One-pan crispy chicken thighs and creamy risotto(ish)

With peas and lots of parm

Hello! Welcome back! Skip all the rambling and scroll right to the bottom of this post for a printer-friendly PDF of the recipe only.

---

Last year, I posted a recipe for a one-pan Dijon chicken and pearl couscous on Instagram, and people loved it (so much so that I also shared it on Substack in March). It currently has over 1.7 million views on IG, and I’ve never had so many people make a recipe of mine. A total pinch-me moment, especially considering how many comments and messages I received saying how yummy the recipe was. And I get it — low effort, high-reward deliciousness is what this community is all about.

I’ve been wanting to create another version of that dish ever since, but honestly didn’t feel inspired. The OG was just *so* good, why bother messing with it? So, rather than forcing flavors together to create a slightly different version, I waited for inspiration to strike — and I’m glad I did. Because one day last week I woke up and thought, “That one-pan chicken thighs dish, but with risotto and cacio e pepe vibes.” And reader, it’s a good one.

Tell me more

This dish gives you a wonderfully creamy risotto with much less fuss — and some crispy chicken thighs to boot. We start by quickly seasoning the chicken thighs with olive oil, salt, pepper, and Parmigiano, which gives them a nice, cheesy crust. The thighs then get seared at a high temperature on the stove until they’re golden and crispy.

Next, we move on to the risotto part, which includes some quick sautéeing, toasting, and deglazing. Then it’s just adding in some peas and broth, throwing it all in the oven, and forgetting about it for a bit.

Before we start

• I like to use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs here because it’s hard to overcook them and they almost always turn out tender and juicy. If you prefer breasts or only have boneless, skinless thighs, that’s fine. Directions for how to adjust the cooking method are in the Notes section after the recipe.

• You’ll need a Dutch oven or oven-safe skillet here, preferably with a lid. I like to use a Dutch oven because it’s deeper and if you have one, you likely have a matching lid. But any oven-safe pan will do. If you don’t have a lid, cover tightly with two layers of tinfoil.

• We ate this with a simple side salad and it was the perfect complement. I used the bagged romaine and chicory mix from Trader Joe’s, a thinly sliced cucumber, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, lots of salt, and a scrunch of pepper. I think a bright, lemony salad is the perfect side to most meals, especially ones on the richer side.

Recipe

Note: recipe videos are posted on my Instagram.

Serves: 4

Cook time: 1 hour (30 minutes active)