Chicken and Mushroom Risotto

A creamy, restaurant-quality risotto made with crispy seared chicken thighs and deeply caramelized mushrooms. Built in one pan, this recipe layers flavor and walks you through the technique for perfectly cooked risotto every time.

Course dinner, lunch, Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian, Mediterranean

Keyword chicken, comfort food, creamy, Mushroom Steak Sauce Recipe, one-pot

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Servings Servings

Calories 523kcal

Author Bon Appeteach

Ingredients

For the Chicken

4 Bone In Chicken Thighs (skin on) boneless works here as well
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper

For the Mushroom Risotto

2 tbsp Butter
12 oz Cremini Mushrooms sliced thin
1 medium Shallot diced small
3 Garlic Cloves minced
2 tsp Fresh Thyme pr 1/2 tsp dried
1 & 1/3 cup Arborio Rice
1/2 cup Dry White Wine
4 & 1/2 cups Chicken Stock
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper

Finish

2 tbsp Cold Butter
1/4 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese

Instructions

Heat chicken stock in a separate pot and keep warm over low heat.
Pat chicken thighs dry and lightly coat with oil. Season salt on the skin side and both salt and pepper on the underside. Place chicken skin-side down in a cold metal pan, then turn the heat to medium. Let the fat slowly render without moving the chicken, and cook about 8-10 minutes or until deeply golden and crisp. Flip and cook another 8–10 minutes until internal temperature reaches 175–180°F, then remove and set aside.
In the same pan with the chicken fat, add 2 tbsp butter. Add mushrooms in a single layer and let them sit undisturbed to develop color, then stir occasionally and cook 8–10 minutes until deeply golden and reduced.
Add diced shallot and cook 2–3 minutes until softened, then stir in garlic and cook 30 seconds until fragrant. Add thyme, salt, and black pepper.
Stir in arborio rice and cook 1–2 minutes, coating it in the fat until the edges look slightly translucent.
Pour in white wine and stir, scraping up any browned bits, and cook until mostly absorbed. After the wine is mostly absorbed lower the heat to a medium-low.
Add one ladle of warm stock and stir gently and consistently moving your spatula in a figure 8 pattern in the pan (this helps develop the starch). Keep the heat at a medium-low simmer. Don't stop stirring.
Once most of the liquid is absorbed, add another ladle. Continue this process for 18–20 minutes, allowing each addition to mostly absorb before adding more, until the rice is tender with a slight bite and the texture is creamy and slightly loose.
Turn off the heat and stir in 2 tbsp cold butter and Parmesan cheese. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Spoon risotto into bowls, place chicken thighs over the top, and finish with extra Parmesan and fresh thyme if desired.

Notes

Risotto should be creamy and fluid, not thick or stiff. Keep your stock warm and adjust the heat as needed to maintain a gentle simmer. You may not need all the stock, or you may need slightly more depending on evaporation and heat level.

Nutrition