Ranchin' Chicken & Bacon Risotto
with Cheesy Roasted Broccoli & Lemon
- Milk
- Wheat
Creamy, luxurious, and always satisfying what's not to love about risotto? This version has crispy, smoky bits of bacon and fresh herbaceous pops of chives throughout and is finished with a bright squeeze of lemon. juice. It's topped with a crispy ranch-seasoned chicken cutlet and served with roasted cheesy broccoli on the side.
Ingredients
3 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
½ cup
Cheddar Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
4 ounce
Bacon
1 unit
Onion
2 tablespoon
Cream Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
3 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
1 unit
Lemon
1 unit
Broccoli
¼ ounce
Chives
¾ cup
Arborio Rice
½ tablespoon
Ranch Spice
¼ cup
Panko Breadcrumbs
(Contains: Wheat)
10 ounce
Chicken Cutlets
Not included in your delivery
2 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
1 tablespoon (tbsp)
Cooking Oil
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
Adjust rack to top position (top and middle positions for 4 servings) and preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large pot, bring 5 cups water (8 cups for 4) to a boil. Wash and dry produce.
Zest and quarter lemon. Cut broccoli into bite-size pieces if necessary. Halve, peel, and mince onion. Mince chives.
In a small bowl, combine panko, half the Ranch Spice, a drizzle of oil, and as much lemon zest as you like. TIP: Love ranch? Feel free to add more Ranch Spice!
Heat a large dry pan over medium-high heat. Add bacon*; cook, turning occasionally and adjusting heat if browning too quickly, until crispy, 6-10 minutes.
Turn off heat; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Reserve 1 TBSP bacon fat (2 TBSP for 4 servings) in a second small bowl. Wipe out pan. Once bacon is cool enough to handle, roughly chop.
Pat chicken* dry with paper towels and season all over with salt and pepper. Evenly spread a thin layer of sour cream onto tops of chicken; mound with panko mixture, pressing to adhere (no need to coat the undersides).
Toss broccoli on one side of a lightly oiled baking sheet with a drizzle of oil, salt, and pepper. (For 4 servings, spread broccoli out across entire sheet.) TIP: For easier cleanup, line sheet with foil first!
Place chicken on empty side of sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Roast on top rack until broccoli is browned and chicken is cooked through, 14-16 minutes. (For 4, add chicken to a separate sheet; roast broccoli on top rack and chicken on middle rack, swapping positions halfway through.)
Meanwhile, heat pan used for bacon over medium-high heat. Add reserved bacon fat and 2 TBSP butter (4 TBSP for 4 servings); stir until melted and combined. Add onion; cook, stirring, until onion is slightly softened, 2-3 minutes.
Add rice, stock concentrates, and 1 cup boiling water. Cook, stirring, until liquid has mostly absorbed. Repeat with remaining water––adding ½ cup at a time and stirring until liquid has absorbed––until rice is al dente and mixture is creamy, 20-25 minutes. Remove from heat. TIP: Depending on the size of your pan, you may need a little more or a little less water.
Add cream cheese, half the chives, half the bacon, and juice from one lemon wedge (two wedges for 4) to pan with risotto; stir to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper if desired.
Once broccoli and chicken have finished roasting, remove from oven. Transfer chicken to a cutting board to rest for at least 3 minutes.
Sprinkle broccoli with cheddar and gently toss (be careful—the baking sheet will be hot!) until slightly melted. TIP: If risotto is still cooking, tent broccoli with foil to keep warm until ready to serve.
Divide risotto between shallow bowls. Top with chicken and broccoli in separate sections. Garnish with remaining bacon and remaining chives. Serve.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the creamy risotto, especially with bacon and lemon; some found the ranch seasoning on chicken underwhelming.
- Ease of prep: Recipe was time-consuming and complex for some; consider starting risotto earlier to improve timing.
- Suggestions: Try adding only half the onion; consider using Parmesan instead of cheddar for broccoli.
- Portions: Risotto portion was generous, possibly too much for some; broccoli amount felt small to a few.
- Texture: Some found the panko coating on chicken didn't crisp well; mixing with melted butter might help.
Reviews from our home cooks
What a complex recipe! I would have preferred that the risotto step be listed before the chicken step to help with timing. Not being very familiar with risotto, it took way longer to finish than the chicken and broccoli, which were cold by the time the risotto was ready. The large onion was also too much for a 2P risotto. The instructions probably should have called for half the onion for 2P or whole onion for 4P. The cheddar on the broccoli was a complete mystery. The cheese would have been better used in the chicken topping, which came out a bit dry and crumbly otherwise.
The meal was delicious. HOWEVER, the instructions are screwy. It takes approximately 25 minutes to properly prepare the risotto, but the instructions have the chicken and broccoli going into the oven prior to cooking the rice for 14-16 minutes. Thus, the chicken and rice were done - and getting cold - for about 10 minutes before the rice was ready. The broccoli really wasn't hot enough to melt the cheese to a smooth texture. I personally think the broccoli would have been better if added to the risotto for the last few minutes of cooking the rice. Labor intensive and not for a quick evening meal, but if time allows, it is a good meal. Just need to rethink the order of production.
The risotto was delicious, but the chicken and broccoli didn't compliment the risotto and were unnecessary. The chicken had a ranch spice that was very bland and the coating was too dry. (The panko mix needed melted butter, like many of your other baked chicken/panko recipes.) No one finished their chicken, and I can't say I blame them. In addition, the process of making the risotto (especially with the extra step of frying bacon) was way too time consuming. It might have been worth it on its own, but being asked to also make baked chicken and broccoli was way too much of a pain to juggle, especially considering how bland and uninspired they tasted. They didn't add anything to the meal. In fact, they really detracted from the risotto. This meal would be much better with sliced sauteed chicken breast. As is, I wouldn't get this again.
I do understand the idea with this dish. The things that didn't work starts with the risotto. It's too rich for the other flavors on top. It was, before even adding the cream cheese, almost perfect and should be made with something like freshly grated parmesan and mushroom. Added with the bacon; it was just too much. Mixed with the risotto and then sprinkled on top, it was just too much. Maybe half the amount of bacon on the broccoli and cheese would have been nice. Finally, the ranch seasoning, even half the packet, just tasted like grass clippings. It didn't get crispy with the panko at all and I needed to remove it from the chicken. Maybe with plain mashed potatoes or rice, a shallow fried chicken cutlet with ranch seasoning in the crust and some light ranch to dip it in paired with the broccoli, cheese and a bit of bacon would have been easier to eat.
Amazing and yummy dish! It did take about an hour from start to finish, risotto and two proteins required a lot of work. We will definitely order this again!
The family LOVED this! It was a little effort, but it was totally worth it. The risotto was amazing.
Love the risotto, all around delicious, would love to see this in the menu more often!
I had never made risotto before, except for frozen. It was really good!
The lemon adds a lot of flavor to this dish! I love the ranch spice and the risotto
I really like this meal. It is tasty and has an adequate amount. The thing I did not like was the order of cooking steps. The chicken and broccoli was done before the rice.
