This baked Pumpkin Risotto looks thoroughly unimpressive when it comes out of the oven. But with a few big stirs, it miraculously transforms into a luxurious, CREAMY risotto with a magnificent colour that no one can resist!
And to think that you can make this without standing over the hot stove, stirring constantly……. Believe it. You CAN make an amazing, creamy risotto in the oven!
ULTRA CREAMY, ULTRA EASY PUMPKIN RISOTTO
For pumpkin lovers, for risotto lovers, for good food lovers everywhere – this Pumpkin Risotto recipe is for you.
If you’re new to the wonders of baked risotto, this will be a life changing recipe for you. It is truly creamy, it looks and tastes luxurious, and it doesn’t even have a drop of cream in it.
And yet, rather than standing over a hot stove, stirring constantly for 20 minutes, it’s just plonked in the oven. Take it out, give it a few vigorous stirs – and this is what you get:
And it tastes even better than it looks!!!
HOW TO MAKE THIS BAKED PUMPKIN RISOTTO
You are going to be amazed how easy it is to make risotto in the oven.
It starts on the stove like a normal risotto, with sautéed garlic and onion. We can’t skip this flavour base. Nor do we want to skip deglazing the pot with a touch of white wine (or broth or even water) and toasting the risotto lightly in the pot.
From here, the recipe changes completely from a traditional risotto recipe. Add the liquids and pumpkin, give it a stir, cover, then bake in the oven for 25 minutes
No stirring. Not even once. In fact, I forbid you to open that oven. If you do, you lose heat and you’ll disrupt the cooking process!
WATCH THE MAGIC HAPPEN
Open the lid, and you’ll be greeted with the sight of some seriously stodgy looking rice, about as far from a creamy risotto as can be. But have faith. This is where the magic happens. Give it a vigorous stir, watch as the soft cooked pumpkin disintegrates and transforms into a puree which creates the creamy pumpkin sauce for this risotto
It tastes savoury yet sweet from the pumpkin. The rice is perfectly cooked – al dente, just the way I like.
The risotto is creamy rather than stodgy and gluey. And we haven’t used a single drop of cream!
INGREDIENTS IN PUMPKIN RISOTTO
Astonishingly few ingredients in Pumpkin Risotto! The key ingredient to ensure you get right is the rice – see below for more information.
Other than this, the other ingredients are actually fairly simple and adaptable. Don’t have wine? No problems, just use water or broth. Prefer olive oil rather than butter? Go ahead. Switch sage with other herbs, use canned or fresh pumpkin (yes really), use chicken or vegetable broth, or water + stock powder.
WHAT RICE TO USE FOR RISOTTO
Risotto needs to be made with risotto rice. It has a higher starch content which is what makes the creamy “sauce” without using cream.
There’s a few varieties but the most common at supermarkets is Arborio which is what I use.
OPTIONAL CRISPY SAGE LEAVES & BROWN BUTTER
I’ve garnished this Pumpkin Risotto with crispy sage leaves because pumpkin and sage are great mates, and it provides great texture.
The added bonus is that the butter used to crisp up the sage leaves turns into brown butter which is an incredible finish for any risotto. Just one or two teaspoons is all you need to elevate it to another level of luxuriousness.
But… this is optional……(she says, unconvincingly)
Let’s put it this way. It’s ok to skip it for an everyday meal. But it’s mandatory for company! – Nagi x
SUGGESTIONS: THINGS TO SERVE WITH PUMPKIN RISOTTO
Add chicken and spinach – see recipe notes
Sun Dried Tomato Stuffed Chicken Breast or quick Crispy Garlic Chicken Thighs
Crispy Pan Fried Fish or Garlic Prawns/Shrimp – super quick and easy
Meatloaf – instead of the usual mashed potatoes!
Salmon Patties, Rissoles, Zucchini Fritters and similar
MORE RISOTTO RECIPES!
One Pot Baked Risotto with Lemon Chicken
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Baked Creamy Pumpkin Risotto
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp / 50 g unsalted butter , divided
- 1 1/2 cups arborio rice (risotto rice) (Note 1)
- 1 onion , diced
- 600 g / 20 oz pumpkin (weight after peeling and deseeding) , diced into 1.7cm/2/3″ cubes (about 4 heaped cups) (Note 2)
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/4 cup dry white wine (or water or broth)
- 3 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock/broth
- 2 tbsp sage leaves, roughly chopped (Note 3)
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese , finely grated
- Salt & pepper
Crispy Sage & Brown Butter (optional)
- 50 g / 3 tbsp butter , salted
- 12 – 20 sage leaves
To Garnish
- Grated parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- Melt 1 tbsp / 20g butter in ovenproof pot (preferably with a lid) over medium high heat.
- Add garlic and onion and cook until onion is translucent.
- Add chopped sage and cook for 1 minute.
- Add rice and stir so all the rice grains are coated with the butter and semi translucent.
- Add white wine and cook until the the liquid evaporates – about 1 minute.
- Add pumpkin and broth, stir. Let the liquid heat up but do not bring to simmer.
- Put lid on (or cover tightly with foil) and place in oven for 25 minutes, until rice is just cooked (firm but not raw) – don’t worry if there’s excess liquid. If rice is still uncooked, return to oven for 5 minutes.
- Add remaining butter and parmesan cheese.
- Stir vigorously until the pumpkin turns into a puree and blends into the risotto. If it’s too thick then add a splash of hot tap water. Should have a porridge like consistency so it sags a bit when served (see video), rather than staying in a tall, firm pile.
- Spoon into serving bowls. Garnish with crispy sage, 1 or 2 teaspoons of brown butter and parmesan cheese. Devour immediately!
Crispy Sage:
- Melt butter in a small pan over medium high heat. Once foaming, add sage leaves and stir gently.
- Cook for 1 1/2 minutes or until crispy.
- Immediately remove sage onto paper towel lined plate and pour butter into a heat proof jug (butter should be brown by now).
Recipe Notes:
- Salt – It is important to remember to season at the very end and not at the beginning as you never really know how strong the salt from the stock/broth is once absorbed into the rice.
- Leftover Brown Butter – It’s unlikely you’ll use it all. But you can’t use less otherwise it’s too hard to crisp the sage leaves (I tried). Drizzle leftovers on almost any protein, pasta, omelettes, onto soups. Just a tiny drizzle adds an extra element of luxuriousness to anything!
- Servings: Even though there is only 1 1/2 cups of rice, this makes a lot (because of the 3 cups of pumpkin). It will feed 4 hungry people or 6 normal servings.
- Baking time – if you are using a heavy cast iron casserole pot with a lid, then the cook time should be 25 minutes because it retains heat so well. If you are using a lighter weight pot covered with foil, then it might take closer to 35 to 40 minutes.
- Add protein: Turn this into a complete meal by adding chicken and spinach. Chop chicken, season with salt and pepper (add herbs if you want too). Add the chicken when the onion is translucent and cook until white (still raw inside). Then follow the directions of the recipe. When you stir the butter and parmesan into the cooked risotto, add the spinach as well – you can add as much spinach as you want, but 3 packed cups is ideal. The residual heat from the risotto will wilt it quickly. You may need to add a splash of water to loosen it up a bit.
- Veganise it by omitting the parmesan (check the salt level by taste) and using vegetable rather than chicken stock.
5. Leftovers – Risotto doesn’t keep well, it thickens. But leftovers make brilliant Arancini Rice Balls! Here’s a baked one, here’s a fried one. 6. Nutrition per serving, assuming 1 tsp of brown butter, excludes parmesan garnish and crispy sage (because I don’t know how to calculate nutrition for that).
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
Well, at least he’s out having fun in the water while suffering the indignity of Halloween dress ups…..
As always, Nagi, absolutely delicious! I added a bit of bacon just because. This is such a minimum effort – maximum reward dish. Thank you.
Fantastic recipe. I love that it’s easy enough for a week-night family meal but also delicious enough for guests. Which come to think of it should be the sweet spot more recipes aim for, but this one really hits it.
This might be my second time reviewing this recipe, but I wanted to add: if you want/need to make this in advance, you can do steps 1 through 7, take the pot off the heat, and then continue with steps 8 onwards when you’re ready. If anything the flavour is improved by the extra soaking time.
Basic ingredients, easy to make and the taste ..wow!!!
Don’t skip on the sage and brown butter, they intensify the flavour.
Made this for the second time tonight, followed the recipe closely too, turned out perfect! Only thing I adjusted was cook time in the over to 45 minutes. The pumpkin broke down pretty easily, I think the key is to pick a nice orange pumpkin (I used butternut) and keep the cubes quite small. Thanks Nagi! Long time fan here. XO
Nagi your recipes are my forever go to. I have introduced so many family and friends to your site, and having just made your pumpkin risotto is it any wonder, and the burnt sage, my husband asked for more! Another terrific dish. Where have you been for my 66 years? Thank you Xxx
Made this for dinner tonight. Absolutely delicious! Super easy and low stress. I added toasted walnuts with the crispy sage. Sensational!
My son said it was the best risotto he had eaten ever. Creamy, sweet and warming. The crispy sage leaves were a revelation. Highly, highly recommended for a winter’s meal. Do yourself a favour.
I was looking for a recipe to use up some butternut pumpkin I had leftover. I cooked up some diced bacon and added frozen spinach at the end. I also didn’t have any Parmesan so I added grated mozzarella. Following what others had said about using butternut I cooked it an extra 5 minutes. Turned out perfectly and my kids smashed it!
Worked perfectly first time, even without white wine. 10/10 will absolutely make again!
Thank you for another amazing recipe. This was so delicious and the sage leaves were the hero of the dish. So glad my local food works had them
This was fabulous – especially for having a no-need-to-stir Sunday night rice based meal. I’m coeliac so it was perfect for me. More importantly my other half who has previously turned up his nose at the mention of pumpkin risotto AND my grandson who claims he hates pumpkin, both came back for seconds (and thirds in my grandson’s case)! I did “doctor “ the recipe a little adding some chopped up crispy fried streaky bacon that I needed to use up, and a cup of frozen peas to disguise the fact of the pumpkin being the champion of this dish, but knowing the boys would like them. So dinner was a total winner tonight. For a meal that probably should have fed 6-7 with the extras I added, I could not believe how little was left! (And I personally only had one serving…!) I might try some arancini with the leftovers if hubby doesn’t reheat it and eat it for his lunch tomorrow. You have done it again Nagi! THANK YOU!
This was fabulous! I don’t have an oven-proof pot so I roasted diced pumpkin in the oven while i made the risotto and then added the mashed pumpkin at the end along with butter and parmesan. Devoured it with fried salmon!
Hi, can I use sushi rice as a substitute? Thanks
Far and away the BEST risotto I have ever made! Kent pumpkin is the best I’ve used as it ends up really creamy with a lot of flavour. Hubby loves it and he’s Italian!! Can’t recommend it enough! Thank you Nagi x
Fantastic recipe I used bone broth from my health food shop which had tumeric and didn’t use sage. I’ll never cook my risotto like a used to again
My family love this risotto. Quick and easy for a midweek meal without all the stirring for a stovetop risotto.
The crispy sage and browned butter sauce elevates this to amazing.
This was wonderful! Followed as is, didnt have any sage. Still had enough flavor and was the perfect texture. Thank you!
This baked risotto is my favourite winter dish. It is so easy yet so delicious. Better than a restaurant!
easy & really enjoyable. I add green apple & use butternut pumpkin & leave out the sage & brown butter. The Apple gives it a nice tang.
I would not recommend butternut squash. Tried it using the hob cooking method and it remained as hard as if it was uncooked and did not disintegrate into the creaminess the Italian pumpkin with the thick green skin or the Japanese pumpkin did
Luckily I had some pumpkin soup made by the Italian pumpkin and added it for taste
But that did not make me wince less when the cubes butternut cubes came under my teeth
Which is why I am now looking for something oven baked to make the squash melt like it should. Hope it succeeds