Lemon Parmesan Risotto with Peas

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Creamy lemon parmesan risotto is full of flavor from lemon zest, lemon juice, shallot, garlic, parmesan cheese, and rich chicken stock, with sweet peas sprinkled throughout. The perfect dish for any special occasion, holiday, or date night.

Rice is a staple in our household. I mean, it's a staple in many people's households, in almost every culture right?

From poke bowls in Hawaii, to black beans and rice in Hispanic cultures, red beans and rice for black culture, Asian culture has all types of different rice dishes, and of course, risotto in Italy, rice is basically the world's staple food. 

Creamy lemon parmesan risotto is full of flavor from lemon zest, lemon juice, shallot, garlic, parmesan cheese, and rich chicken stock, with sweet peas sprinkled throughout. The perfect dish for any special occasion, holiday, or date night.

Lemon Parmesan Risotto is my side dish love. It's like the roasted potatoes of fancy side dishes. Fish? Beef? Chicken? Pork? This goes with them all. 

And it's really easy to make. Really! I mean, risotto is a labor of love, but it is NOT hard to do.

You're basically stirring rice in a pan and pouring in some good chicken stock or broth over and over til...you're all out of chicken stock and it's been about 25 minutes and the rice is fully cooked.

Really, that's it. Told you it's so easy. Simple, really. Don't be scared y'all, risotto is a piece of cake.

Creamy lemon parmesan risotto is full of flavor from lemon zest, lemon juice, shallot, garlic, parmesan cheese, and rich chicken stock, with sweet peas sprinkled throughout. The perfect dish for any special occasion, holiday, or date night.

I really like to serve this with salmon en papillote (which is just salmon baked in parchment paper, super easy) or a nice pan seared steak, just because whenever anyone thinks 'risotto' they think 'big fancy dinner'.

Which is why I love this recipe for Valentine's Day, and for any spring holidays (Easter, anyone?) with the delicate little sweet peas stirred in; but I also make this on weeknights while I have a pork tenderloin roasting in my oven. It's a great dish to mindlessly make: stir, stir, stir, oh, pork's done? Risotto's done, too! So easy.

Creamy lemon parmesan risotto is full of flavor from lemon zest, lemon juice, shallot, garlic, parmesan cheese, and rich chicken stock, with sweet peas sprinkled throughout. The perfect dish for any special occasion, holiday, or date night.

Lemon Parmesan Risotto creamy and comforting and oh, so delicious. Even if this is the first time you're trying your hand at risotto, trust me, it's not as hard as Gordon Ramsay makes it seem on Hell's Kitchen, promise.

Tips on making great Lemon Parmesan Risotto:

Use good chicken stock/broth.

Make sure to use one that you love and has good flavor; I have a recipe for homemade chicken stock you can use and keep in your freezer for any time you need chicken stock in a recipe!

Use arborio rice.

Or another rice that specifically says it's 'risotto rice'. That is the right rice to make risotto with, you cannot use jasmine, long grain, none of that. It will not come out with that classic 'risotto' style because arborio rice is a short grain, high-starch rice.

Make sure to never let the rice dry out while cooking.

The end result should be creamy, not dry and fluffy like usual rice. So as you're cooking and stirring, letting most of the broth evaporate, pour in another ½ cup of broth before the rice starts getting dry. You want the rice to absorb the liquid, and release it's starchiness into the next cup of broth so you end up with risotto and not just rice.

Creamy lemon parmesan risotto is full of flavor from lemon zest, lemon juice, shallot, garlic, parmesan cheese, and rich chicken stock, with sweet peas sprinkled throughout. The perfect dish for any special occasion, holiday, or date night.

Taste the rice every so often.

You don't want to serve undercooked, crunchy rice or overcooked mushy risotto. Taste a grain every couple of minutes once the 20 minute mark hits. Under-cooked rice will still have a pretty distinctly opaque white center and will be crunchy. The rice will be golden, creamy, and flavorful when it's done. 

P.S., if you want those cute little lemon zest curls, buy a citrus zester (totally different than a microplane!) 

Serve this Lemon Parmesan Risotto with Peas recipe with:

Pan Seared New York Strip with Mushroom Cream Sauce

Lemon Butter Chicken Thighs

Pork Tenderloin Diablo

Osso Buco

Salmon en Papillote with Gremolata 

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📖 Recipe

Lemon Parmesan Risotto with Peas

Eden Westbrook
Creamy lemon parmesan risotto is full of flavor from lemon zest, lemon juice, shallot, garlic, parmesan cheese, and rich chicken stock, with sweet peas sprinkled throughout. The perfect dish for any special occasion, holiday, or date night.
4.60 from 172 votes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Side Dishes
Cuisine Italian
Servings 6 servings
Calories 305 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 5 ½ cups 1.3 L low sodium chicken stock or broth
  • 2 tablespoon 28 g unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoon 30 mL olive oil
  • 1 shallot or small yellow onion finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic minced or pressed
  • 2 cups 400 g arborio rice
  • Zest of ½ lemon
  • ½ cup 56 g fresh parmesan cheese, grated
  • 2 tablespoon 28 g unsalted butter
  • Juice of one lemon
  • ½ cup 67 g frozen sweet peas
  • Kosher Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
  • Lemon zest parsley, extra parmesan, for garnish

Instructions
 

  • In a medium-sized sauce pan, heat the chicken stock over medium-low heat until the stock begins steaming. Keep on low heat.
  • In a large high sided skillet over medium heat, add the 2 tablespoon butter, olive oil, and onion. Saute for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon until soft and golden. Add in the garlic, stirring to ensure the garlic doesn't burn, cooking until fragrant for about 1 minute.
  • Add the rice and lemon zest to the onion mixture, stirring for 2 minutes or until the rice is becoming translucent with an opaque white center.
  • Add the hot stock ½ cup at a time, stirring continuously, until the stock is almost completely absorbed and the rice is creamy and translucent (the center is no longer white) and no longer crunchy when tasted (around 25-30 minutes).
  • Stir in the parmesan, butter, lemon juice, and peas. Let the peas cook until warmed through, about 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Garnish with extra lemon zest, chopped parsley, and parmesan.
  • Serve immediately.

Notes

I don't use wine in cooking often, but if you want to use white wine as is traditional in risotto, replace 1 ½ cups of the chicken broth with white wine.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 305kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 10gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 555mgFiber: 2gSugar: 6g
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17 Comments

  1. I made this last night to have as a side with supper, it was excellent and I will be making it again! I did a 1/2 recipe which was just enough for 4 side dish portions. Delish!

  2. I made this last night and I can confirm it was delicious! Thanks for the recipe it was perfect x

  3. I made this for a second time and it turned out even better. I added one cup of dry Pinot Grigio and used vegetable stock for the remaining liquid. Last time the juice of a lemon was overpoweringly tangy with the dry wine and strong parmesano reggiano so I left it out. Nothing closer to perfection! So, so delicious!!!

  4. Meri Schroeder says:

    I was looking for a lemon recipe (since I have a big bag of lemons to use), and this one hit the spot. I love risotto, and your recipe was very good. I did also add in spinach at the end of the cook-time (to get in extra veggies), and used my homemade vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. Other than those two changes, I followed the recipe exactly.

  5. My mouth watered at the sight of this dish! And I love that it uses lemon, a little bit of that, and a plate is instantly better.

  6. Michael Simmons says:

    This risotto was the creamiest and most delicious I’ve ever had! My wife raved about it. Thank you, Eden, for sharing this recipe with us!

    1. Keeley Woodworth says:

      Oh my goooooooooooosh! Amazing! I loved the lemonyness! HAD to use extra white wine as I had the heat too high for a while. Oops 😁

  7. Elaine Benoit says:

    I love risotto and everything you put in your dish looks perfect and delicious! What a great side dish! I can't wait to try your recipe!

  8. Morgan Eisenberg says:

    I love some brightness and acidity in a creamy risotto, this looks delicious!

  9. This is a delicious recipe!

  10. Veena Azmanov says:

    This Risotto looks delicious. The flavors are perfect. Yummy combo of cheese, peas and lime too.

  11. Tayler Ross says:

    My family loves risotto, so I can't wait to try this recipe! Such a fresh and delicious flavor!

  12. Beth Neels says:

    This risotto sounds so delicious! I love the lemon added! It must give the risotto such a bright flavor!

  13. I love risotto as well, and particularly like a lemony one like this. Looks great!

  14. Sally Humeniuk says:

    LOVE this post and recipe! I'm a huge fan of risotto and I'm with you, risotto is a perfect recipe for Valentine's Day and for many other special occasions. Your tips are spot on perfect. This lemon Parmesan risotto looks and sounds so fresh. I'll be trying this soon. Thanks for the great recipe.

  15. ali randall says:

    This is the perfect dish for spring when the peas are so sweet. I love this also for a cold weather dish. There is something about risotto I just love and the addition of the lemon zest is a winner in my book.

  16. Cliona Keane says:

    I adore risotto and this is such a classic flavour combo...perfection! Lemon works perfectly with the peas and parmesan.