Let the oven do all the work with this easy baked risotto. You can, if you prefer, add all of the risotto ingredients to the pan at the beginning, but I find adding the peas towards the end ensures they’re more vibrant and sweeter. Stirring through the Parmesan at the end makes the risotto just that little bit creamier.
Nicky’s Notes
Whilst I love the slow, calming process of making a traditional risotto, sometimes a throw-it-all-in-the-pan baked risotto is exactly what’s called for.
Why?
- It’s QUICK! 25 minutes from start to finish.
- It’s mostly hands-off with most of the cooking time being spent cooking away merrily in the oven.
- You don’t have to chop up anything (presuming your ham is ready-chopped/shredded) – even an onion (which is usually the base starting point for a risotto, but this shortcut version doesn’t need one – getting extra savoury-ness from the celery salt).
- And of course it tastes great too – with salty ham, sweet peas and creamy parmesan.
📋 Ingredients for this baked risotto
***Full recipe with detailed quantities in the recipe card below***
Stock – Use the best you can get hold of. I like to use Homemade Chicken Stock or a really flavourful stock such as Essential Cuisine chicken glace. Flavourful shop-bought bone broth is good too. If you can’t get hold of any of this, don’t worry, water + chicken Oxo cubes WILL WORK and it will still taste very nice.
Ham – Use cooked and cubed or shredded ham. You can chop up a cooked ham yourself (this is better if you like chunky pieces, or you have leftover ham from Thanksgiving or Christmas) or buy ready-shredded ham (usually ham hock).
Abbreviated Recipe
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card below***
Add the rice, oil, pepper, garlic, celery salt, ham and stock to a preheated oven-proof pan. Stir, add lid, place in oven for 17 mins. Add in peas, Parmesan and lemon juice. Stir, place in oven for 3 mins – or until rice is tender. Serve with extra Parmesan.
Recipe Tips
- Preheat your casserole pan before starting cooking so the rice can start cooking as soon as it hits the pan.
- Ensure your stock is almost boiling – so it starts cooking the rice as soon as it’s added.
Comfort in a bowl.
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🍽️ What to serve it with
This risotto is a meal in itself, but if you wanted to add a side or two, how about:
Make ahead and Leftovers Guide
- Risotto does taste best when served right away, however, you can make it ahead if you like.
– Make the risotto, then cool, cover and refrigerate. Reheat in a pan over a low heat. You’ll need to add in more stock to loosen it up when reheating. Alternatively, microwave it on high, lightly covered, in a microwave-safe dish until piping hot (usually 2-3 mins per portion, with a stir halfway through heating). - Freezing – I prefer risotto made and eaten right away, but you can freeze it if you have leftovers.
– Quickly cool, then cover and freeze any leftovers. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat as per the reheating instructions above.
📺 Watch how to make it
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Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/425°F/gas mark 7. Place a lidded casserole dish in the oven to heat up.
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Once the casserole dish is hot, remove from the oven and remove the lid (leave a tea towel (dish towel) on the lid so you don’t accidentally pick up the hot lid).
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Carefully add the rice to the dish, along with the oil, pepper, garlic, celery salt, ham and hot stock. Stir together, place the lid on the pan and put in the oven for 17 minutes.
300 g (10½oz) arborio rice, 1 tbsp olive oil, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon garlic powder or 2 garlic cloves (peeled and minced), ¼ teaspoon celery salt, 150 g (1 cup) cooked ham chunks (or shredded ham hock), 700 ml (3 cups) just-boiled strong chicken stock
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Remove from the oven, add the peas, Parmesan and lemon juice and stir together. Place the lid back on and return to the oven for a further 3 minutes until the rice is tender.
115 g (2/3 cup) frozen peas, 50 g (½ cup) grated (shredded) Parmesan, juice of ½ lemon
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Remove from the oven and give it a taste. Add a little more salt and pepper if needed (the level of saltiness depends on how salty your ham and stock are).
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Serve the risotto topped with extra Parmesan, black pepper and fresh parsley.
grated Parmesan, chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, ground black pepper
Don’t like ham or peas?
Swap out the ham for chunks of cooked chicken and chunky mushroom slices if you want to change this dish up.
Nutritional information is approximate, per serving. This recipe serves 4.
Calories: 506kcal | Carbohydrates: 65g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 1158mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
🍲 More One-pan recipes
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