Wondering what to do with your roast turkey leftovers? This Easy Turkey Risotto is your answer! Turkey Risotto is a quick, easy and delicious way to use up leftover roast turkey – it takes just 35 minutes and only uses 1 pot! If you don’t have any leftovers, don’t worry… I have included instructions for how to make this with fresh turkey breast fillets too. (You could also use chicken if you prefer!)
Got roast turkey leftovers? Make Risotto!
There are so many things you can do with leftover roast turkey:
- Leftover Turkey and Lentil Soup
- Leftover Turkey Biryani
- Leftover Turkey Fajitas
- Leftover Turkey Fried Rice
- Leftover Turkey Curry
But one of my favourites has to be this Easy Turkey Risotto. It’s a really easy and delicious way to use up leftover roast turkey – and it takes just 35 minutes. Better still, it only uses 1 pot – meaning washing up is kept to a minimum. (Particularly handy at Christmas time!)
No leftovers? No problem!
I have included instructions in the recipe card for how to make this delicious risotto with fresh turkey too.
How to make Turkey Risotto
This Easy Turkey Risotto is so simple to make! All you need to do is fry up some onions and garlic. Then, add the risotto rice to the pan. Stir and cook for 1 minute, before adding in the white wine (if using). Cook for 1 more minute, then add all of the stock, together with a little salt and pepper.
Cook the risotto for 15 minutes. Make sure you give the risotto a good stir from time to time, while it is cooking. After 15 minutes, stir in the cooked turkey, frozen peas and the grated parmesan. Cover with a lid and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the fresh parsley and serve garnished with extra parsley and sprinkled with extra parmesan.
(Full recipe given in the recipe card below.)
Not ‘authentic’… but utterly delicious!
OK, I’ll be the first to admit this risotto is not ‘authentic’ – not least because I use the all-in-one method (see below). But that doesn’t stop this risotto from being utterly delicious… as well as quick and very easy to make. It only uses 1 pan and takes just 35 minutes to make. As a bonus, it also comes in at just 454 calories!
Risotto – the all-in-one method
Risotto has a reputation for being tricky and time consuming… the good news is, this Easy Turkey Risotto is neither of those things!
The main reason for this is that I do not do that thing you are ‘supposed’ to do to make a good risotto – carefully adding the stock one ladleful at a time every few minutes. Instead I use the all-in-one method and add all the stock in right at the beginning, once I’ve fried off the onions, garlic, added the rice and reduced the white wine.
And do you know what? It tastes just the same as the labour-intensive one ladleful at a time version. I’ve tried it both ways on multiple occasions and you just can’t tell the difference!
All you need to do is remember to give this risotto a good stir from time to time – it’s the stirring that gives risotto it’s classic creaminess.
Tips for making a great risotto using the all-in-one method
Now, while we’ve established you really don’t have to stand at the stove lovingly ladling stock into your risotto, there are a few things you DO need to do if you want to make a really good risotto:
1. Always use risotto rice
Sounds obvious really, but you’d be amazed at the number of ‘risotto’ recipes I’ve read that tell you to use regular rice or ‘pudding’ rice. I’m not really sure why – it’s not like risotto rice is prohibitively expensive or hard to come by these days, but anyway… if you want to make a really good risotto, you need to use risotto rice. I prefer arborio, personally, but you can use carnaroli if you prefer.
2. Never rinse risotto rice before cooking
Definitely don’t rinse risotto rice before cooking. The whole point about risotto is it is rich and creamy… and that creaminess comes from the starch on the surface of the rice grains. If you rinse the rice, you lose the starch and your risotto will not be creamy.
3. Stir your risotto – but not too much
If you want your risotto to have that lovely classic creamy texture, you need to regularly stir your risotto. This will also stop it sticking to the bottom of the pan. HOWEVER, one of the biggest risotto mistakes is stirring your risotto too much… if you stir your risotto too much you will end up with a big mushy mess, not the classic silky and creamy texture risotto is supposed to have. I recommend giving your risotto a good stir every couple of minutes to get the best texture.
4. Don’t overcook your risotto
Another big risotto making no-no is overcooking it. While the overall texture of a risotto is creamy, you want the actual rice to still retain a little bit of ‘bite’ (AKA ‘al dente’). It shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes from the time you add the stock to achieve the correct consistency. Again, if you overcook your risotto, you will end up with a big mushy mess!
What to serve with Turkey Risotto
This Easy Turkey Risotto is a complete meal in its own right, but if you want to add some extras, I recommend serving this risotto with a side salad and some crusty French bread, or garlic bread.
What to drink with Turkey Risotto
I prefer white wine with Turkey Risotto. There are a number of good options. Obviously Italian whites work very well. A Soave would be my top pick. Pinot Grigio or Trebbiano also work well.
Hands down the best non-Italian option is oaked Chardonnay. A white burgundy works really well here if you want to push the boat out… or you have some left over from Christmas day! Otherwise go for an oaked Chardonnay from Chile, New Zealand or the South of France. (I should add, you can also get some nice oaked Chardonnays from Italy too, these days!)
Another option that works surprisingly well is sparkling wine – Prosecco is a great match, and Champagne works very well too!
If only red will do, then go with something like a Valpolicella or a Beaujolais Cru.
Can you reheat turkey risotto?
Since this risotto is made with cooked turkey, I do not recommend reheating it. This is because, according to government food safety guidelines, you should not re-heat food more than once.
Can you freeze turkey risotto?
Since this risotto is made with cooked turkey, I do not recommend freezing it. This is because, according to government food safety guidelines, you should not re-heat food more than once.
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
Leftover Turkey Risotto
Ingredients
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic crushed, grated or finely chopped
- 1 litre hot chicken stock (from a cube is fine, I used 1 x Kallo Organic Chicken Stock Cube)
- 300 g risotto rice I use arborio (see Note 1)
- 75 ml white wine (optional - see Note 2)
- Salt and pepper to taste (see Note 3)
- 300 g cooked turkey chopped into bitesize pieces (see Note 4 for what to do if using fresh turkey)
- 100 g frozen peas (no need to defrost)
- 25 g grated parmesan plus extra to serve
- 2 tablespoons parsley finely chopped – plus extra for garnish (optional)
- Green salad and/or bread to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Place the olive oil and diced onions in a large pan over a low heat. Cover with a lid and fry for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened but not brown.
- Remove the lid and add the garlic. Fry for 1 more minute, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile make up your chicken stock using 1 chicken stock cube and 1 litre of boiling water.
- Next, add the risotto rice to the pan. Stir and cook for 1 minute, before adding in the white wine (if using).
- Cook for 1 more minute, then add all of the stock, together with a little salt and pepper. Turn the heat up and bring to the boil.
- Turn the heat right down, but leave the lid off. Cook the risotto for 15 minutes. Make sure you give the risotto a good stir from time to time, while it is cooking.
- After 15 minutes, stir in the cooked turkey, frozen peas and the grated parmesan. Cover with a lid and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. By this time the rice should be ‘al dente’ – that is, it should be mostly cooked, but with a little bit of bite.
- Stir in the fresh parsley and serve garnished with extra parsley and sprinkled with extra parmesan. Add a side salad and some crusty French bread if you wish.
Notes
- There are several different types of risotto rice. I recommend using arborio rice for this recipe.
- When choosing wine for cooking, always choose wine you would be happy drinking! If you prefer not to use wine, simply replace with water.
- This is up to you and your tastes, but personally I only add black pepper as the salt in the stock cube makes it salty enough for my personal taste.
- If using fresh turkey breast fillets, first cut the fillets into small bitesize pieces, then stir-fry in 1 tablespoon olive oil over a high heat until lightly browned on most sides – this should take 3-5 minutes. Remove to a plate, then follow the recipe above exactly as written, adding the turkey (along with all the tasty juices!) back into the risotto at the same time as you would with cooked turkey.
- Suitable for freezing if using fresh turkey. Not suitable for freezing if using cooked turkey. (This is because you should not reheat food more than once, especially turkey.)
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
Pin Leftover Turkey Risotto for later
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