Chicken and Chorizo Risotto is an easy meal and ready in just 30 minutes. A lot like a Paella, but without the seafood, it's a colourful tasty one-pot dish. This version is straightforward with minimal stirring so an easy risotto recipe to try.
You can use any chicken in this recipe but it's also perfect for using up leftover chicken from a roast. If you don't have quite enough, just add in extra chorizo and vegetables.
If you're looking for more leftover chicken recipe ideas, you might like Creamy Chicken Leek and Mushroom Pasta, Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake or how about an easy curry recipe such as my Healthy Chicken Korma or Easy Chicken Balti
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Ingredients
This chicken and chorizo risotto needs minimal prep time and stirring so gather all your ingredients together before you start.
- Chicken- you can use chicken breast or chicken thighs or leftover chicken from a roast.
- Arborio Rice- this is the best rice to use in a risotto. It has shorter grains and a slightly nutty flavour. It can absorb lots of liquid and has a nice creamy texture.
- White Wine or Vermouth-adding white wine to a risotto helps to balance out the creaminess. If you don't want to use wine, you can simply leave it out.
- Chorizo - Chorizo is a spicy spanish sausage and adds real flavour to the risotto. Try to choose a good quality chorizo to get the best flavour and buy it as a sausage to cut up yourself. Pre-sliced chorizo tends to not have such a strong flavour.
- Tumeric-this give the risotto a nice yellow colour. I like to add this as it makes the dish look more appetising.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Gather all your ingredients together. If you are using chicken that is already cooked, you don't need to add it until you add the stock.
Heat the butter in a large saucepan and when it is bubbling, add the onion and red pepper and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes until soft.
Add the diced chicken and chorizo and fry for 3 minutes, stirring regularly. Cooked Chicken can be added later.
Add the rice and stir it around so it is well coated in the butter. Fry for 2 minutes. Pour in the wine or vermouth and stir until it has all evaporated. The alcohol will evaporate off but you can skip the wine if you prefer.
Add the tumeric and stir into the rice.
Add the stock and stir it all together. Bring the pan to simmer then cover with a tight-fitting lid and turn the heat down low. Cook for 15 - 20 minutes until the rice is softened, stirring occasionally so it doesn't stick. If you're using leftover chicken, you should add it here.
When the rice is cooked, stir in the peas and parmesan and season with salt and black pepper. Let it rest for 2 - 5 minutes to allow it to go creamy. Serve with some fresh parsley.
Recipe Tips
- Arborio rice is the best rice to use for risotto and you need to use this to get the best results. Arborio rice absorbs the stock slowly and has a nice creamy texture.
- Don't wash arborio rice before using it as it's the starch that gives it the creamy texture.
- In this recipe, you add all the stock at once and although you don't need to stir it all the time like other risotto recipes, you should stir it from time to time to prevent it sticking and to make sure you get that creaminess.
- When you add the parmesan cheese, take it off the heat and leave it to rest for a few minutes. Resting your risotto is important to get the right texture.
- If you don't have chorizo you could also use bacon or pancetta. Adding a teaspoon of sweet smoked paprika will help add back that spicy flavour you are missing from the chorizo.
Variations
This is an easy recipe to vary the quantities of meat and vegetables. You can easily use less meat and add in more vegetables. This chicken risotto recipe is my go-to if I don't have enough chicken leftover to make another meal.
- Spicy - add a diced red chili for extra spice.
- Vegetables - you could also add in extra vegetables such as mushrooms, green beans or broccoli.
- Kid friendly - use normal pork sausage if you don't think your kids will like chorizo.
What to serve with Risotto
This is a great one-pot dish so there is no need to serve up anything else. You could if you like serve a green salad or even some crusty bread if you want to make the meal go further.
Sustainability
Chicken is the most popular meat sold and the quality, sustainability, and even flavour varies. The best sustainable chicken you can buy is a locally sourced organic one. If you can't manage this, try to buy locally produced free-range chicken. Buying meat from local sources reduces the carbon footprint and also helps support your local economy. Some people prefer to reduce the amount of meat they eat in a meal rather than having meat-free days. This is a great recipe for doing that. Just increase the quantity of vegetables.
Storage and Reheating
Risotto is best eaten fresh. You can store Chicken and Chorizo risotto in the fridge for 1 -2 days. Make sure when you reheat it that it is piping hot. Food safety advice is to only reheat meat once, so if you have used leftover chicken, you shouldn't reheat the meat for a second time. You may also need to add a little extra hot stock to loosen it. You can freeze a risotto but the texture will not be the same when defrosted. However, this is always better than food waste.
More Risotto Recipes
If you love risotto, try these other easy risotto recipes.
Video
📖 Recipe
Chicken and Chorizo Risotto
Ingredients
- 20 g butter organic
- 1 onions organic, peeled and diced
- 1 red pepper de seeded and diced
- 400 g diced chicken
- 100 g chorizo diced into cubes
- 400 g arborio rice organic
- 150 ml vermouth or white wine organic, fairtrade
- 1 teaspoon tumeric organic, fairtrade
- 1 litre chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 200 g frozen peas organic
- 40 g Parmesan cheese organic, grated
- 1 dash salt
- 1 dash black pepper organic, fairtrade, freshly ground
- 20 g fresh parsley organic, chopped
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a large saucepan and when it is bubbling, add the onion and red pepper and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes.20 g butter, 1 onions, 1 red pepper
- Add the diced chicken and chorizo and fry for 3 minutes, stirring regularly400 g diced chicken, 100 g chorizo
- Add the rice and stir it around so it is well coated in the butter. Fry for 2 minutes. Pour in the wine or vermouth and stir until it has all evaporated. The alcohol will evaporate off but you can skip the wine if you prefer.400 g arborio rice, 150 ml vermouth or white wine
- Add the tumeric and stir into the rice1 teaspoon tumeric
- Add a the stock and stir it all together. Bring the pan to simmer then cover with a tight fitting lid and turn the heat down low. Cook for 15 - 20 minutes until the rice is softened, stirring occasionally.1 litre chicken stock
- When the rice is cooked, stir in the peas and parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Let it rest for 2 - 5 minutes to allow it to go creamy.200 g frozen peas, 1 dash salt, 40 g Parmesan cheese, 1 dash black pepper
- Serve with the parsley sprinkled over the top.20 g fresh parsley
Notes
Tips
- Arborio rice is the best rice to use for risotto.
- Don't wash arborio rice before using.
- Stir the risotto from time to time to prevent it from sticking and to make sure you get that creaminess.
- When you add the parmesan cheese, you should take it off the heat and leave it to rest for a few minutes.
- If you don't have chorizo you could also use bacon or pancetta. Adding a teaspoon of sweet smoked paprika will help add back that spicy flavour you are missing from the chorizo.
Storage
Risotto is best eaten fresh. You can store this Chicken and Chorizo risotto in the fridge for 1 -2 days. Make sure when you reheat it that it is piping hot. Food safety advice is to only reheat meat once, so if you have used leftover chicken, you shouldn't reheat the meat for a second time. You may also need to add a little extra hot stock to loosen it. You can freeze a risotto but the texture will not be the same when defrosted. However, this is always better than food waste.Nutrition per serving
The Nutritional Values are computer generated estimates based on industry standards and are provided as a helpful guide only.
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