An easy, one pot chicken pasta recipe that feels a little bit rustic-fancy thanks to a swirl of whipped ricotta and smattering of sun dried tomato. Pro tip: use the oil from the sun dried tomato to sauté the chicken. Free flavour!

A one pot chicken pasta that’s a little bit (rustic) fancy

Whipped ricotta is a recent revelation for me. I’d seen it around for years, but assumed “whipped” meant dragging out the stand mixer – aka, too much effort for a Tuesday night.

Until my brother rolled his eyes and said, “It’s just ricotta, milk, and parmesan whisked by hand.” And just like that, in 10 seconds, lumpy ricotta turns into something creamy and dreamy – like savoury whipped cream, which then melts when dolloped on hot pasta.

Think of it as a lower fat version of cream. Swirl it through your midweek pasta and all of a sudden, it goes from “yum” to “are we in a trendy trattoria??!”. Definitely moves a quick one-pot pasta recipe into guest-worthy territory!

Actually, whipped ricotta had a starring role in my second cookbook, Tonight, as an easy way to elevate virtually any roasted vegetable to event-worthy (see the handy How to Roast Any Vegetable chart on page 218). I boldly said it would be your “new favourite sauce to create a statement veg side”. I stand by that! 🙂

Here it is with blistered cherry tomatoes in Tonight. Exceptional with roasted carrots, asparagus, broccoli, broccolini, mushrooms – pretty much any roasted vegetable!

Ingredients for Whipped Ricotta One Pot Chicken Pasta

While I’m providing commentary and substitution tips, there’s no need to get too pedantic about the ingredients for this recipe because it’s a reliable, fairly flexible midweeker. If the exactness of ingredients matter for a recipe, you will know! I will harp on and on about it!!

The whipped ricotta

Just ricotta, milk and parmesan for a savoury flavour boost (though I would absolutely make this without).

• Ricotta – The ones sold in tubs at grocery stores aren’t great, then tend to be a little powdery. For better quality, buy it over the deli counter or get the vacuum-sealed ricotta sold in baskets. My go-to is Paesanella brand which is a widely available these days, even over the deli counter at grocery stores.

• Milk – Any fat % is fine here.

• Parmesan – For a flavour boost. Also, because the whipped ricotta is used here in place of the obligatory parmesan sprinkle that is typically used for pastas, so I like to build it in.

FOR THE ONE POT CHICKEN PASTA

Here’s what you need for the pasta. The sun dried tomato adds fabulous flavour pops, plus we use the oil from the jar to cook the chicken. Free flavour – and free oil!

• Chicken – I like to use boneless thighs as they stay juicier than breast in this form of cooking, where the chicken pieces are cooked with the pasta. But breast or tenderloin will work just fine in this recipe.

• Sun dried tomato – Get the strips in oil. As noted above, we use the oil to cook the chicken – honestly, it adds lovely tomatoey flavour! If you accidentally got whole or tomato halves, have fun chopping….oily…slimy! Been there, done that! I’d still make this recipe if I didn’t have sun dried tomato but I’d add something to compensate. Something briny like chopped olives, capers, chargrilled capsicum or any anti-pasto type thing.

• Canned tomato – I use crushed as it’s already semi broken down so it makes a nicer sauce. Though diced is fine too.

• Tomato paste – For extra tomato flavour boost. I’d still make this if I was out.

• Pasta – I used fusilli (spirals) but anything short and not too big will work. Think, penne, ziti, macaroni, small shells, farfalle (bow ties), casarecce, orecchiette. But not as small as risoni/orzo or as large as rigatoni.

• Garlic and onion – Essential flavour base! Goes a long way with these one-pot pasta recipes.

• Wine – Adds extra depth of flavour into an otherwise simple, quick-cook sauce. Preferably a dry white wine though I don’t hesitate to use leftover flat champagne, rose, red wine. Non alcoholic is an acceptable substitute though don’t go out of your way to get it.

• Chicken stock/broth – The cooking liquid. Better than water. Though, water is actually pretty good too (we tried), just add a tad more salt. I always use low sodium stocks because I like to control the amount of salt myself.

How to make Whipped Ricotta One Pot Chicken Pasta

Is it technically a one pot recipe if I ask you to use a separate bowl to make the whipped ricotta?? Forgive me! (But it’s worth it, I promise).

1. Make whipped ricotta – Just mix the ricotta, parmesan and milk together using a hand whisk. At first, it will seem lumpy and thoroughly unimpressive, but after about 10 seconds of vigorous whisking it will loosen and transform into a soft creamy mixture almost like softly whipped cream. Adjustment note: Different brands of ricotta have different consistencies, so add a touch of extra milk if needed.

2. Sun dried tomato oil – Pour oil straight out of the jar into the pot and heat over high.

3. Seal chicken – Put the chicken into the pot and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until the surface is sealed, but the inside is still raw, then take it out. It won’t brown, that’s ok. It’s still got flavour on it and it will absorb a stack more flavour in the next steps.

4. Saute – Leave the residual fat in the pan (some from the chicken, some sun dried tomato oil). Then sauté the onion and garlic first until the onion is translucent (about 3 minutes). Then cook the sun dried tomato and tomato paste for 1 minute. This will cook out the raw sour flavour in the tomato paste and bring out the flavours in the sun dried tomatoes.

5. Liquids and raw pasta – Add the wine and let it simmer for 1 – 2 minutes until mostly evaporated, stirring the base of the pot. This will cook out the alcohol (making it kid friendly) and loosen the gold bits stuck on the base of the pot (it’s called fond) which is free flavour that will make your sauce taster.

   Then stir in the cooked chicken (plus any juices accumulated in the bowl) and raw pasta – get it nicely coated in all that flavour – before adding the stock, canned tomato, salt and pepper.

6. Cook – Bring the liquid to a boil then lower the heat to about medium high so it’s simmering energetically but not wildly boiling. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes at first then every minute for the last 5 minutes to ensure it doesn’t catch on the base of the pot. You might find you need to lower the heat towards the end if it is getting stuck to the pot.

7. How to tell it’s ready – When the liquid has been mostly absorbed by the pasta – but it will still seem a little too soupy – the pasta should be just done, ie al dente. This means it’s not overly soft but there is no hard raw uncooked pasta inside.

   A little too soupy is good. Pasta absorbs liquid at a shockingly high rate. So a little too liquidy when it comes off the stove is good because it means the pasta will be perfectly slippery and saucy rather than dry and stodgy by the time you take the first bite.

8. Swirl with whipped ricotta – Just before serving, stir the basil through the pasta, then either transfer all the pasta into a large serving bowl or indvidual bowls. Then dollop large scoops of the ricotta across the surface of the pasta and randomly smear it (or let people do that part themselves). There are no rules here! You could just put one big dollop in the middle of the pasta. Then it’s time to dig in!

Sneaking in extra vegetables

My mother did an excellent job brain washing me as a kid so I have it drilled in my head that it’s not a proper meal without a sufficient amount of vegetables.

I feel like this recipe is a wee bit short. The canned tomatoes and onion count, but it’s not very much per person.

If you want a quick addition of extra vegetables, feel free to stir in a couple of handfuls of baby spinach or add a grated zucchini and carrot at the same time you sauté the onion.

Else, make up a quick leafy side salad or steam some broccoli and toss with a simple salad dressing. It’s all you need – the pasta is juicy and bold on flavour, so you can keep the side dish simple.

Love to know what you think if you give this a go! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Whipped ricotta one pot chicken pasta

Recipe video above. Meet your new favourite one-pot recipe! I'm sharing this as a guest-worthy dish based on a simple mid-week recipe. It's quite amazing how just a little dollop of creamy ricotta can transform a regular bowl of pasta into something you'd expect to get at a rustic trattoria! Love how it melts into a flood of creamy goodness on your hot bowl of pasta – thicker than cream, and much lower fat.

Course Main

Cuisine Western

Keyword Chicken Pasta Bake, One Pot Pasta, whipped ricotta

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4 – 5 people

Calories 647cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Chicken:

• 500g/1 lb chicken thigh fillets , cut into small bite size pieces (or breast or tenderloin)
• 1/2 tsp cooking salt/kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Pasta:

• 220g/ 7 oz jar sun-dried tomato stripes in oil , drained (RESERVE OIL) (Note 1)
• 3 tbsp oil from the sun dried tomato jar
• 1 small onion , finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
• 1 tbsp tomato paste (ok if you don’t have)
• 1/4 cup dry white wine , optional (Note 2)
• 400g/14 oz canned crushed tomato
• 350g / 12oz fusilli pasta (spirals) , penne, ziti, macaroni, small shells or similar, uncooked
• 1 litre / 4 cups chicken stock/broth , low sodium (sub water plus 1/2 tsp salt)
• 1/4 tsp cooking salt/kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 cup basil leaves , roughly chopped (can survive without), plus extra for garnish

Whipped ricotta:

• 1/2 cup ricotta (Paesanella is my preferred brand), full fat
• 4 tbsp milk , preferably full fat
• 1/4 cup (packed) finely grated parmesan , sub pinch of salt

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Whipped ricotta – Put the ingredients in a bowl. Whisk vigorously for 10 to 15 seconds until it becomes the texture of softly whipped cream. Add milk to loosen, if needed.
• Seal chicken – Heat sun dried tomato oil in a large heavy based pot over high heat. Add the chicken. sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes until the outside is sealed but the inside is still raw. Remove with slotted spoon into a bowl.
• Sauté – In the same pot, add the onion and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes until the onion is translucent. Add the tomato paste and oil drained sun dried tomatoes (reserve any remaining oil for another use). Cook for 1 minute.
• Deglaze – Add white wine and let it simmer rapidly for 1 – 2 minutes, stirring regularly, until mostly evaporated.
• Cooking liquid – Add pasta and cooked chicken along with any juices accumulated in the bowl. Stir to coat in all the tasty flavours. Add the stock, canned tomato, salt and pepper.
• Cook 15 minutes – Give it a good stir, let it come to a boil then lower the heat to medium high so it's simmering rapidly but not boiling like crazy. Cook for 15 minutes (no lid), stirring every 2 minutes or so at first then more regularly towards the end, so the base doesn't catch. Lower the heat a touch towards the end, if needed.
• How to tell it's done – Most of the liquid should be absorbed and the pasta should be just cooked (al dente), though still a little soupy (that's good, it gets absorbed quickly while serving). Stir in the basil.
• Serve – Transfer into a serving bowl or divide between bowls. Dollop the whipped ricotta on top then randomly smear (or let everyone do that themselves), it will get all melty. Dig in!

Notes

Serves 4 hearty appetites or 5 regular people.

1. Sun dried tomatoes – Adds a great pop of flavour into the sauce plus the chicken gets free flavour by using the oil from the jar to cook it. Recommend getting strips to save yourself from chopping. Substitute – compensate with olives, capers or something similar that’s a bit briny.

Jar size – I use all the sun dried tomatoes in a 220g/7oz jar which is actually 120g/4oz sun dried tomatoes and 100g/3 oz oil (we use 45ml/3 tbsp for cooking). If you have a larger jar or sun dried tomatoes not in oil, use 120g /4 oz of sun dried tomatoes which is 1 cup tightly packed.

2. Wine – I use Chardonnay, though anything not too woody or sweet will work find here, else leftover champagne (flat is fine!), red wine or rose. Non alcoholic – just leave it out.

Leftovers will keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Loosen with a touch of water. Pasta will freeze ok, but not the whipped ricotta.

Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 647cal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 106mg | Sodium: 1624mg | Potassium: 1059mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 900IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 288mg | Iron: 4mg

Some of my favourite one pot pasta recipes

One pot creamy tomato beef pasta

Really Quick Broccoli Pasta

One pot chicken risoni with crispy salami

One Pot Cajun Beef Pasta with lots-of-veg

One-Pot Sausage Meatball Pasta

One-pot Greek chicken risoni (orzo)

One pot pasta recipes

Life of Dozer

Dozer’s first day back at the beach following 6 weeks out of action with a hip injury!

A little bit wonky on his feet and restricted to just 10 minutes of swim time (it took 15 minutes to waddle from the car to his friends!😅), but it was still worth the 40 minute drive each way just to see him so happy. ❤️

I don’t even know how he hurt himself – could’ve been a midnight possum chase, slipping trying to get up off wooden floors (the one little naked patch remaining, 98% of the floor is covered in rugs for him!).

He’s a fragile old boy these days. 😔 But I will do whatever it takes to protect him and keep him happy – even if it means covering the entire house in yoga mats!!

Honestly, I credit the trip to Newcastle last weekend for the leap forward in his recovery. I thought it was going to be too much for him because he was moving around 10x more than he has in a single day for the past 6 weeks.

But actually, it seems like it was good for him because the improvement in his mobility has been phenomenal in just the past week. He can get up by himself again and is happy going for walks. Yay Dozer! And thank you Newcastle, for the positive energy that gave Dozer a recovery boost! ❤️

PS I suspect seeing his girlfriend also helped. This is Jarrah (below, left). She’s owned by a good friend of mine. We got our fur balls around the same time so they have grown up together. Though somehow, Jarrah grew up to be a very well behaved, charming girl whereas mine ended up a little entitled and bratty…..🤔

The post Whipped ricotta one pot chicken pasta – with sun dried tomatoes appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

The name’s a tongue twister, but this dish is a breeze to make! Goat cheese and roasted red peppers are the shortcuts for this creamy, smoky risoni recipe. Under $20 for 4 servings, ready in 20 minutes. Serve as a meal or side — it’s like a Mediterranean risotto!

Goat Cheese & Roasted Red Pepper Risoni (orzo)

Today’s recipe is a quick risoni dish that’s simple to make but a little bit special thanks to a bit of goat cheese stirred through which gives it a creamy edge. The distinctive, mild flavour of goat cheese with a touch of tang works perfectly with the Mediterranean flavours here, especially in this oozy risotto-like risoni recipe.

It’s one of those dishes that’s fast to make – yet company worthy. Especially if you keep harping on and on about how good goat’s cheese is. Wait, is that just me?? 😂

Ingredients in this risoni recipe

Here’s all you need to make this. If you don’t have goat’s cheese, you can substitute in a pinch with Danish feta which has a similar flavour and also melts. Else, sour cream, yogurt or even cream plus a squeeze of lemon will have a similar flavour.

• Risoni / orzo – Called risoni here in Australia and Italy but orzo in most of the rest of the world, I have a big soft spot for these little rice-shaped pastas. I love that it cooks quickly and that it tastes like risotto (minus all the patient-stirring work!).

  Find risoni in the pasta aisle at regular grocery stores. Substitute with other small pasta like ditalini, star shaped pasta or those tiny novelty pasta shapes (imagine this with dinosaur pasta!).

• Goat’s cheese (closer up photo above) – Cheese made from goat rather than cow’s milk and has a distinct tang to it. This recipe uses the goat’s cheese that has a texture like Danish feta (ie the soft creamy type of feta), picture above. When you crumble it, it smears on your fingers and when heated, it melts.

  Find it at regular grocery stores, usually sold in log form. Even my corner store sells it!

  Substitute with (in order of priority) Danish feta, sour cream, full fat Greek yogurt or regular cream plus a squeeze of lemon.

• Roasted red peppers / capsicum (aka bell peppers) – These are store bought jars with strips of red capsicum that have been charred and blistered so it has a wonderful smokey flavour and the flesh is super soft and sweet so it melds beautifully into the sauce. *Also see info box below for different names for roasted peppers*

  Find them in the pickle section of regular grocery stores though you can find them for considerably better values (especially in large jars) at continental and European delis and produce shops.

  Substitute – Sauté fresh strips of capsicum, zucchini half moons, asparagus, mushrooms or any vegetable you’d like, though you won’t get the same smoky flavour. Or use other jarred/canned vegetables like artichokes, asparagus, sun dried tomatoes.

• Tomato passata – Smooth pureed, strained pure tomatoes, sometimes labelled “tomato puree” in the US (here’s a photo of Mutti tomato passata sold at Walmart). It’s readily available in Australian supermarkets nowadays, alongside pasta sauces and costs around the same as canned tomato. Passata is excellent for making thick, smooth tomato based sauces, like we are doing in today’s risoni recipe. More on tomato passata here.

  Substitute: For those of you in the US, substituted with the what you call tomato puree (like Hunts). Otherwise, use canned crushed tomato (though the sauce colour won’t be such a vibrant red colour).

• Kalamata olives – Adds fabulous little briny pops into this dish, and flavours the sauce.

• Red onion and garlic – The aromatic flavour bases for this recipe.

Finishing: basil or parsley – or nothing

Finding myself with an abundance of extra basil from stress-testing the basil storing method I shared last week, I decided on a whim to finish the dish with basil and it made it even better! Though until this week, I’ve always been finishing it with just a small amount of parsley.

But in all honesty, there is so much going on here already with the olives and goat’s cheese and roasted peppers, it is still 100% delicious without any fresh herbs. I’d probably add a teaspoon of dried oregano into the sauce though!

How to make this risoni recipe

It takes around 20 minutes to make from start to finish, including preparation. There’s little chopping to be done!

Workflow – Get the risoni boiling then start on the sauce. The cooked risoni can sit in the colander until you’re ready to stir it in.

1. Cook risoni until a tiny bit under done ie. very al dente. The centre shouldn’t be raw-pasta hard but just a bit firmer than you’d like to eat. Reason: the risoni will keep cooking in the sauce so we don’t want it fully cooked at this stage.

2. Reserve pasta water – Just before draining, scoop out a mugful of the pasta cooking water. We will be using this to loosen the olive pasta sauce later. It’s good practice to use the pasta cooking cooking water because it’s got starch from the pasta in it which helps the sauce cling to the little bits of risoni (I preach this for every single pasta recipe I share!).

3. Drain and rinse – Drain the risoni then give it a quick rinse under cold tap water to rinse off excess starch. If you skip this step, the sauce can get a little too “gluey” from excess starch, and also prevents the risoni from sticking together as it’s sitting in the colander waiting to be used.

4. Sauté – Using a large deep skillet (the one I use is 30cm/12″) on high heat, cook the onion first for around 2 minutes until it starts to soften. Then add the strips of capsicum/peppers and garlic. Cook for another 1 minute until the garlic is light golden, and the onion is pretty floppy.

5. Sauce – Add the passata and olives, then stir.

6. Simmer – Bring to a simmer then lower the head and simmer for 3 minutes on medium heat, stirring every now and then. During this step, the briny, salty flavour from the olives and the smoky flavour from the capsicum/peppers releases into the sauce which adds flavour. YUM!

5. Risoni – Add the cooked risoni, salt and about 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water. Stir through until the risoni is coated in the sauce.

6. Basil and melty goat’s cheese – Add most of the goat’s cheese (reserve a bit for garnish) and stir it through until it melts and becomes creamy (it melts quickly). Then stir through the basil (if using), just before serving.

Then you’re done! Ladle into bowls or into a large serving bowl, sprinkle with goat’s cheese (or just add a clump if it’s soft and sticky – more impactful!) and little basil leaves or chopped basil. Then dig in!

How to serve this risoni dish

This is substantial enough and certainly interesting enough to be a meal by itself. Essentially, this is a vegetarian pasta dish (despite the repetitive comparisons I make to risotto!) which incorporates a decent amount of vegetables (tomato, onion, capsicum/bell peppers) so you don’t need to add a side dish to round out your meal.

However, it’d also be terrific served as a side dish with a simple piece of protein. I actually meant to photograph it with a piece of pan fried fish or prawns/shrimp plonked on top, cooked with just salt and pepper. Then the idea would be to eat the protein with the oozy risoni playing multiple roles here – like the sauce as well as a starch and vegetable side.

Try it with my everyday marinated chicken breast (named as such because it’s made with pantry staples), Italian marinated chicken, Lemon Garlic Marinated Pork Chops or pile over some Greek Lamb Meatballs (imagine that!).

Hope you enjoy! – Nagi x

SUGGESTED SIMPLE PROTEINS TO SERVE WITH THIS RISONI

Crispy Pan Fried Fish

Just a great Chicken Marinade

Lemon Garlic Marinated Grilled Pork Chops

Italian Dressing Chicken Marinade

Greek Meatballs (Keftedes)

Mediterranean Recipes

Watch how to make it

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Creamy Goat Cheese & Roasted Red Pepper Risoni (Orzo)

Recipe video above. Goat's cheese and jarred fire-roasted red peppers (capsicum) makes this dish special even though it's quick and simple! The sauce is a little bit smoky and a little bit creamy, while olives add briny freshness. Tastes like a Mediterranean risotto!

Get the risoni boiling first then start on the sauce. Serve as a meal or as a side with a simple piece of cooked fish, prawns/shrimp, chicken or pork chops.

Course Mains

Cuisine Mediterranean vibes, Western

Keyword orzo recipe, risoni recipe

Prep Time 7 minutes minutes

Cook Time 13 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 452cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 250g/ 8oz risoni pasta (orzo) , or other very small pasta (tiny stars, novelty shapes like dinosaurs, ditalini)
• 2 tsp cooking salt/kosher salt , for cooking the pasta
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 red onion , halved then cut into 5mm / 0.2″ slices (sub regular onion)
• 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
• 310g/ 10oz jar chargrilled / fire-roasted sliced red capsicum/peppers (~ 1 cup), drained, roughly chopped into 2.5cm / 1″ pieces (Note 1)
• 2 cups tomato passata or puree (Note 2)
• 1/2 cup sliced Kalamata olives or other briny/pickly thing (like pickles, chopped)
• 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 120g/4 oz goat's cheese , the creamy feta type (Note 3)

Finishing – CHOOSE (Note 4)

• 1 tightly packed cup basil leaves
• 1 tbsp roughly chopped parsley , plus extra for garnish

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Boil risoni – Bring a small pot or large saucepan of water to the boil. Add salt and cook risoni until just under al dente (ie still a bit firm inside) as it will cook more in the sauce. 8 minutes for me.
• Drain & rinse – Just before draining, scoop out 1/2 cup pasta cooking water and set aside. Drain, rinse briefly under the tap then leave the risoni in the colander while you finish the sauce.
• Sauté – Heat the oil in a large non stick skillet (30cm/12") over high heat. Add onion and cook for 2 minutes until starting to soften. Add garlic and capsicum strips. Cook for 2 minutes until the onion is softened.
• Simmer – Add tomato and olives. Bring to a simmer, lower heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring every now and then.
• Melt goat cheese – Add cooked risoni, salt, pepper and the pasta cooking water. Stir to combine. Add most of the goat's cheese (reserve some for garnish), stir so it melts.
• Basil & serve – Stir through basil or parsley just before serving. Divide between bowls. Crumble over reserved goat's cheese, sprinkle with extra basil. Dig in with a spoon!

Notes

1. Fire roasted red peppers / capsicum – Find it alongside olives, it’s smoky, soft, slippery and a terrific shortcut here. Substitution ideas – sauté your own capsicum strips or other vegetables (zucchini, mushrooms, asparagus), or use other fire roasted vegetables you find (asparagus is one I’ve seen).

PS It’s not spicy, despite the name “pepper” 🙂

2. Tomato passata – Sold in bottles in the pasta aisle (sometimes canned tomato section). US: substitute what what you call “tomato puree” (eg Hunts). More on passata in post or here. Substitute with 600g/21 oz (1 1/2 cans) canned crushed tomato and simmer for a few extra minutes.

3. Goat cheese is cheese made from goat milk which has a distinctive creamy texture with a mild flavour that is a bit tangy. You need the soft feta sort for this dish, usually sold in log form – melts beautifully into sauces. Sold at regular grocery stores. Substitute with Danish feta (ie the creamy sort) or sour cream (1/2 to 3/4 cup). Else, yogurt or 1/3 – 1/2 cup cream plus a squeeze of lemon juice will deliver a similar flavour.

4. Herb finishes – Basil is my first preference, the freshness really elevates the dish. If I don’t have it, I use parsley or add 1 tsp dried oregano when I add the garlic.

Leftovers will keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Reheat in microwave and loosen as needed with splash of water to make it oozy again.

Nutrition per serving. Calorie savings from using heavy on low-cal vegetables – tomato passata, fire roasted red peppers (it’s not packed in oil) and onion.

Nutrition

Calories: 452cal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 1531mg | Potassium: 869mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1427IU | Vitamin C: 49mg | Calcium: 126mg | Iron: 4mg

Use the leftover risoni for one of these recipes!

Risoni/Orzo Salad with Crispy Salami Bits

One-pot Greek chicken risoni (orzo)

Quick Chicken & Vegetable Risoni recipe (Orzo)

Greek Lemon Orzo Salad (Risoni)

Creamy Salmon Risoni / Orzo (15 Minute Meal)

One pot chicken risoni with crispy salami

Creamy Mushroom and Spinach Orzo (Risoni) (One Pot)

Life of Dozer

We celebrated Christmas last weekend as it was the first weekend everybody was back in Sydney! As you might imagine, there was a fair number of food gifts (our entire extended family is very into food!) so Dozer spent a fair amount of time snuffling around the pile of presents.

The expression on his face when I was coaxing him to get out of there… “are you talking to me?” “I don’t understand what you’re saying” 😇

In the end, I gave up and joined him. 😂

The post Creamy Goat Cheese & Roasted Red Pepper Risoni (orzo) appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

This quick dinner using beef mince channels Thai chilli basil stir fry vibes (except, no basil!) with poke bowl versatility (except, no pricey raw fish!). The sweet chilli drizzle sauce ties it all together, and gives you the flex to use any raw or cooked veg side. Jumble it all up and dig in!

About these Thai Sweet Chilli Beef Bowls

I wish I could tell you today’s recipe is an authentic Thai homecooked meal, lovingly prepared every day by thousands of families across Thailand…..

But it’s not (at least, not to my knowledge). It’s just something I made up, quick to make, versatile and a great all-rounder that will please picky young eaters as well as those who consider themselves connoisseurs of South East Asian food. Because although it is not authentic, it’s made with staple Thai stir fry ingredients (oyster sauce, fish sauce, garlic, sugar) so the flavour is pretty* legit.

It’s really tasty. I hope you love it!

* I say “pretty” legit because I’ve dialled up the speed factor by using sweet chilli sauce instead of fresh chilli + garlic + sugar + thickener. It totally works!

Ingredients

Here’s what you need to make this. NOTE: There’s a fair few repeat ingredients!

The sauces

We’re making two sauces today – one for cooking and one for drizzling. Common ingredients, but they taste different because cooking the sauce changes the flavour – it intensifies and caramelises. On the other hand, the drizzle sauce is fresher.

• Sweet chilli sauce – Just your regular everyday sweet chilli sauce from regular grocery stores. I use Trident which is a common brand here in Australia. There is no need to hunt down a legit Asian brand (unless you want to!). Despite the word “chilli” in the name, it’s not spicy, it’s just sweet, though there is subtle chilli flavour in it.

• Fish sauce – Stinky in the bottle but wonderful when cooked, can’t taste fishiness at all! You just end up with tasty savoury saltiness – more interesting than salt, soy etc. We also use it in the drizzle sauce but not very much. If raw fish sauce scares you, a) I assume you don’t like Vietnamese food (because it’s abundantly used in raw form in Vietnamese sauces!) b) just use soy instead.

• Dark soy sauce – This stains the beef a lovely rich colour and adds tasty soy flavour in a way you don’t get with regular or light soy sauce. But, if you don’t have dark soy sauce, you can use either of these (though the beef won’t be as dark). There will be a touch less flavour too but don’t be concerned, the drizzle sauce will make up for it.

• Rice vinegar – To balance out the sweet and savoury in the stir fry sauce. Substitute with cider vinegar.

• Lime juice – I chose to use this for the drizzle sauce rather than vinegar because it’s fresher. But if you don’t have lime or it’s extortionate (which it can be at times here in Australia) and you want to save it for your G&T (I get it), substitute with rice vinegar. It’s not a big deal, I promise. 🙂

• Garlic – For the drizzle sauce. (We sauté garlic for the beef).

PS With a fair few common ingredients, I thought I could make one double-duty sauce. I did try, and it was ok, but it was better making two separate ones with different ratios of each ingredient. So sorry, you need two separate bowls!

For the beef stir fry

All you need for the stir fry part is beef, garlic and onion. The cashews and coriander/cilantro are for sprinkling – and there’s plenty of alternatives.

• Beef mince – Use any fat % you want. The fattier it is, the stronger the beef flavour and the juicier the stir fry.

  Other proteins – I haven’t tried but I’m confident this would be very tasty with chicken, turkey and pork. Not convinced lamb works – but I could easily be swayed.

• Garlic and onion – I challenge you to find a stir fry on my website that doesn’t include these!

• Cashews – A good sprinkle of chopped toasted cashews is such a tasty finishing touch! Elevates this from “yum” to “I need seconds!”. Peanuts would work as well, or almonds. For a no nut option, I’d probably opt for crispy fried shallots (buy them).

• Coriander/cilantro – Lovely fresh touch. I use a fair amount because I love the flavour of coriander, it is a Thai food essential! Substitute with green onion.

Rice and vegetable/salad sides

There’s no raw fish in sight, but aside from this it’s a similar concept to a poke bowl. It’s served over rice, it’s got a sauce, and it works with raw or cooked vegetables. The sweet chilli drizzle sauce essentially acts as a salad dressing which means you can literally use any vegetable you want.

It’s pictured throughout this post with cucumbers and red onion tossed with coriander (keeping with the Thai vibes!), but think – blanched broccoli florets, shredded carrot or cabbage, sliced radish, blanched asparagus, finely sliced kale, cherry tomatoes, edamame or peas.

As for the rice – I’ve used jasmine (on-theme for the Thai flavours) though any plain rice or noodles will work. Faux rice, likecauliflower rice, quinoa (cook directions here) or those new fangled low-cal-faux rice options sold at grocery stores these days, can also be used.

How to make it

Don’t skip toasting the cashews. It really goes a long way to enhance the nut flavour!

1. Drizzle sauce – Mix the ingredients in a small bowl.

2. Stir fry sauce – And mix these ingredients in a separate bowl.

3. Toast cashews – Toss the cashews in a dry pan for a few minutes until you can smell them and there’s little golden spots on the cashews.

4. Chop – Let them cool then roughly chop them so you have some larger pieces and some “dust”.

5. Sauté the onion and garlic for a minute until the onion is almost translucent. (We’re on high heat now, speed is our friend). The onion will cook through more with the beef.

6. Beef – Add the beef and cook it, breaking it up as you go, until you can no longer see red. Then add the sauce and keep cooking until the sauce mostly reduces, the beef is sizzling and it gets nice colour on it. Don’t skimp on this step as the caramelisation of the sauce on the beef is where the flavour is! It will take about 2 – 3 minutes on a strong stove, or 3 – 4 minutes on a weaker stove.

7. Juicy and tasty! Here’s what it looks like. The beef is a lovely rich brown colour but it’s still “juicy” thanks to the sweet chilli sauce.

8. Assemble bowls – Spoon the beef over steaming rice. Pile vegetables of choice on the side (raw or cooked, more on this above), douse with the Drizzle sauce, sprinkle with coriander and cashews. Then it’s dinner time!

Eating etiquette

And finally, a very important matter – the eating etiquette. When it’s first placed in front of you, take a moment to admire it. So pretty and colourful!

Then dive in and mix it all up. Mix with vigour! If you are not flicking cashew bits and rice on the table, are you really living? Embrace the chaos, because the better it’s jumbled, the more enjoyable every single bite will be.

Bring on the delicious mess!! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Print

Thai Sweet Chilli Beef Bowls

Recipe video above. This quick dinner using beef mince channels Thai Chilli Basil stir fry vibes (but, no basil and not spicy) with poke bowl versatility (but, no pricey raw fish!).

I use bottled sweet chilli sauce for simplicity instead of fresh chilli, garlic, sugar and thickener, and it works a treat. Plus, it's more kid friendly because you can barely taste the spice.

The key is the Sweet Chilli Drizzle Sauce! It adds flavor to the beef, rice, and veggies (raw or cooked). Jumble it all up and dig in!

Course Main

Cuisine Western

Keyword beef bowl, beef mince recipe, Ground beef recipe, quick stir fry, thai beef recipe

Prep Time 13 minutes minutes

Cook Time 7 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 585cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup roasted cashews , unsalted (or peanuts, Note 1)
• 1 tbsp canola oil , or other plain cooking oil
• 500 g / 1 lb beef mince (ground beef)
• 1 small onion , finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
• 3 tbsp roughly chopped coriander/cilantro leaves (sub green onion)

Sweet chilli stir fry sauce:

• 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce (I use Trident)
• 2 tbsp fish sauce (Note 2)
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar (sub cider vinegar)
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce (Note 3)
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce (Note 3)

Sweet chilli drizzle sauce:

• 1 garlic clove , minced using garlic crusher
• 3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
• 2 tbsp lime juice (sub rice vinegar when limes are crazy expensive)
• 2 tsp fish sauce (Note 2)

Serving:

• 2 batches jasmine rice or other plain rice of choice
• Steamed or fresh veg (Note 5) (pictured: chopped cucumber, coriander/cilantro, red onion finely sliced)

Instructions

Abbreviated recipe

• Mix each sauce. Toast cashews, sauté onion + garlic 1 min, then cook beef. Add sauce, cook until reduced/caramelised, serve over rice with veg on side. Spoon over drizzle sauce, top with cashews and coriander.

Full recipe:

• Drizzle sauce – Mix the ingredients in a bowl, set aside.
• Stir fry sauce – Mix the ingredients in a separate bowl, set aside.
• Toast cashews – Heat a large non-stick pan over medium high heat. Add the cashews and toast for 2 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board then roughly chop once cool.
• Cook beef – Heat the oil in the same pan over high heat. Add the garlic and onion, cook for 1 minute. Add the beef and cook, breaking it up as you go, until you no longer see raw meat.
• Sauce it! Add the cooking sauce and cook well, stirring, until it mostly reduces down so the sauce caramelises on the beef, about 3 – 4 minutes. (Don't shortcut this step, it's where the flavour is!)
• Serve the beef over rice with a side of veg. Douse everything with the sauce, top with cashews and coriander (fresh chilli wouldn't go astray either). To eat, jumble everything up then dig in!

Notes

1. Cashews – Toasting brings out the flavour, promise it’s worth it. Raw nuts – just toast for a little longer so they are cooked through. Peanuts and almonds would also be tasty, else a generous pinch of sesame seeds. Salted nuts – that’s fine, but maybe cut down the fish sauce (in stir fry sauce) by about 1/2 tbsp.

2. Fish sauce – It’s stinky in the bottle, but it cooks out so don’t be scared! It’s the secret ingredient that adds more flavour than other salty things like salt, soy etc. If you really have to sub, use all-purpose soy or light soy (NOT dark soy, too intense).

3. Oyster sauce – Similarly stinky (but also sweet), but is a flavour shortcut. Don’t skip it. Sub vegetarian oyster sauce (yes, such a thing exists!).

4. Dark soy sauce gives the beef an enticing deep brown colour as well as adding tasty soy flavour. Substitute with all purpose or light soy sauce, though the beef won’t be as dark. While the flavour will also be a little less, it’s ok here because the drizzle sauce will save it!

5. Veg – The drizzle sauce will make any veg tasty, whether raw (like cucumber pictured, shredded cabbage, carrot, leafy greens, radish) or cooked (just plain steamed or blanched, like broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, peas). Think: poke bowl situation!

6. Leftover beef will keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge, 3 months in the freezer. Great meal prep if you use steamed veg because everything in the can be reheated (though I wouldn’t keep cooked rice longer than 3 days in fridge). Best to keep the drizzle sauce separate, if you can.

Nutrition per serving, assuming lean beef is used, 1 cup cooked rice, all the drizzle sauce and pictured cucumber side. 206 calories is from the rice, so switch it out with lower cal / lower carb alternatives if you want to reduce the calories (eg cauliflower rice).

Nutrition

Calories: 585cal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 1617mg | Potassium: 657mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 24IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 4mg

More Asian food made using beef mince

It doesn’t have to be Spag Bol every single night!

Asian Beef Bowls (Super Quick!)

Quick Asian Caramelised Beef Ramen Noodles

Beef fried rice

Spicy Firecracker Beef

Qeema – Easy Indian Curried Beef Mince

Beef chow mein – great mince/ground beef recipe!

Beef mince recipes - ground beef

Life of Dozer

I should retitle this section “greed of Dozer” because I had to take him into the emergency vet hospital last night after I caught him chowing down fertiliser (which can be toxic to dogs). 🙄 Thankfully, it wasn’t chemical fertiliser (which can be really toxic), “just” chicken poop.

As punishment for his greed, he is reverting to a bland boiled-veg-chicken diet for the next little while, as a precaution. And I’ve publicly shamed him in this home video:

And further shaming in the family WhatsApp thread:

Will report back in a few days but no alarming signs at this stage. Thank you again SASH (Dr Erin!), for treating him!

The post Thai Sweet Chilli Beef Bowls appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Here are the ten most popular new recipes I have published so far in 2024. Some of these made me proud. Most were predictable! 😂

What about for you? Any surprises on this list? 🙂

10 most popular new recipes of 2024 (so far)

Note! This is a top 10 list for recipes I have published in 2024. Not an all-time most popular list!! So don’t be shocked if your all time favourite there. 🙂

10. Lamb Korma Curry

I’m thrilled to see a recipe that’s not a quick weeknight meal making it into the Top 10! It’s definitely List-Worthy. 😅 The korma curry sauce is truly amazing—it’s a flavour you won’t find in a jar, and even at a restaurant, you’d have to know where to go to find one that rivals this!

9. Smoky Roasted Tomato Soup

I was also really happy to see this make The List! I wasn’t sure if it would appeal, thought perhaps it wasn’t exciting enough for you.😅 But what I really like about this soup is that it’s a really great way to make something tasty out of lacklustre tomatoes, which is sadly all too common in grocery stores here in Australia. So imagine how great it is when tomatoes are season!

8. Crispy Oven Baked Quesadillas

Strong performer to make the top 10 list because I only published it last month! This is a really handy recipe because you can make multiple quesadillas at the same time in the oven rather than flipping them one by one on the stove. Who’s got time for that when you’ve got a hoard of hungry teenagers!

7. Sausage Ragu with Pappardelle Pasta

I feel like the word “ragu” always gets your attention. 😂 Though in all seriousness, this one’s pretty special because it gets a massive flavour leg-up by using sausages for the meat, and economical to make too. The richness and depth of flavour in it is really, really good!

6. One-pot Moussaka Beef Rice Pilaf

Hazarding a guess for why this made The List! Let’s see….convenience of a meal in one pot…. plus the name (everybody loves Moussaka!)…plus maybe the photo looks appealing, with the juicy looking tomato stained rice with the shiny balls of chickpeas?

5. My 14 favourite low-calorie dinners

It was early January when I published this, when New Years’ resolutions “to be healthier” were still fresh in everyone’s mind!

4. Tray bake lamb kofta meatballs and vegetables

I love a tray bake that’s a little different, like meatballs and vegetables! Works perfectly with the bonus that all your meatballs remain perfectly round, unlike when pan frying when one side always seems to flatten!

3. Singapore Chicken Vermicelli Noodles

Australia is mad for Singapore noodles! But they are kind of a pain to make – you need a little bit of Char Sui (Chinese BBQ Pork) and freshly peeled prawns. So I made a tonight version using using chicken instead. Instant hit! (I feel this might be happening for my own dinner tonight.)

2. One pot Chicken Risoni with Crispy Salami

Why I think you love it: Because we all love a one pot recipe! Oozy, creamy risotto vibes with a whole lot less work. Also, the crispy salami. It’s worth making this just to experience the crispy salami! #BetterThanBacon

1. Lemon Garlic Salmon Tray Bake

Why I think you love it: Because, everything you need for a meal cooked on one tray! Fast prep. Less washing up. And tasty! Love the lemon garlic flavour on the salmon.

And that rounds off the top 10 most popular recipes of 2024 (so far!). Even though it’s not a recipe, I’m still going to drop in an FAQ, mainly cause it’s a new website design toy and I’m still having fun playing with it. 😂

10 most popular recipes of 2024 FAQ

Why are you publishing the list now, on such a random date?

What was the criteria for recipes in the running?

How was the top 10 determined?

What tool do you use to determine the publish date?

It’s not really fair. Recipes you published earlier in the year have an unfair advantage.

Tell me in the comments below what you thought of The List! Any surprises? Any disappointments? I personally was a little sad that Crispy Salt & Pepper Squid wasn’t on the list, because we worked so hard on that recipe. Hand on heart, between JB, my brother and I, I think we probably made over 30 versions before we cracked the code. And still, to this day, yet to have one as good, even at a restaurant!

Other notable “sad it didn’t make The Cut” mentions include: Chicken Cacciatore (Italian! Stewy! Easy!), Crispy Pork Belly Banh Mi (just missed out, coming in at number 12) and Cheesymite Scrolls (Australia! It’s a travesty.).

And my publisher is probably going to be gutted my new book announcement didn’t make The List.

But don’t worry about my publishers’ or my opinion! The most important one that matters is in the section below. ⬇️ 😂 – Nagi x

Life of Dozer

Dozer is not having a good day.

First, he found out he didn’t make the 2024 top 10, with 13 recipes ahead of his most popular post…..

Then he found out it’s toy washing day.

This is about as bad as Life of Dozer gets these days! 😂 (And I wouldn’t have it any other way ❤️).

The post 10 most popular new recipes of 2024 (so far) appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.