Creamy Green Risotto with Crispy Bacon and Mushrooms
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This vibrant creamy green risotto is creamy, rich & delicious. It’s packed full of veggie nutrients from the cavolo nero and creaminess from the creme fraiche. You’ll also love that it has a touch of salty umami flavours from the roasted crispy mushrooms & bacon.
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
Flavourful – With the creamy cavolo nero sauce, crispy bacon and mushrooms, every mouthful of this risotto is full of flavour.
Easy – This green risotto is great for home chefs of all levels.
Comforting – The creamy, green sauce and rice help create a cosy meal for rainy, gloomy, or chilly days.
Simple ingredients – The ingredients in this bacon and mushroom risotto are easy to find at the grocery store.
Quick – This yummy risotto dish is ready in about 30 minutes, perfect for busy weeknights. You can adjust the herbs/seasoning to your liking easily. Or, use other veggies, protein, etc.
Try some other tasty and easy rice dishes; Creamy Coconut Rice with Loaded Greens, Cheesy Tomato Rice and Simple Pork Curry with Coconut Milk
Ingredients
Cavolo Nero
The foundation of this recipe, giving that vibrant green colour to the rice. Kale also works as a substitute, but cavolo nero makes the perfect vegetable to use for recipe.
Bacon lardons
These bacon lardons crisp up to add saltiness & flavour.
Chestnut mushrooms
I love including chestnut mushrooms in this green risotto, as they add nuttiness and earthiness to the dish. However, you can use any fresh mushrooms, like button or shiitaki.
See the recipe card for full information on all ingredients and quantities.
How to make creamy green risotto
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F
- Start by adding the pancetta and chopped mushrooms onto a baking tray lined with foil. Drizzle ½ tbsp of olive oil onto the tray and with your spatula evenly distribute to oil. Pop in the oven, timer set to 20 minutes (Image 1).
- Add the diced onion and a pinch of salt to a large non-stick frying pan with a tbsp of olive oil. Gently fry for around 6 minutes, until translucent (Image 2).
3. To that, add the minced garlic, dried basil and rice into the pan. Gently fry everything for 2 minutes before adding a ladle of stock into the pan, season with salt and pepper (Image 3).
4. When the stock has absorbed, add another 2 ladles and repeat this step whilst stirring frequently. During this stage, blend the cavolo nero with a ladle or two of the stock (Image 4).
5. After cooking the rice for around 5 minutes, add the blended cavolo nero. This will need some time to cook in the pan or it’ll be very bitter, so don’t add at the end! Continue to add a few ladles of stock at a time while cooking (Image 5).
6. Once the rice has fully cooked, add the creme fraiche, juice of a lemon and half of the parmesan (Image 6).
7. Mix together the creme fraiche, juice of a lemon and half of the parmesan. If it starts to feel dry as the parmesan absorbs the moisture, add another ladle of water (Image 7).
8. Top/serve with the crispy pancetta, mushrooms and a sprinkle of additional parmesan (Image 8).
Try some other comforting dishes after this one; Chicken and Mushroom Pasta, Easy Tomato Tuna Pasta Bake and 10 minute Crab Pasta.
Need inspiration? Here are some other rice dishes for you to try; Mince Curry, Italian Sausage Stuffed Peppers and Easy Vegetable Rice Pilaf Recipe
Tips for the best result
- Use fresh mushrooms, good-quality bacon, and vibrant greens.
- Choose Arborio rice for its creamy texture and make sure you rinse it before cooking to remove excess starch.
- I chose cavolo nero for the vibrant green, but you can use a mix of green vegetables like spinach, peas, or asparagus to add colour and nutritional value.
- Add the stock gradually, allowing the rice to absorb the liquid slowly. This helps achieve that creamy texture.
For bacon lovers, try these tasty recipes: Brussel Sprouts with Bacon, Slow Cooker White Bean Stew with Crispy Bacon and Creamy Bacon Pasta
FAQs
Absolutely! Arborio rice is traditional for this recipe, but you can use short-grain rice or brown rice for a nuttier flavour
Definitely! Just leave out the bacon and use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock and hard cheese instead of parmesan. You can also add extra mushrooms and veggies.
Add the stock gradually, stirring frequently. The constant stirring helps release the rice’s starch, giving the risotto its creamy consistency.
While risotto is best enjoyed when just cooked, you can meal prep this recipe by storing a few portions in airtight containers. When you are ready to eat, add a few tbsp of water to loosen the risotto and microwave for a few minutes until heated throughout.
If you tried this Green Risotto with Crispy Bacon and Mushrooms recipe, it would be mean so much to me if you could leave a review & a star rating to let me know how you found it! I love hearing about your experiences – it motivates me to keep creating more and more recipes for you guys 💛 Let’s get cooking! – Mimi x
Creamy Green Risotto with Crispy Bacon and Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 155 g bacon lardons (£2.25)
- 250 g chestnut mushrooms (£1.00)
- 1 large onion, finely chopped (£0.15)
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced (£0.39)
- 250 g arborio rice (£2.40/2)=(£1.20)
- 75 g cavolo nero (£1.00)
- 2 - 3 tbsp creme fraiche (£1.20)
- 50 g parmesan (£1.85/2)=(£0.93)
- ½ lemon, juice (£0.30)
Cupboard Essentials
- 1 tbsp dried basil
- 1.5 litres chicken stock (2 stock cubes used)
- Salt & Pepper
- 100 ml water
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F
- Start by adding the pancetta and chopped mushrooms onto a baking tray lined with foil. Drizzle ½ tbsp of olive oil onto the tray and with your spatula evenly distribute to oil. Pop in the oven, timer set to 20 minutes.
- Add the diced onion and a pinch of salt to a large non-stick frying pan with a tbsp of olive oil. Gently fry for around 6 minutes, until translucent.
- To that, add the minced garlic, dried basil and rice into the pan. Gently fry everything for 2 minutes before adding a ladle of stock into the pan, season with salt and pepper.
- When the stock has absorbed, add another 2 ladles and repeat this step whilst stirring frequently. During this stage, blend the cavolo nero with a ladle or two of the stock.
- After cooking the rice for around 5 minutes, add the blended cavolo nero. This will need some time to cook in the pan or it’ll be very bitter, so don’t add at the end! Continue to add a few ladles of stock at a time while cooking.
- Once the rice has fully cooked, add the creme fraiche, juice of a lemon and half of the parmesan. If it starts to feel dry as the parmesan absorbs the moisture, add another ladle of water. Top/serve with the crispy pancetta, mushrooms and a sprinkle of additional parmesan.
Notes
Nutrition
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