This fresh, zesty risotto certainly isn’t traditional Italian fare, but it is loaded with superfoods like chia seeds and kale to nourish and energize! A delicious, plant-based, healthy dinner ready in 40 minutes.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This risotto might look fancy, but it’s honestly just made with pantry staples and a few fresh bits. You’ll find the full recipe card with all the details and measurements down at the bottom.
- short grain brown rice
- leeks
- red onion
- vegetable broth
- nutritional yeast (optional)
- kale
- garlic
- lemon juice
- olive oil
- hazelnuts
- chia seeds
Instructions:
Let’s make Superfood Kale Risotto together. I’ll walk you through each part, and when you’re ready for the full times, temps, and measurements, you’ll find everything waiting for you in the recipe card below.
Step one: Prep your veg. Slice up the onions and leeks. Roughly chop your kale, stems included.
Step two: Heat a splash of olive oil in a big pan and sauté the leeks and onion until soft and glossy.
Step three: Add the rice to the pan and give it a good stir to toast it slightly. Then slowly start adding your hot veggie broth, a ladle at a time. Stir constantly, letting each ladleful absorb before adding the next. This part takes a little patience but it’s what gives risotto that classic creamy texture.
Step four: While that’s going, blend up your kale pesto. Toss the kale, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and a pinch of salt into a blender. Blitz until smooth. You can add a splash of water or extra oil if it’s too thick.
Step five: Once the rice is tender and everything’s looking creamy, stir through your pesto. Give it a taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Step six: Spoon into bowls and finish with chopped hazelnuts and a sprinkle of chia seeds for a bit of crunch.
Serving Suggestions & More Recipes
If you loved this recipe, you might also enjoy:
- Pumpkin & White Wine Risotto – Creamy, cozy, and full of autumn flavor, this easy risotto gets a zesty lift from white wine and comes together in just one pan.
Superfood Kale Risotto
Ingredients
Risotto
- 1 1/2 cup brown short grain rice
- 2 leek
- 2 red onion
- 5 cups vegetable broth
- 4 tbsp nutritional yeast optional
Kale pesto
- 1/2 bunch kale
- 6 cloves garlic
- 2 lemon juiced
- 1/3 cup olive oil
Toppings
- 40 g hazelnuts roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
Instructions
- Halve and finely slice onions. Halve leeks lengthwise and slice into half rings, then rinse to remove dirt. Roughly chop kale, including stems. In a small saucepan, heat vegetable broth until it is almost boiling.
- Place a large frypan on medium heat with a lug of olive oil. Add onion and leek, stir for 4-5 minutes. Add rice, and stir constantly for 1 minute. Gradually add vegetable broth, stirring constantly and allowing the liquid to absorb before adding more. This gradual stirring process helps create a sticky classic risotto consistency. Once all stock has been added, if you the rice is too chewy for your taste you can add a little bit of water and continue to stir until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Add all pesto ingredients to a blender with a pinch of salt. Blitz until smooth.
- Once the risotto is done, add the pesto to the pan and stir until combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper if desired.
- Serve into four bowls, top with hazelnuts and chia seeds.
Janet k. says
Tasty goodness!!
sarah says
Adored this – definitely doing it again.
Hong Nguyen says
Yum,was delicious