recipe is so good:

This healthy chicken risotto is so rich and creamy.
The combination of butter, chicken broth and spices gives this dish the perfect flavour.
It’s easy to make and makes great leftovers.
Move over Jamie Oliver, BBC good food and weight watchers, this is the best chicken leek risotto recipe!
With the addition of green peas this dish could be a complete meal, or served as a side dish.
This dish is healthy, naturally gluten free and can easily be made dairy free.
It freezes really well.
It’s so versatile! Feel free to add other ingredients such as mushrooms or bacon.
If you love risotto you will also love healthy pumpkin risotto!

Key ingredients and substitutions:

For the full list of ingredients, head to the recipe card, but a few ingredient highlights include:

Arborio rice – this is the best rice to make risotto with. It absorbs liquid really well to ensure that your risotto turns out so creamy and rich. Instead of Arborio rice you could use Carnaroli rice, Vialone rice, Nano rice, or Baldo rice.
Chicken stock – this gives this risotto such a rich flavour. You could swap this for vegetable stock or beef stock too.
Leeks – a great alternative to onions, leeks give this dish a distinct flavour.
Frozen peas – to add a little colour and ensure that everyone gets at least one serving of vegetables! Peas help make this healthy risotto taste even better.
Chicken – to add healthy protein and make this risotto recipe a complete meal. I recommend using boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. I personally use free range chicken.
Butter – butter helps to make risotto nice and creamy. If you are dairy free you can use coconut oil or a vegan butter instead.

How to make this recipe:

Step one:

First, place a large pot on the stove on medium heat and add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the chicken and cook for 8-10 minutes, turning every couple minutes to cook all sides of the chicken evenly.

A black pot on the stovetop with chicken pieces cooking in it.

Step two:

Next, add the chopped leeks and minced garlic and cook for a couple more minutes, until the leeks are tender.

A large pot on the stove with cut chicken, leeks and garlic cooking in it.

Step three:

Now add the arborio rice, stock, and spices to the pot and stir everything well to combine. Turn down the heat and let it simmer for 20-22 minutes with the lid on, stirring every few minutes to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

A large pot on the stove with chicken leek risotto cooking in it.

Step four:

Lastly, stir in the frozen peas, and then turn off the heat and put the lid back on the pot. Let the rice sit for a few minutes to allow the peas to warm up. Then serve and enjoy!

A large pot on the stove with chicken leek risotto with peas cooking in it.

Tips and variations:

To make this recipe dairy free: simply swap the butter for coconut oil.
To make it vegan/vegetarian: Use coconut oil instead of butter, vegetable stock instead of chicken stock and tofu instead of chicken (note that I have not tested the cooking time for tofu so you may have to modify it).
Instead of chicken stock or broth, feel free to use either vegetable stock/ broth or bone broth
If you are serving a crowd feel free to double or triple the recipe.
Feel free to add other ingredients such as bacon or mushrooms to make this risotto even more delicious.
Not all types of rice work for risotto, but besides Arborio you could use Carnaroli, Vialone, Nano, or Baldo rice. Just note that I have not tested this recipe with any other type of rice so you may need to adjust the cooking time if you try a different one.
Do you have extra leeks? Learn how to easily freeze leeks to use later by clicking here!

A bowl of chicken and leek risotto with peas on top and a spoon in it.

Frequently asked questions:

Is risotto healthy?

That really depends on what you add to your risotto or what you cook it in. This particular risotto recipe is filled with healthy ingredients like chicken, chicken stock and green peas, making it a healthy and complete meal.

What types of rice can you use to make risotto?

The most common type of rice used is Arborio but you can also use other short grain rices including Carnaroli, Vialone, Nano, and Baldo. Short-grain rice has a high starch content and tends to absorb less liquid, resulting in a thicker, more creamy risotto.

How should I store this risotto?

If you have any leftover risotto, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

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