This creamy tangy Goat Cheese Risotto recipe needs to be in your repertoire for all upcoming dinner parties!

If you've been around WGC for the last few years, you know that risotto is near and dear to my heart. It's one of the first recipes that I learned to make 10000 years ago in culinary school and I've made it pretty much every which-way since. I love how simple but elegant it is as a dish!
Here's my professional opinion on how to make a perfect / elegant (but easy enough for a weeknight meal) risotto:
- It all starts with Arborio rice! I like to toast my rice in some olive oil with the shallots for optimum flavor.
- Wine is an important part of making risotto as it gives you tons of flavor but the actual alcohol cooks off. So if you're making this dish for kids, not to worry! And if you want to skip the wine, you can go straight into the chicken stock. Just add about ½ cup more than what my recipe calls for.
- Time is the thing everyone panics about when making risotto - but really it's only 25ish minutes and an occasional stir. You can easily multi-task. You'll just want to add stock every few minutes and cook the rice over medium-low heat so it slowly absorbs the liquid.
- The final step to making risotto is adding in some extra flavor. In this specific recipe that comes in the form of goat cheese, lemon and basil! A match made in heaven.

Need some more risotto inspiration besides this Goat Cheese Risotto - here you go:
- Tomato Risotto
- Cacio e Pepe Risotto
- Summer Corn Risotto with Shrimp
- Caramelized Onion Risotto
- Wild Mushroom Risotto
- Spring Pea Risotto
- Carrot Risotto
- and last but not least - a parmesan risotto Eggplant Rollatini
The simple addition of a little goat cheese makes this risotto extra tangy and comforting. Throw on the basil and a squeeze of lemon juice and you'll want to save the entire dish for yourself!
What you’ll need:

Goat Cheese Risotto
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 shallots finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 1 cup arborio rice
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 2 ½ cups chicken stock
- ½ cup goat cheese
- fresh basil
- 1 meyer lemon juiced (regular lemon works too!)
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the shallot and saute until soft. Add the rice and garlic and saute for about 1 minute more, making sure to stir it around in the olive oil so that each granule is coated.
- Next add the white wine and stir. Wait until all the wine has been absorbed and then start adding the chicken stock ½ cup at a time, making sure not to add more until the previous addition has been absorbed.
- Once the rice is just tender, add the goat cheese and lemon juice and combine. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with the basil to serve.
OMG MADE SOME FOR MY HUSBAND BECAUSE WE JUST HAPPENED TO HAVE GOAT CHEESE. I MIXED IN A HANDFUL OF CHOPPED BABY SPINACH ND PORTABELLA. MUSHROOMS. WOW WAS IT GOOD. ALONGSIDE BAKED CHICKEN. MMMMMMMMM GOOD.
Oh my yumminess!
Oooh...I love goat cheese, too! Your risotto looks delicious, and I'm sure the goat cheese made the texture just wonderful. I don't always have white wine on hand, but I do always have beer in the fridge, so I sometimes make risotto using beer and it tastes great.
WOW I DIDN'T MENTION IN MY COMMENT THAT I ALSO USED BEER. IF WAS DELICIOUS NONE THE LESS.
Hi Gaby!
Greetings from Spain.
I have just done this recipe! 😀 Being it my first risotto, I can say it tastes pretty well! Since I didn´t have any white wine I used Coronita and tastes great too! 🙂 (and it´s a good pairing to eat the risotto with!)
I bet the goat cheese and basil make a terrific combination! I love how simple, yet delicious this is!
yum! looks great. we're going to share this with our followers!
goat cheese cheers,
belle chevre
This looks creamy and tangy and fantastic. My husband hates goat cheese too. I have stopped wodnering what is wrong with him and started enjoying the fact that I get it all to myself!
I've got to make this
Fresh goat cheese from the farmer's market.... nothing better! Your creamy risotto is the perfect vehicle for this chèvre.
I love anything with goat cheese but this looks especially delicious.