The protein cooking time listed in this recipe has been updated.
As of December 2025, we’ve revised cooking times for all our proteins to reflect improved food safety guidance.
Check out the latest recommended times in our Cooking Guidelines.
Pesto Chicken Risotto with Peas & Parsley Pine Nut Drizzle
Flavours straight from an Italian garden: basil pesto, peas and courgettes. Starring our new quick-cook risotto-style rise and juicy free-range British chicken. The final flourish? A zesty lemon and pine nut drizzle.
Ready in 20
High protein
5 plants
Low sat fat
Family classics
Serving size
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp green pesto (Rapeseed Oil, Broccoli, Spinach, Broad Beans, Basil, Sunflower Seed, Garlic, Salt, Yeast extract powder (Yeast Extract, Salt), Pumpkin Seeds, Porcini Mushrooms, Kale, Golden Linseeds, Citric Acid, White Quinoa, Ascorbic Acid.)
- 150g peas
- 1 unwaxed lemon
- 1 handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 500g cooked short grain brown rice (Cooked Wholegrain Risotto Rice 97% (Water, Risotto Rice), Sunflower Oil, Salt.)
- 10g chicken stock powder (Chicken Stock Powder(Chicory Extract, Yeast Extract, Natural Flavouring, Salt, Onion Powder, Chicken Stock Powder, Rapeseed Oil), Cornflour)
- 40g Soft Cheese (Milk) (10% fat cheese base (skimmed milk, cream, bacterial starter culture), salt)
- 3 garlic clove
- 1 onion
- 2 courgette
- 600g diced British Free Range chicken breast
- 20g pine nuts
Nutritional Information
Calories: 676
Protein: 49g
Carbs: 61g
Fat: 27g
Pesto Chicken Risotto with Peas & Parsley Pine Nut Drizzle
Flavours straight from an Italian garden: basil pesto, peas and courgettes. Starring our new quick-cook risotto-style rise and juicy free-range British chicken. The final flourish? A zesty lemon and pine nut drizzle.
Getting hungry?
Find 56 recipes a week just like this one at Mindful Chef, that are all:
Delicious, high quality food - and lots of it
No stodgy refined carbs - no food comas here
Goodness from natural food - full of fibre
Cooking Instructions
Before you start
- Pull out a large frying pan, a measuring jug & a small bowl
Get started
- Heat the large frying pan on medium heat. Once hot, add the pine nuts and toast for 2-3 mins, tossing regularly, until golden brown. Remove and set aside
Sizzle the chicken & prep
- Reheat the large frying pan with 1 tbsp oil on medium-high heat. Once hot, add the chicken and cook for 8 mins, stirring occasionally, until golden. Season with salt and pepper
- Meanwhile, dice the courgettes into 2cm cubes. Finely dice the onion. Finely chop or crush the garlic
Simmer simmer
- Add the courgette and onion to the chicken pan and cook for 5 mins, until softening, then add the garlic and cook for a further 2 mins
- Stir in the soft cheese, stock powder and 350ml hot water and bring to a boil. Add the rice, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, then simmer for 4-5 mins, until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is cooked through
Make the parsley & pine nut dressing
- Meanwhile, finely chop the parsley. Roughly chop the pine nuts
- Add the parsley to the small bowl with the juice from half the lemon, the pine nuts and 1 tbsp olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper
Finish & plate up
- Check your chicken is cooked through by cutting a large piece in half; the flesh should be white and the juices running clear
- In the final 1 min, stir the pesto and peas into the risotto. Add a squeeze of the remaining lemon (to taste) and season with salt and pepper. Add a splash of water if it becomes too thick
- Serve the risotto onto plates, drizzled with the parsley and pine nut dressing
Looking for more recipe inspiration?
Subscribe to our newsletter and get delicious seasonal inspiration and recipes, plus 25% off your first 4 boxes with us!
By signing up to our mailing list you agree to the terms of our Privacy Policy.