A delicious and easy risotto made with leftover roast chicken and vegetables. This recipe even uses the chicken carcass to make a very tasty stock!
Food waste has been a hot topic of conversation recently and with shopping bills increasing way beyond the rate of inflation each year I think most of us are looking for ways to reduce the amount of food we throw away and get more from our grocery budget every month.
This recipe tackles both those issues, using leftover chicken and vegetables from a Sunday roast to make a delicious and easy risotto the next day.
You can even use the chicken carcass to make your own stock if you have the time.
Homemade Stock
Making the stock if of course optional but if you have the time to do it then I really would recommend trying it. It makes the most delicious rich chicken stock, so much better than anything from a stock cube and is worth just that bit more of an effort.
Which Vegetables Should You Use?
For the vegetables I used leftover carrots and broccoli and I also added in some peas and red peppers. But feel free to add whatever veggies you have at home.
The great thing about this risotto is also the fact that you don’t have to stand at the stove constantly stirring and adding stock.
All the liquid gets added at the beginning, so you can leave it to cook itself and just give it a little stir every so often. Super simple!
This makes a really tasty and comforting family dinner on a Monday and is such a brilliant way to use up the bits of meat from a whole roast chicken that would usually go in the bin.
If you my Chicken & Vegetable Risotto recipe yourself please do let me know what you think. Or tag me in a picture on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. I’d love to see your pictures and hearing your comments about the recipes.
ORDER my new book THE FUSS-FREE FAMILY COOKBOOK out now. 100 healthy easy and quick recipes that the whole family will enjoy!
Leftover Roast Chicken Risotto
Prep Time: 10 minutes- Cook Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Yield: 4 1x
Category: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
A delicious and easy risotto made with leftover roast chicken and vegetables. This recipe even uses the chicken carcass to make a very tasty stock!
Ingredients
For the Chicken Stock:
- whole chicken carcass
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed but not peeled
- 3 celery stalks, roughly chopped
- 2 carrots, roughly chopped but not peeled
- 1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
- salt and pepper
For the Risotto:
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 300g risotto rice
- 1 litre chicken stock
- 150g leftover roast chicken
- 150g leftover cooked vegetables
- 75g frozen peas
- ½ red pepper, finely diced
- 40g grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
Chicken Stock:
- First of all make sure you remove all the meat you can from the chicken carcass. I find it easier to do this the following day once the chicken has been in the fridge all night. Put the removed chicken meat into a bowl, cover and leave in the fridge.
- Place the remaining chicken carcass into a large saucepan or stock pot and add the garlic, carrots, celery and onion. Add in 3 litres of cold water. If your pot is not big enough start with a smaller amount of water and then top it up as it reduces.
- Bring to the boil and reduce to simmer for at least 2 hours. Remove the pot from the heat and pour the liquid through a sieve or very fine strainer into a jug.
- You can taste the stock at this point and season with salt and pepper to your liking.
- Leave the stock to cool and skim any fat from the top.
- If necessary, top the stock up with boiling water to make 1 litre of stock.
Risotto:
- In a large pan heat the oil on a medium heat and then add the onion, cooking for 2-3 minutes until soft but not browned.
- Add the risotto rice and stir well.
- Next add in the chicken stock, bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 12-14 minutes, until the rice is cooked and the chicken stock almost all absorbed. Stir every few minutes.
- Add in the leftover chicken and vegetables and also the peas and red pepper and stir well.
- Cook for another 3-4 minutes before mixing in the grated parmesan.
- Serve immediately.
If you liked this recipe you may also enjoy my Leftover Turkey, Cranberry & Brie Pie
Jessica says
Thank you for the wonderful recipe! I live in a remote Inuit community with limited options so I ended up using the minute rice I had on hand. I also added in a few dried mushrooms, (washed to remove any grit), and a mushroom flavoured bullion cube in addition to the homemade both. It was excellent! I’m celiac so it’s very challenging to eat out, and this truly tasted like a restaurant meal, even though I used minute rice. I look forward to trying more of your recipes!
★★★★★
Anonymous says
I want to bake this in the oven instead of doing on the cooktop. Do I need to alter the amount of liquid?
Rkms says
Delicious! Made this after a weekend roast and, after scrabbling around in the cupboard for arborio came up empty, swapped in pearl barley for rice. Cooked a lot longer, but worth it. Sadly my own mfe refused to try it (as is his current approach) but my husband and I enjoyed immensely.
★★★★★
Julie Jones says
Hi, this recipe looks great and I think it will be a hit with our two year old. Can the Risotto be frozen and reheated once it has defrosted? Thanks, Julie
Ciara Attwell says
Yes it can be frozen, so long as the chicken wasn’t frozen before cooking.
Tasmin says
Lovely and the stock is definitely worth the extra effort!
★★★★★
Triona says
I always throw away the chicken bones but will keep them next time and try this. Looks so good.
★★★★★
Debbie says
This was great, I added some mushrooms and omitted the peppers- the first reaction from my three year old was…urghh it’s all sticky, but then she finished the lot! Was really worth making the stock for.
Thanks for all your wonderful ideas- I only discovered you last week and have already made 5 recipes (ALL HAVE BEEN EATEN!!). Tomorrow I’m making the easy sausage meat ragu, can’t wait to see how that turns out x
Ciara Attwell says
Hi Debbie, I’m so pleased you and your little one enjoyed the recipe. The stock does take a bit of extra effort to make but it’s so worth it isn’t it! Delicious!