Blue Cheese Risotto with Kale Recipe | We are not Martha (2024)

This Blue Cheese Risotto with Kale is packed with creamy flavor and incredibly easy to make. Yes, risotto is the perfect weeknight dinner!

(This recipe for Blue Cheese Risotto with Kale was originally published in January 2012, but was updated with new photos in 2019).

I'm pretty sure you know by now that you can do ANYTHING (and everything) with risotto. And that I most definitely do.

I'm pretty sure I could come up with a new risotto plan every single evening and I actually have a few brewing in my head as we speak. I've even made a Mushroom Quinoa Risotto before because yes, you can make risotto with quinoa. And yes, you should.

But you can also make a seemingly typical risotto with arborio rice. And then jam pack it full of blue cheese, kale, and pine nuts. And call it a day. Or a dinner. And a lunch the next day.

Because let's face it, I barely have enough time to get dinner on the table at night, much less lunch in the work bag.

And this truly is one of my favorite things about risotto. It's so versatile, I feel like I'm eating a completely new dish every time I make it. But I am able to make risotto with my eyes shut. And that means a lot to me right now. Trust me, a lot.

The other wonderful thing about risotto? There's usually wine involved. But only ¾ cup. Which means there's still almost a whole bottle left to enjoy with your meal. How can you not love a recipe like that?

Blue Cheese Risotto with Kale Recipe

This blue cheese risotto recipe is truly for blue cheese lovers only... If you're not a fan of blue cheese, you should probably stay far away. Or maybe just give this blue cheese risotto a try because it might actually make you fall in love!

And now I will commence typing this recipe with my eyes closed. I'm kidding, but I actually probably could. I know the risotto making technique so well by now. And I did take PAWS for Typing in second grade (please tell me you know what this is!).

You'll start by bringing the chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan and then lowering the temperature to a simmer.

Add olive oil to a different medium sized saucepan and stir in shallots and onion over medium heat. Cook for about 3 minutes, until onion is translucent. Add arborio rice to the pot and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring gently.

Pour in your lovely white wine and stir. Let rice absorb all of the liquid.

Then begin adding chicken broth to the mixture one cup at a time, stirring in between each addition and waiting for liquid to absorb.

Remember, you don't have to stir risotto non-stop, but make sure you keep an eye on it and stir occasionally or all the liquid could absorb and rice will stick to the pot.

While you're waiting for the chicken broth to be absorbed by the rice, crumble up some blue cheese. Blue cheese has ALWAYS been a favorite of mine for as long as I can remember.

I am a huge fan of stinky cheese and the more flavorful the better.

Toast up your pine nuts, too. But you may have to open up your eyes for this one. It's pretty much the law of the world that I will burn one batch of pine nuts every time I toast them. Which is a dang shame since the cost of pine nuts is exorbitant. Anyway.

Stir in your cheese and your kale leaves, letting the cheese melt a bit and the kale wilt a little bit. I still wanted my kale to have a little bit of crunch, so I took the pot off the heat pretty quickly.

Mix in the pine nuts and serve! With a few more pine nuts sprinkled on top. Because there's no such thing as too many pine nuts.

Until you go broke eating them. And burning the others.

This blue cheese risotto was everything I wanted it to be. Simple to make, packed with blue cheese flavor with a nutty touch, and filled with a bit of green goodness, too.

It's also, pure, pure comfort. Which is another thing I really truly need this week.

I hope I've done my job of convincing you that risotto is ridiculously easy to make. And that this blue cheese risotto is totally appropriate for a weeknight dinner after a busy day of work where all you want to do is lounge on the couch.

And I promise I'll stop writing about risotto now and start trying to get more creative with other entrees again.

You know, right after I write an entire cookbook on risotto... There are simply too many fantastic risotto recipes swimming around in my head.

Risotto, I just can't quit you. I hope that's OK with y'all.

Do you have a recipe you'd be perfectly happy making over and over again with different variations?

More Risotto Recipes

If you love risotto as much as I do, check out some of my other favorite risotto recipes:

• Breakfast Risotto with Bacon and Poached Egg
• Lemon and Fennel Risotto with Mussels
• BLT Risotto
• Jalapeño Cheddar Risotto
• Red Wine Olive Risotto
• Mushroom Risotto
• Oven Baked Broccoli Cauliflower Risotto (from Cotter Crunch)

📖 Recipe