Kale Risotto {with Brown Rice}
My creamy and hearty brown rice kale risotto with cheddar is a delish vegetarian entree to enjoy any night of the week. It is surprisingly hands-off to achieve a creamy risotto texture with this method. Plus there’s in plenty of extra veggies for added nutrition!
Table of contents
Why We Love This Recipe For Healthy Vegetarian Kale Risotto
This easy cheesy and creamy kale risotto is made with brown rice which gives it a nutritional edge with a bonus of fiber and protein. It makes a great vegetarian main course that’s incredibly creamy. The key? Cheddar and just a touch of butter.
It’s great on its own as a one-pot meal or served in smaller portions with a bowl of Italian Tomato Soup or roasted tomatoes with cheddar.
Key Ingredients For This Recipe
- Broth: Use low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
- Extra-virgin olive oil: You can also use avocado oil or ghee
- Veggies: Onion, carrots, celery, and Lacinato or curly kale
- Seasonings: Fresh thyme, salt and pepper
- Short grain brown rice: Short grain rice is the best when making risotto
- Dry white wine: Any cooking wine or white wine you have at home will work
- Butter: Use either salted or unsalted butter
- Cheese: Sharp cheddar and grated Parmesan for garnishing
Step-by-Step Instructions To Make Healthy Kale Risotto
Step 1: Heat broth
Bring broth to a gentle simmer in a medium saucepan.
Step 2: Cook veggies
Heat oil in a sauté pan or large straight-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened and just starting to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add carrots, celery, thyme, pepper and salt and cook, stirring often until the celery is bright green, about 4 minutes.
Step 3: Add rice
Stir in rice and cook, stirring, until the rice starts to turn opaque in spots, 2 to 3 minutes.
Step 4: Add broth & cook rice
Add wine, and cook, stirring often until the wine is almost completely evaporated, about 90 seconds. Ladle 3 cups of the broth into the rice, and stir to combine. Cover the remaining 1 cup broth and keep warm. Bring the rice mixture to a simmer. Cover, adjust heat to keep the liquid at a steady simmer and cook until the rice has absorbed most of the broth, about 35 minutes.
Step 5: Add kale & cheese
Bring the remaining 1 cup of broth to a simmer. Remove the lid from the rice, increase heat to medium and stir in the remaining 1 cup of broth and kale. Continue cooking, stirring often until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is creamy and tender, 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in butter until melted. Add cheddar and stir until melted. Serve hot with Parmesan on top if desired.
FAQs and Expert Tips
Short-grain rice is always best. You should also avoid rinsing it before cooking, and stir consistently once you begin adding the liquids.
You can make this brown rice risotto with kale 3 days ahead of time if needed (although best made the day of or the day before). Make sure to store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
If you don’t want to use brown rice, use a short grain white risotto rice instead. You may need a little less liquid so keep an eye on the texture of the rice while cooking.
More Kale Recipes To Try
- Our Massaged Kale Salad with apples is perfect for those folks who are just warming up to the idea of raw kale. It is so tender!
- This Lacinato Kale Caesar is a new favorite around here.
- Our Overnight Kale Caesar is amazing and not to be missed (It is great for entertaining because it is made ahead and serves a crowd.)
- These munchable Lacinato Kale Chips are classic and great for snacking.
- One of the best and most basic ways to enjoy kale: Sauteed Kale with Cider Vinegar.
At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie
PrintKale Risotto {with Brown Rice}
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 cups 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Brown Rice Kale Risotto with Cheddar is a healthy gluten-free and vegetarian main course.
Ingredients
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, finely chopped
- 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cup short grain brown rice
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 6 cups shredded Lacinato or curly kale
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
- Grated Parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
- Bring broth to a gentle simmer in a medium saucepan.
- Heat oil in a sauté pan or large straight sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened and jut starting to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add carrots, celery, thyme, pepper and salt and cook, stirring often until the celery is bright green, about 4 minutes.
- Stir in rice and cook, stirring, until the rice starts to turn opaque in spots, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add wine, and cook, stirring often until the wine is almost completely evaporated, about 90 seconds. Ladle 3 cups of the broth into the rice, and stir to combine. Cover the remaining 1 cup broth and keep warm. Bring the rice mixture to a simmer. Cover, adjust heat to keep the liquid at a steady simmer and cook until the rice has absorbed most of the broth, about 35 minutes.
- Bring the remaining 1 cup broth to a simmer. Remove lid from rice, increase heat to medium and stir in the remaining 1 cup broth and kale. Continue cooking, stirring often until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is creamy and tender, 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in butter until melted. Add cheddar and stir until melted. Serve hot with Parmesan on top if desired.
Notes
Make-Ahead Instructions: You can make this brown rice risotto with kale 3 days ahead of time if needed (although best made the day of or the day before). Make sure to store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 1/3 cup
- Calories: 290
- Sugar: 2.5
- Sodium: 407
- Fat: 16 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5
- Carbohydrates: 23
- Fiber: 3
- Protein: 12
Love it! We also use any kind of rice to make risotto! Brown rice is so good!