Risotto is one of my FAVORITE dishes of all time. This chicken risotto has tons of southwest flavor while still staying true to the creamy, richness of a traditional risotto. If you’ve never tried it, I HIGHLY recommend it. It’s so good. Let’s get started so you can try this one!
Special Supplies and Ingredients You’ll Need:
- Deep, high sided skillet:
- This recipe makes a VERY full pan of risotto. You’ll definitely want either a large deep skillet, like this cuisinart one that we have, or something like a dutch oven.
- Arborio Rice:
- Any risotto done right requires the use of arborio rice. Other kinds of rice will. not. work. The special thing about arborio rice is that it releases a creamy starch that actually turns into the sauce for the risotto. You can usually find it at the grocery store, but if not, you can also find it here on Amazon.
Making Southwest Chicken Risotto:
I’m going to be honest, but risotto can be a bit finnicky if you’re making it for the first time. It takes a while for the starchy sauce to build and you have to gradually add liquid. It’s super important that you stir VERY frequently and that you add your liquid gradually, otherwise your risotto won’t turn out right.
For this chicken risotto, we start off by seasoning our chicken and browning it on all sides. After it’s browned, we’ll remove it to a plate and add our peppers to the pan to saute. Then we’ll add the rice and toast it a bit before deglazing the pan with a bit of white wine, or chicken stock if you don’t have wine. You’ll want to add your chicken stock 1 cup at a time and stir, stir, stir. Like I said above, I cannot put enough emphasis on how important this is to the risotto turning out! After the risotto is about half way done, you’ll add the chicken, rotel, and black beans to the pan.
After adding the chicken, rotel, and black beans, it can take a bit longer for the liquid to boil, so just be aware of this. It’s fine! Your risotto will be done after about 25-30 minutes. It should be slightly chewy, but not gummy or crunchy. You’ll then finish it off by removing the pan from the heat. At this point, you’ll add salt and pepper and cheese to enhance the creaminess of the risotto. So good, so rich, and so flavorful.
Recipe:
Southwest Chicken Risotto
Equipment
- 5 qt deep skillet or dutch oven
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb chicken, cubed
- 1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
- 1 tsp pepper, divided
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, seeds removed and diced
- 1 green bell pepper, seeds removed and diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups arborio rice
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1 10 oz can of rotel tomatoes with green chiles, drained
- 1 15 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup Mexican blend cheese
Instructions
- Heat oil over medium high heat in a large deep sided skillet.
- While the oil heats up, season chicken all over with 1/2 of the salt, 1/2 of the pepper, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and paprika.
- Add chicken to the pan and brown on all sides until no longer pink, approximately 7 minutes. Drain and remove to a plate. Set aside.
- Melt butter in the same skillet. Add onion, peppers, and garlic. Saute for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Add rice mixing well so that all ingredients are evenly distributed. Lightly toast the rice stirring frequently, being careful not to burn it.
- Add wine to the rice, deglazing the pan and scraping the browned bits from the bottom for flavor. Stir frequently until the wine has evaporated.
- When the wine has evaporated, add 4 cups of the chicken broth one cup at a time, stirring very frequently until each cup is absorbed. This is important so that the arborio rice creates its own starchy sauce. Make sure you add the broth slowly and stir well.
- After you've added 4 cups of the broth, add the chicken, rotel and black beans to the risotto. It will take longer for the liquid to absorb in this step.
- Add the remaining broth 1 cup at a time, stirring frequently. The rice should be done after about 25 or 30 minutes, but you should begin taste testing it around 20 minutes. The rice should taste slightly chewy when it's done, but not crunchy or gummy.
- When it's done, remove the pan from the heat, add remaining salt and pepper and cheese. Mix well until seasonings and cheese are fully incorporated.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
This southwest chicken risotto recipe is one of my favorites! I hope you like it too! If you try it, drop a rating and a comment down below! If you want more recipes, feel free to check out my recipes page here, the recipes I’ve posted at the links following this paragraph, or subscribe for weekly updates. You can also find me on pinterest and instagram! Thanks for reading.
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I love risotto, often make it with salmon or seared chicken but usually with just green vegetables rather than peppers and beans.
Awesome! Mushroom risotto is one of my faves!
Looks delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much for your feedback! I hope you like it!