This one pot Chicken and Pea Risotto is total comfort food. Perfectly cooked creamy rice with chunks of chicken and peas. A great way to use up leftover chicken and easy to adapt with your favourite vegetables. It's so simple to make, and you can have restaurant quality risotto without having to leave the house.
Risotto might be the ultimate comfort food, and it's so simple to make too. Delicious, cheesy comfort food. Unlike some risottos that are a labour of love, this one is ready in just 30 minutes and makes use of leftover chicken. A great fridge raid meal too, as you can add a variety of vegetables.
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Why should you try it?
- Ready in just 30 minutes
- High in Protein
- Easy to adapt with different ingredients
- Impressive date night meal
Step by step
One: Heat the oil in the pan and then add the shallots and garlic. Gently cook for 3 minutes until softened.



What chicken to use
For this recipe we used some leftover meat from a whole chicken that we cooked the day before. If you wanted to use fresh chicken, then before you start the risotto, grill some chicken breast and then cut it into small pieces. Or you could fry some chicken in the pan before adding the shallots and garlic.
You don't have to use chicken either - this works well with turkey too or even use king prawns.
Why not try our Slow Cooker Whole Chicken recipe, and use some of it in this.
What rice to use
If you want that classic, creamy risotto then you should always use arborio rice, and that is what our method and cooking time is for. However, if you wanted to give this dish a nutrient boost, then you could swap it for brown rice. Please note that cooking times and nutritional values will vary though.
What vegetables to add
We just used peas and shallots in this recipe, but you can always add more. Why not cook some finely chopped mushrooms at the same time as the shallots - use something like shiitake mushrooms for extra texture.
If you want to give this risotto a green veggie boost, wilt some spinach in at the same time you add the chicken.
Vegetarian version
Of course you can omit the chicken completely, or replace it with a meat-free chicken substitute. If you still want a meat type texture to your risotto, then tofu would work well or even small cubes of quickly fried halloumi.
What to with serve
This chicken risotto is a really filling and hearty dish as it is, so you don’t need to add much more too it. However, if you are cooking it for a few people, you could serve it with some homemade garlic bread and a big green salad.
How to store
Risotto is always best made fresh, however if you do have some leftover then you can store it covered in the fridge for up to two days. We wouldn’t recommend freezing risotto, because the rice becomes really hard when frozen and the texture just isn’t right when it is defrosted and reheated.
Extra tips
- You can use turkey instead of chicken, if you prefer. Or even king prawns.
- Make sure you stir it every couple of minutes when simmering.
- You could swap the arborio rice for brown rice for extra nutrition, however it would change the cooking time.
- Give this dish a veggie boost by stirring in some spinach before serving.
- We wouldn’t recommend freezing risotto.
- Add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end to really freshen this dish up.
- We used all stock in this recipe, however you could swap 100ml of it for white wine.
- We recommend using a good quality pot to cook the risotto in, we used this Le Creuset Casserole Dish.(aff)
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Recipe card


Chicken and Pea Risotto
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 shallots diced
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 125 g arborio rice
- 700 ml chicken stock
- 120 g leftover cooked chicken chopped
- 75 g frozen peas
- 2 tbsp creme fraiche
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
- 40 g Italian hard cheese grated
Instructions
- Heat the oil in the pan and then add the shallots and garlic. Gently cook for 3 minutes until softened.
- Add the rice and stir well so it absorbs the oil.
- Add the all but 100ml of stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes, until the stock has reduced.
- Stir in the chicken, peas and rest of the stock and cook for 5 minutes until the chickens has heated through.
- Add the creme fraiche, salt, pepper and Parmesan, stir and serve.
Notes
- You can use turkey instead of chicken, if you prefer. Or even king prawns.
- Make sure you stir it every couple of minutes when simmering.
- You could swap the arborio rice for brown rice for extra nutrition, however it would change the cooking time.
- Give this dish a veggie boost by stirring in some spinach before serving.
- We wouldn’t recommend freezing risotto.
- Add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end to really freshen this dish up.
- We used all stock in this recipe, however you could swap 100ml of it for white wine.
- We recommend using a good quality pot to cook the risotto in, we used this Le Creuset Casserole Dish.(aff)
Nutritional Information
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Adrianne
I love risotto and yours looks so goof, yum!! I can't wait to give this a go, so cold here, this will be perfect!
Sue
Sounds delicious and so easy ~ I might try it out in my Instant Pot!
Nart at Cooking with Nart
I love risotto and tried this recipe. I was so easy to ,ake and such a delight!
Farah Maizar
Chicken and peas are a perfect pairing! And love how creamy and beautiful this looks can't wait to try it!!
Julia
I've never tried adding creme fraiche to risotto, but like the idea. Thanks for the inspiration!
Jen
I've always been intimidated by risotto because I've heard it hard to make but your instructions look fairly easy. Thanks for breaking down the recipe and giving me the confidence to try.
mohan kumar
What a fabulous recipe! So easy and tasty!Thank you so much for the recipe!
Heidy
Your Chicken and Pea Risotto recipe came out spot on. I loved it and will be making it again soon.
Sandhya Hariharan
One Pot Risotto recipe is simply a delicious way to use up all the leftovers.
veenaazmanov
A healthy and delicious combination and the best Happy meal option too.
Angela
I love the ease of this meal. I could add or subtract depending on what I had available in my frig. And as a huge bonus, my kids loved it. I will definitely be making it again.
Jo
Delicious and easy family meal. My kids loved it and asked for seconds.
Sarah
I love risotto and this was absolutely delicious. So good in fact, I made it twice!