Make this hands-off slow cooker risotto whenever you’re after something easy, creamy and comforting! Loaded with tender chicken, smoky bacon, mushrooms and loads of fresh parmesan, it makes a delicious weeknight dinner that the whole family will love. Using your slow cooker gives you a rich, creamy risotto with minimal effort. Just set and forget!
Risotto is one of the most popular cold-weather dishes to make. Rich and creamy, with chewy al dente rice and so many comforting flavours, it is always a family favourite.
However, traditional risotto is typically quite a labour-intensive dish to prepare. It generally requires a lot of hands-on time; adding liquid, continual stirring and keeping a close eye on the pan during the entire process. Nobody has time for that!
Enter: slow cooker risotto! This recipe is an absolute game-changer and the perfect weeknight dinner. It is the easiest risotto you will ever make, right in your slow cooker without any stirring or fuss. The risotto comes out suberbly; amazingly creamy and delicious with a perfect consistency. With your slow cooker, you can leave it to do its thing while you put your feet up and relax!
Need some more comforting rice dishes? Try this oven baked chicken and rice dish or bacon and roast pumpkin risotto.
Why You're Going To Love This Recipe
- So easy to make – no stirring constantly over a stovetop and no fuss. Just 'set and forget' and come back to a perfectly cooked risotto!
- Customisable – a great way to use up any spare veggies, herbs or chicken, or you can top it up with some protein like seafood or extra vegetables to make it a complete meal.
- Loaded with flavour – it is creamy, cheesy, garlicky and oh-so-delicious! It gives total comfort food vibes and is so good that you might start skipping the restaurant version for homemade.
- Versatile - serve it as a flavour-packed main meal on its own, as a side dish, or portion it to pack for easy lunches ahead of time.
What You Need
This risotto is such an easy and convenient dinner to make, because you only need some basic pantry staples, some chicken and veggies, and everything cooks together in the slow cooker pot for minimal clean up!
Note: Please scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for ingredient quantities and the full detailed method.
- Olive oil and butter
- Mushrooms – this recipe makes the most of ordinary mushrooms, rather than those hard-to-find varieties. Use any type of common field mushroom (like button, portobello or Swiss brown) that you can purchase from the supermarket, or use a mix of your favourites for different flavours and textures.
- Brown onion and garlic – these ingredients give a great base flavour to the dish.
- Chicken – chicken thighs are tender and hold up well when slow-cooking, however you can swap for chicken breast if you prefer.
- Bacon – adds a rich, savoury flavour to the risotto, but it can be omitted if you prefer.
- Sun dried tomatoes - you can use either dried ones, or semi dried in oil. You could even make your own sun-dried tomatoes if you wished to.
- Arborio rice – a short, fat grain that absorbs lots of liquid as it cooks, but remains slightly al dente when cooked properly, rather than going mushy. Its high starch content makes the risotto super creamy. You can find arborio rice in most supermarkets and grocers. I don't recommend swapping it for other types of rice.
- Liquid stock – I like to use chicken stock, but feel free to use vegetable stock if you like.
- Baby spinach leaves - thye're always a healthy addition.
- Parmesan cheese and butter – I recommend using fresh parmesan and grate it yourself for the best results. The parmesan and butter is stirred through the risotto at the end of cooking time, to add flavour and seasoning. Note: Pre-shredded parmesan cheese is often coated with a de-clumping agent that stops it from melting as nicely into the sauce.
- Chopped parsley, salt and pepper - for garnish and flavouring.
Equipment Required
This one-pot recipe is made solely in a slow cooker (crock pot) or multi-cooker with a slow cooker function. If your slow cooker does not have a searing function, you will also need a frying pan to sauté the ingredients before adding them to the pot.
I use a Russell Hobbs 6L searing slow cooker. This recipe is suitable for all slow cookers, but check your model for variations in cooking times.
Step By Step Instructions
This isn't a cheat's risotto. This is the real thing, but with minimal effort! No stirring, no hovering, no fuss at all.
Note: Please scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for ingredient quantities and the full detailed method.
Step 1 - Sauté
Place the olive oil and butter into the pot of a searing slow cooker and place over high heat on the stove-top. **If you don't have a searing slow cooker, use a frying pan for this step instead.
Add the mushrooms and onion and sauté until the mushrooms are golden and all of the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated.
Step 2 - Brown The Chicken
Add the chopped chicken and bacon and cook until browned all over. Continue cooking until all of the liquid has evaporated.
Step 3 - Add The Garlic And Tomatoes
Add the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and cook for 1 minute.
Step 4 - Slow Cook
Place the searing slow cooker pot into the base of the slow cooker (or if using a frying pan, carefully pour the frying pan ingredients into the slow cooker).
Stir through the arborio rice and the liquid chicken stock.
Cook on LOW for 2 hours or until the rice is al dente.
Step 5 - Add The Remaining Ingredients
Stir through the baby spinach, grated parmesan cheese and butter.
Season with salt and pepper and serve with chopped fresh parsley.
Expert Tips
- Sear first - it's important to brown the chicken and cook the mushrooms, bacon and onion before placing into the slow cooker. If you don't have a searing slow cooker (with a pot that can be placed directly onto the stove-top), you can fry the ingredients in a frying pan and then place them into your slow cooker.
- If your risotto is a little dry, add a splash of water to loosen the rice before stirring through the baby spinach, grated parmesan and butter.
- Wait to season until the end - the bacon and parmesan will add some saltiness, so it’s best to test and then add salt and pepper to taste after these ingredients have been added.
- You can add any additional finely chopped vegetables to this risotto to increase the vegetable content. Or you can even add some extra protein like cooked prawns or seared scallops. Simply stir them through at the end.
FAQs
Risotto is best eaten fresh, soon after it is made. However, leftovers can be kept in the fridge and reheated later. To reheat, add a little extra chicken stock (a few tablespoons should be enough) and reheat it in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring each time. Reheat until piping hot.
Because arborio rice undergoes less processing than long grain rice, it retains more of its natural starch content, which makes it perfect for risotto dishes. Cooking arborio rice releases this starch, resulting in a firmer, chewier rice and creamier sauce. Long grain rice will typically turn mushy and not give you the same results, but it can be used if this is all you have. Just keep an eye on the cooking times, as they may vary slightly.
Risotto will take around 2 hours on a ‘low’ setting. All slow cookers are different, so start checking it at the 1-hour mark and give it a quick stir every 30 minutes or so, until the sauce is creamy and the rice is al dente.
Related Recipes
If you're like me and LOVE your slow cooker, check out these deliciously comforting and warming recipes:
Slow Cooker Risotto - Chicken and Mushroom
Ingredients
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 20 g (2 tbs) butter
- 400 g mushrooms sliced
- 1 brown onion medium, finely chopped
- 350 g chicken thigh fillets cut into bite-sized pieces
- 75 g bacon chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced (or 2 teaspoon minced garlic)
- 100 g sun-dried tomatoes chopped
- 1 ½ cups arborio rice
- 750 g (3 cups) chicken liquid stock
- 50 g baby spinach
For serving
- 50 g grated parmesan cheese
- 30 g butter
- freshly chopped parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the olive oil and butter into the pot of a searing slow cooker and place over high heat on the stove-top. If you don't have a searing slow cooker, use a frying pan for this step instead.
- Add the mushrooms and onion and saute until the mushrooms are golden and all of the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated.
- Add the chopped chicken and bacon and brown all over. Continue cooking until all of the liquid has evaporated.
- Add the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and cook for 1 minute.
- Place the searing slow cooker pot into the base of the slow cooker (or if using a frying pan, carefully pour the frying pan ingredients into the slow cooker).
- Stir through the arborio rice and the liquid chicken stock.
- Cook on LOW for 2 hours or until the rice is al dente.
- Stir through the baby spinach, grated parmesan cheese and butter.
- Season with salt and pepper and serve with fresh parsley.
Notes
- Sear first - it's important to brown the chicken and cook the mushrooms, bacon and onion before placing into the slow cooker. If you don't have a searing slow cooker (with a pot that can be placed directly onto the stove-top), you can fry the ingredients in a frying pan and then place them into your slow cooker.
- Arborio rice - undergoes less processing than long grain rice and retains more of its natural starch content, which makes it perfect for risotto dishes. Cooking arborio rice releases this starch, resulting in a firmer and chewier rice and creamier sauce. Long grain rice will typically turn mushy and not give you the same results, but it can be used if this is all you have. Just keep an eye on the cooking times, as they will vary.
- If your risotto is a little dry - add a splash of water to loosen the rice before stirring through the spinach, parmesan and butter.
- This risotto will take around 2 hours on ‘low’ setting. All slow cookers are different, so start checking it at the 1-hour mark and give it a stir every 30 minutes or so, until the sauce is creamy and the rice is al dente.
- Wait to season until the end - as the bacon and parmesan will add some saltiness, it’s best to test and then add salt and pepper to taste.
- Storage - risotto is best eaten fresh, soon after it is made, however, leftovers can be kept in the fridge and reheated later for lunch or dinner. To reheat, add a little extra chicken stock (a few tablespoons should be enough) and reheat it in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring each time. Reheat until piping hot.
Leanne says
Do you put the lid on the slow cooker to cook it?
Lucy says
Yes you do x
Morgan says
I’m making this tonight and we are entering the 3hr phase of it cooking and the rice doesn’t appear to be absorbing the liquid. I’ve made risotto before but slowly added the liquids. I’ve since added more rice and increased the heat. Have I don’t something wrong?
Lucy says
Hi Morgan, all slow cookers are different but I wouldn't suggest increasing the heat or the amount of rice. It may just take a bit longer in yours!