Crisp bacon with creamy risotto. If preferred, add one raw egg yolk to each serving of risotto on the plate and let diners break the yolk and stir it into the rice.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 25 mins |
| Total Time: | 45 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- ½ pound bacon, diced
- 5 cups chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ cups Arborio rice
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook and stir the diced bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon and reserve.
- Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a saucepan over high heat; reduce heat to low to keep the chicken stock hot.
- Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook and stir until the onion begins to turn golden brown at the edges, about 2 minutes. Pour in the rice and stir until the rice is coated in butter and has started to toast, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; stir in one-third of the hot chicken stock and continue stirring until the rice has absorbed the liquid and turned creamy. Repeat this process twice more, stirring constantly. Stirring in the broth should take 15 to 20 minutes in all. When finished, the rice should be tender, yet slightly firm.
- Remove the risotto from the heat and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, the Parmesan cheese, and the reserved bacon. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 557 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 74 g |
| Cholesterol | 56 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 16 g |
| Saturated Fat | 11 g |
| Sodium | 1444 mg |
| Sugars | 2 g |
| Fat | 22 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
This is definitely going to be in the running every time I consider making risotto. The bacon is an incredible addition and just enough outside the box to have the WOW factor. Can’t wait to use this as the risotto in my next arancini!!
Toned down butter and replaced with mascarpone as I was finishing. Was a tad more generous on Parmesan and through in some brown mushrooms and spinach. Great result, spectacular even.
Delicious. Recipe runs out of broth before rice is soft. Works better with 1-1/4 cup of rice. No salt necessary, bacon has plenty.
My husband saw this in the Allrecipes magazine several years ago. He made it that night and it has become the family’s favorite side dish!
This was so good! Very rich and filling. The only change I made was for the first 2T of butter, I only used 1T and used 1T bacon grease. It is a tad bit salty (I did not add salt at the end, only pepper), so I think next time I’ll use unsalted butter. Other than that it’s a keeper!
Never made risotto or used Arborio rice before. Having tried this, I will again. Like some others, I used the bacon drippings? rather than butter to ?sauté onion, garlic, & rice. I wanted this as a main dish for the two of us, so added peas, plus fresh mushrooms I needed to use up. Lots of stirring, but not otherwise difficult. Very tasty for this winter night! Thanks for the recipe.
My first risotto. I get the appeal now. + BACON! = wow.
Delicious!! Made this for New Years Eve with some 1/2 lb lobster tails and some filets with a Balsamic Glaze. As others suggested, I added some white wine and extra parmesan cheese. It was sooooo good!!!!
This was delicious! My partner even went back for seconds. I did everything as said except i added chicken too it.
Excellent recipe. The only change was that I included leeks with the traditional onions and made the risotto in the same pan that I cooked the bacon. Will make again, for sure.
This is a fantastic “base” risotto. I make it all the time. Always start with onion and garlic, then decide at the end what I want to toss in, peas, Parmesan, leftover veg, bacon, etc. So versatile… but also amazing exactly as the recipe is written.
Excellent! As noted, the key is to cook slowly and stir the rice mixture to achieve a fabulous creamy texture. As another reviewer noted and from previous experience with Risotto I did substitute 1/2c white wine to the initial add of liquid to toasted Arborio, adds another level of flavor and it’s nice to enjoy a glass of wine while stirring the rice, bon appetit!
Delicious! Used couscous since that’s what I had on hand and still worked great! Will definitely make again!
2nd time a made it. Delicious both times!!! This time I added some chicken and it was meal in one!!!
Still trying to get it right, but tastes good
I used bell pepper instead of onion
First time making risotto, ever! Such a great recipe, and such great recommendations from others. I used shallots instead of an onion, and added in 1/4 cup of white wine, as suggested by others. And topped off with a bit of parsley. Delicious!
It was delicious! I just added a little red wine but other than that, I stuck with the recipe.
Super yummy – definitely a household favorite with us. I do skip the onions and I substitute a cup of the chicken stock with white cooking wine. I also used olive oil instead of the butter. Super good!
This recipe was good! I added a 1/4 cup of white wine and it took 7 cups of chicken broth to get the rice all the way cooked through. It also took mor like 45 minutes for all
Great recipe! I followed it exactly and it came out great!