I’m not so stringent with my quest to eat a healthy diet that I have a set of rules I have to follow or I freak out. Eating a whole foods, unprocessed diet as much as I can is important to me. But it isn’t everything, and even though I write this blog sharing my ideas, I’m not obsessed with it. Passionate about my goal of eating in a way that nourishes me and my family’s bodies for long-term health? Yes. Obsessed? No.
A few years ago I discovered this risotto recipe by Giada De Laurentiis. It was one of those recipes that I made it once and it instantly became a family favorite. Although I was okay with using Arborio rice once in a while, I decided why not try swapping it out and making a brown rice risotto? Sometimes healthier swaps are easy and just as delicious. It totally worked with brown rice and the whole grain rice lends a heartier, nuttier flavor to the dish.
I also tried using uncured turkey bacon in place of the regular bacon. You can use either, but I much prefer the regular bacon. Look for uncured bacon, preferably organic. With only four pieces of bacon in the entire dish, each individual isn’t eating a ton of bacon and it adds great flavor to the meal. Besides, it has kale. That totally cancels out the bacon, right? If you want to make this a vegan meal, try adding some liquid smoke to get the smoky bacon flavor without the meat.
The roasted vegetable portion of this recipe is very flexible. I have used a variety of vegetables with success, and I list those in the ingredients. Feel free to use whatever you have on hand!
Don’t let the name risotto scare you. You don’t have to stand over the stove stirring in order to have a creamy risotto. While this dish does have a longer cooking time because brown rice takes a while to cook, much of the time is hands-off as the bulk of the cooking time is done in the oven. Even though this isn’t a quick dinner, it is an easy dinner.
While I’m happy to not obsess over little things like eating Arborio rice once in a while, I’m glad I gave this recipe a healthy makeover and can enjoy it more often.
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Roasted Vegetable Brown Rice Risotto with Bacon and Kale
- Total Time: 85 minutes
- Yield: serves 4 as a main course 1x
Description
Roasted Vegetable Brown Rice Risotto with Bacon and Kale. This is HEALTHY comfort food at its finest!
Ingredients
4 slices of bacon, chopped (regular or turkey bacon)
1 small onion, diced
1 1/2 cups brown rice (short or medium grain work best, but any kind is okay)
5 1/2–7 cups vegetable or chicken broth, divided
the juice from 1 small lemon (1-2 tablespoons)
2 cups diced vegetables (carrots, parsnips, turnip, butternut squash, or sweet potatoes all work well)
1 tablespoon avocado oil or high heat oil of choice
1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 large latticino kale leaves, de-stemmed and chopped
Instructions
Place the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
In a large oven-safe Dutch oven or sauce pan, cook the bacon over medium high heat until crisp, 8-10 minutes. Remove the bacon and drain on paper towels. Remove all except 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease. If you are using turkey bacon and there is no grease, you may need to add a little oil to your pan.
Reduce the heat to medium low, add the diced onion, and cook until the onion until its tender, about 5 minutes.
Add the rice and stir in with the onions. Allow the rice to cook with the onions for two minutes. Add 4 1/2 cups of the broth and the lemon juice and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and allow the rice to simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
{Either while the bacon is cooking or while the rice is simmering, dice your vegetables, place them on a baking sheet, and drizzle them with the oil and dried thyme. They should be ready to go into the oven with the rice}
Cover the rice with a tight lid and place it in the 425 degree oven. Place the prepared vegetables in the oven as well. After 20 minutes, remove the vegetables from the oven. Allow the rice to cook an additional 10 minutes (30 minutes total).
Back on the stove top, add 1 cup of broth to the rice, stir, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and allow the mixture to simmer for 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the chopped kale and add more broth if it is totally absorbed. Cook an additional 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is cooked. Stir in the roasted vegetables and bacon. Taste, and add salt and pepper as needed. Enjoy!
Notes
Recipe adapted from this Giada De Laurentiis recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 75 minutes
- Category: main meal
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 215
- Sugar: 5.8g
- Sodium: 245.5mg
- Fat: 7.8g
- Carbohydrates: 31.5g
- Protein: 6.75g
Keywords: brown rice risotto
To me this is comfort food to the max. It may serve four or just one of me when I’m hungry.
I’m not going to lie, my husband and I can polish this off ourselves when we are especially hungry. 🙂
Love this healthy & flavor filled take on risotto!!
Thanks so much, Marla!
Just wanted to let you know your photography is amazing! I want to eat everything straight off the page and I love that you make healthy food look so appetizing to get people enjoying it!
You’re so sweet for saying that, Amanda. Thanks so much!
Cannot remember the last time that I made risotto – thanks for reminding me how delicious it is, definitely a recipe I need to make!
It is delicious, isn’t it? I hope you try this!
Thank you for that great link last post I have the saw and know what to do now or at least have ideas because I have to make all my props myself(budget friendly) … You have a family approved recipe here with us!!! Have a good evening :)!
I’m glad it helped!