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April 16, 2018

Slow Cooker Pesto Chicken Risotto

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Slow Cooker Pesto Chicken Risotto–creamy no fuss and no stir pesto risotto with tender bites of chicken made in your crockpot. 

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Slow Cooker Pesto Chicken Risotto--creamy no fuss and no stir pesto risotto with tender bites of chicken made in your crockpot. 

Slow Cooker Pesto Chicken Risotto

Risotto is so delicious. But when made in the traditional way on the stove it is annoying. Stir stir stir stir stir. Enter into the picture the slow cooker…it transforms the process of making risotto into an easy hands-off process. The rice comes out creamy and perfectly cooked. I loved the addition of pesto to this risotto! Pesto is just so flavorful and it gives this rice a wonderful flavor. I chose to add chicken into my risotto to make it more of a meal…it worked perfectly. I used chicken breasts but you could also use boneless chicken thighs. I chose to cut up my chicken into pieces after it was cooked and then I stirred it all together. But you can also just serve the chicken in whole pieces if you’d like.

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Slow Cooker Pesto Chicken Risotto--creamy no fuss and no stir pesto risotto with tender bites of chicken made in your crockpot. 

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Slow Cooker Pesto Chicken Risotto--creamy no fuss and no stir pesto risotto with tender bites of chicken made in your crockpot. 

What Slow Cooker Did You Use?

To make Slow Cooker Pesto Chicken Risotto I used my 6 quart oval Kitchenaid slow cooker.* I love this slow cooker (you can see me talking about it in a video here). It cooks low and evenly. I love the medium heat choice because most slow cookers that I’ve seen only have the option of cooking on low or high. If you’re going to buy just one slow cooker, this is the one that I recommend.

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Slow Cooker Pesto Chicken Risotto


★★★★★

4.4 from 7 reviews

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 3 hours on high
  • Total Time: 11 minute
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
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Description

Creamy no fuss and no stir pesto risotto with tender bites of chicken made in your crockpot. 


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 cup long grained brown rice
  • 3 1/2 cups chicken broth, divided
  • 1/3 cup pesto
  • 1 to 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. In a microwave safe dish, stir together the onion, butter, garlic, rice and 1/2 cup broth.
  2. Microwave for 4 minutes, stirring every 90 seconds.
  3. Transfer to a greased slow cooker.
  4. Stir in the remaining 3 cups of broth and the pesto. Nestle the chicken into the slow cooker.
  5. Cover and cook on HIGH for about 3 hours.  (mine took exactly 3 hours…yours may take more or less depending on your slow cooker)
  6. Stir and break up chicken with a spoon. Salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Serve immediately (this tastes best served right away, it doesn’t hold up very well on the warm setting)

Notes

I used my 6 quart oval Kitchenaid slow cooker.*

  • Category: Chicken
  • Method: Slow Cooker

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/6 of recipe
  • Calories: 270
  • Sugar: 1 g
  • Sodium: 537 mg
  • Fat: 12 g
  • Carbohydrates: 28 g
  • Protein: 21 g

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*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Pin this recipe for later!

Slow Cooker Pesto Chicken Risotto--creamy no fuss and no stir pesto risotto with tender bites of chicken made in your crockpot. 

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46 Comments Filed Under: All Recipes, Chicken, Rice, Side Dish, Slow Cooker Tagged With: 2-4 hours

Recommendations

Comments

  1. Julie says

    December 13, 2021 at 8:43 pm

    Hi, can this be made on the stove top like a traditional risotto?

    Reply
  2. Jessica smeak says

    December 29, 2020 at 8:25 am

    Could you triple this recipe ? I’ve made this numerous times and it’s loved by all but I’m cooking for about 15 people

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      December 30, 2020 at 2:43 pm

      Yes you could!

      Reply
  3. Mitra says

    October 25, 2020 at 8:31 pm

    Can I do this recipe on low setting in slow cooker? For like 8hrs?

    Reply
  4. Dave says

    August 23, 2020 at 5:40 pm

    Ended up with a lot of liquid, but nothing like the pictures. Are we sure that only 1 cup of rice is needed and that 3-1/2 cups of stock are needed? Also, suggest the chicken is cut into cubes before being placed in the slow cooker.

    ★

    Reply
    • KJS says

      November 16, 2020 at 2:46 pm

      The recipe says long grained brown rice!

      Reply
  5. Kalsey Beach says

    July 23, 2020 at 9:04 am

    This looks amazing – – could you add veggies to it with a bit more liquid? Or would you recommend doing those as a side item? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      July 23, 2020 at 1:28 pm

      Yes you could add in veggies. No need to add in more liquid. They should be fine. Some veggies are more tender and will get mushy so be careful of that.

      Reply
  6. Laura says

    July 19, 2020 at 10:49 am

    Could you use jasmine rice for this recipe, I have some already in hand. Would you need to tweak anything? Excited to try, my neighbor loved this!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      July 20, 2020 at 11:35 am

      You could try it. I bet it would take much less time though, like half for the slow cooker version.

      Reply
      • Laura says

        July 21, 2020 at 2:48 pm

        Awesome! I will try it tomorrow and let you know!

        Reply
  7. Tahlia says

    May 28, 2020 at 2:44 am

    You have changed my life. This is so good and so easy.
    I have never ever had any luck with slow cooker recipes.
    I had some chicken in the fridge that needed to be used but I was so over every other thing I make with it. I needed something super simple and along comes your recipe. Mate, I am so impressed with this. I nearly didn’t put the pesto in but I am so glad that I did.
    Thank you SO MUCH. This is one that I will come back to frequently.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 28, 2020 at 12:24 pm

      So glad you liked it! I love pesto! It’s my favorite.

      Reply
  8. Mel says

    February 18, 2020 at 11:35 pm

    Thanks for this recipe! I was looking for something easy in the slow cooker to add into the weekly repertoire and must say I was skeptical about this recipe. The brown rice does make it quite different to regular risotto, but that’s not a bad thing.

    I made my own pesto, replaced the onion with spring onion green ends and omitted the garlic to make it low FODMAP (there was garlic olive oil in the pesto). My boys aged 5 and 7 loved it too.

    I’ll try more recipes from your site. Thanks 😊

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      February 19, 2020 at 9:59 am

      You’re welcome Mel! I’m glad you liked it 🙂

      Reply
  9. Serena Kantara says

    December 5, 2019 at 4:15 pm

    Hi Tina, I dont have a microwave, can I still do this recipe. I just found your blog and I am super excited. 🙂

    Reply
    • Karen says

      December 6, 2019 at 10:47 am

      Sure you can just do that first step on the stove over medium high heat.

      Reply
  10. Alex says

    July 31, 2019 at 10:34 pm

    Can you make pesto chicken risotto on a low setting?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      August 1, 2019 at 12:44 pm

      Rice can be tricky in the slow cooker. You could try it for an hour or two longer and see how it goes.

      Reply
  11. Mimi says

    May 12, 2019 at 11:23 pm

    Hi there! Just to clarify, you have the rice being added in step 1 (microwaving it), but also in step 4 (when you add the pesto)… which is correct? Do I indeed microwave the rice before putting it in the crockpot? Thanks so much, this looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 13, 2019 at 2:14 pm

      Oops! Thanks for pointing that out. You microwave it. I corrected it above.

      Reply
  12. P says

    November 19, 2018 at 6:15 pm

    I was thrilled to find a recipe for risotto for my KitchenAid slowcooker but I was also disappoint to read that wild rice is used instead of Aborio, Carnaroli or Vialone Nano which are the traditional Italian rices used for risotto.

    Reply
  13. John says

    November 19, 2018 at 5:38 pm

    Hi there,

    This is likely a dumb question, but what kind of pesto does this call for?

    Thanks
    JS

    Reply
    • Karen says

      November 24, 2018 at 8:08 pm

      No dumb questions here. I used basil pesto from Costco.

      Reply
  14. Hannah Y. says

    November 13, 2018 at 5:41 pm

    I just put everything in my 4-quart slow cooker…using Arborio rice with all the measurements you gave…I’ll let you know how it turns out 😁

    Reply
    • P says

      November 19, 2018 at 6:10 pm

      Hi Hannah Y! How did this recipe turn out using Arborio? Thanks!

      Reply
      • Penny says

        December 5, 2018 at 5:27 pm

        I used arborio and it worked a treat! Was worried that it would take longer but if anything was more towards the overdone side after 3 hours. I also added mange tout and 2 carrots and worked well. Good luck!

        ★★★★★

        Reply
  15. Gabby says

    October 21, 2018 at 12:54 am

    Hi,
    You don’t say what type of rice you use or when you add it in? Could you please tell me, thank you.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      October 23, 2018 at 9:50 pm

      Oops! I corrected the recipe. I’m sorry about that! It’s long grain brown rice.

      Reply
  16. Leela says

    July 9, 2018 at 8:22 am

    Hello! Can’t wait to try this recipe! Did you pre-cook the rice before?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      July 9, 2018 at 11:50 am

      nope!

      Reply
  17. Susan says

    May 12, 2018 at 6:53 am

    This sounds delicious!! I use aborio rice when I make risotto on the stove. Would it work in the crockpot just as well?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 12, 2018 at 9:58 pm

      Hi Susan, I have honestly never tried arborio rice in the crockpot yet. I think it would work. I am not sure on the cooking time. I am assuming it would be less than brown rice. Good luck!

      Reply
      • Penny says

        December 5, 2018 at 5:30 pm

        Hi Karen

        I used arblrio rice and followed instructions and agree it probably needs a little less time than 3 hours but came out great. Thanks for the recipe- it was the first crock pot recipe I’ve ever done as we just got gifted one!

        ★★★★★

        Reply
  18. Christy Parker says

    May 11, 2018 at 6:44 pm

    I know this would work with Arborio rice but I think it would need more water and probably more cooking time. Any pointers on that? Have you crock potted with Arborio before?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 12, 2018 at 9:59 pm

      Hi Christy, I haven’t tried arborio yet. I would love to try it soon.

      Reply
  19. Lauren Peng says

    April 29, 2018 at 6:33 pm

    Can’t get my instant pot to change temperatures so guessing I should cook it for 6 hours as it appears to be on low?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 30, 2018 at 10:20 am

      Just so I understand, you’re using the slow cooker function of your instant pot to make this right? I would tap the slow cooker button and then use the adjust button to change it to “more.”

      Reply
  20. Joanne says

    April 29, 2018 at 10:25 am

    Could I use pasta instead of rice in this recipe? We really like pesto pasta. 🙂

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 30, 2018 at 10:31 am

      Ok so yes but you’d have to change a few things. Here’s what I would do:
      1 yellow onion, diced
      2 Tbsp butter
      2 garlic cloves, minced
      12 oz pasta of your choice
      3 cups broth or water
      1/3 cup pesto
      1 to 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise
      Salt and pepper, to taste

      Saute onion in butter and saute garlic. Add in pasta, cover with water, add in pesto and chicken. Cover 3 minutes high pressure 5 minute npr. Stir and add in more pesto to taste plus salt and pepper.

      Let me know how it turns out!

      Reply
  21. Julie says

    April 28, 2018 at 2:12 pm

    Hi there from Canada, did you cook chichen first or everything went in together

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 30, 2018 at 10:37 am

      I didn’t cook the chicken first. I just added it in raw.

      Reply
  22. Tina says

    April 23, 2018 at 10:57 pm

    I needed something quick to make that would be ready to eat in a few hours, and since I had all of the ingredients on hand, I chose this recipe. I’m so glad I did!! It tasted wonderful!! Everyone enjoyed it, and the flavor was amazing. No need to preseason the chicken at all.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 24, 2018 at 8:21 am

      Hi Tina, so glad you liked it!!!

      Reply
  23. Eileen says

    April 22, 2018 at 8:44 pm

    This is very good! What a thrill to learn a crockpot risotto that allows me to be out of the kitchen. I do wish I had seasoned the chicken before adding it–I will do that next time. Wonderful!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 23, 2018 at 1:49 pm

      Glad you liked it Eileen!

      Reply

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Hi! I'm Karen

I know that dinner time can be less than relaxing. Busy schedules and cranky kids and a hundred other things can lead to weariness when it comes to putting dinner on the table. I can help! I make homemade, family-friendly slow cooker and Instant Pot dinners and share the recipes with you.
Karen
 

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Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

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