Creamy, cheesy, deliciously pumpkin. The pain staking process of making risotto made roughly 1,000 times simpler yet still resulting in rich, fluffy and wonderfully infused grains of traditional Italian rice. Pumpkin Risotto can be a quick way to bring Fall comfort to the weekday dinner table. This traditional Italian dish comes together in the oven or on the stove top for an easy and simple hearty meal.
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Why I Love This Creamy Baked Pumpkin Risotto
There are so many good things to say about risotto. It's inexpensive. Filling. Crowd Pleasing. Flavorful. And my personal favorite, customizable. All you need is rice, stock, white, cheese, and spices and you can literally may any risotto your heart desires.
Can life be that good? Yes, yes it can.
Baked Pumpkin Risotto
Risotto can seem a little daunting the first time you make it, traditionally speaking. You need to warm the stock, add the wine, and ½ cup at a time stir in. Leaving you tied to the stove for one good hour. If you don't have time for that, great news, here's a simple multi-tasking, time-saving tip....bake it in the oven!
If you love the traditional method - trust me, I get it, it's usually my go-to! - this recipe includes instructions for that too. But if you've never tried the oven-baked risotto shortcut, you really should!
What You Need to Know About Risotto
In my former restaurant life, risotto prep was a daily ritual. Seriously, can't even tell you how many times my arm stirred that vat of rice.
There is merit to the madness. The slow addition of chicken stock to the rice develops the starch resulting in a natural creaminess. Thanks to the Dutch oven, you're going to get that same level of creamy texture but without the sore arm muscles.
The natural convection happening in the dutch oven while being baked is going to develop that natural, luscious risotto texture. While you are simultaneously getting the 500 other things on your to-do list done. Or, you know, drooling over food photos on Instagram while thinking about the 500 other things you should be doing.
Aborio rice is the go to grain for your easy oven baked pumpkin risotto. Or any risotto rice for that matter. A short grain rice, the aborio style is known for it's natural ability to develop that sticky starchiness necessary for the most creamy texture risotto.
Ingredients and Substitutions
This Pumpkin Risotto recipe doesn't require many ingredients and most of them will likely be found in your pantry which makes this a great mid week meal! Just toss it in the oven and BOOM! Done!
I used arborio rice in this recipe, I love the texture and density when it comes together. You can use any other risotto rice you like, but make sure it is not regular rice like long grain or basmati as it won't come together in the same way.
If you want this to be to be a vegetarian pumpkin risotto, simply swap the chicken stock for vegetable and the cheese to either vegetarian parmesan or mascarpone cheese.
As always the wine can be substituted for additional stock - either chicken or veg will work, or you can do a combo!
For the 'I'll eat anything' people out here, my favorite cheese for this is either Parmesan or Romano. It's hard, it's tangy and you can heap loads onto the top of the creamy baked pumpkin risotto.
How to Make Risotto in the Oven
In a medium-size saucepan, combine the chicken stock and pumpkin purée. Bring mixture to just a simmer over medium heat, then turn off the heat and cover.
Combine the olive oil, arborio rice, shallot, garlic, salt and white pepper in a dutch oven. Add the white wine and 3 cups of the pumpkin and chicken stock mixture to the rice and stir to combine. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes of cooking, stir the risotto. Risotto should be almost completely cooked through.
Add the remaining pumpkin and chicken stock mixture. Cover and return to the oven for 5 to 8 minutes.
Stir in the butter and parmesan cheese until incorporated.
Serve immediately with your favorite fall garnishes!
Top Tips to Make the Best Pumpkin Risotto
Easily infused, combine any purée with the chicken stock during the simmering process, like this eye popping beet risotto. We're going to combine our pumpkin and chicken stock to easily infuse that pumpkin flavor to the aborio rice.
Homemade chicken stock is always my go to because it's cheap to make and leftover chicken bones and veggie scraps are easy to come by, but store bought chicken stock will work just as well.
After the initial 30 minutes of cooking, when you lift the lid to add more pumpkin infused stock, you'll see the pumpkin puree is fluffy but don't fret. As the cooking and stirring process continues it will continue cooking into this dreamy Italian masterpiece.
FAQs
Let the risotto cool completely first and then you can place in an airtight container, whack it in the fridge and you can enjoy it again either hot or cold - although I prefer hot! It will last about 2 or 3 days in the fridge.
I know sometime rice is funny when it comes to reheating. But as long as you have stored it correctly you can heat it up either on the hob, microwave or even back in the oven!
I think the best risotto is fresh and wouldn't suggest making it too far in advance. You could possibly do it earlier in the day when you plan to serve it.
If planning to serve later, prepare the risotto up until step 5. Once ready to serve, slowly bring back up to heat before adding remaining ingredients. This is so it doesn't overcook and go mushy!
What to Serve with Pumpkin Risotto
Once the pumpkin risotto has had its time in the oven, you'll add the finishing touches - white wine and cheese. Though you won't be adding these over an open flame, the alcohol in the wine will cook off from the heat in the freshly baked risotto leaving you with subtle wine notes to bring complexity to the risotto flavor.
And cheese...beautiful, glorious cheese.
Risotto without fresh parmesan is like...pasta without a sauce, is like a cupcake without frosting. Let's load up on the fresh grated parmesan and take this pumpkin risotto to cheesy bliss.
Stir in that beautiful, tangy, Italian cheese and a little butter, then get ready to dish this risotto out. If you're in the market for a pop of color or some additional fall flavors add a little garnish to your dish. Dried cranberries provide a sweet tang of flavor along with smooth goat cheese, and crushed pistachios not just for look but a touch of crunch.
Or keep it simple with a little fresh chopped parsley for a nice clean taste. Hey, you can just eat it out of the pan because you'll receive no judgement on this end.
Risotto is a beautiful dish to serve as a main course and this oven baked version comes together with ease. Though equally happy to serve as a dinner companion. Like, alongside these Cranberry Walnut Chicken Thighs. Or toss in a little baby spinach for some greenery or crispy bacon pieces for some added decadence.
Hungry For More Pumpkin?
If you love the taste of Fall and can't get enough pumpkin goodness this season, check out some of my other popular pumpkin recipes!
My Pumpkin Chili is warming, hearty and totally customizable! Great for meat eaters or vegetarians, it's ideal on a cold Fall evening.
Savory Stuffed Pumpkin, beef and veggies perfectly spiced and stuffed inside a sweet roasted sugar pumpkin. This looks super cool on the middle of the table this Fall!
Or for dessert, creamy Pumpkin Panna Cotta! Simply YUM!
If you loved this recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and comment below! Don't forget to tag @hungerthirstplay when you post on Instagram and Facebook so I can see all your hard work!
Pumpkin Risotto
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 15-ounce can pumpkin purée
- 1 ½ cups aborio rice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 shallot (finely diced)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Oven Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a medium size sauce pan, combine the chicken stock and pumpkin purée. Bring mixture to just a simmer over medium heat, then turn off the heat and cover.
- While stock and pumpkin mixture is heating, prepare the rice. Combine the 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 ½ cups arborio rice, 1 shallot finely diced, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 ½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon white pepper in a dutch oven. Add ½ cup white wine and 3 cups of the pumpkin and chicken stock mixture to the rice and stir to combine. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, stir in the remaining 1 cup pumpkin and chicken stock liquid. Cover, return to the oven to cook for 5 to 8 more minutes until liquid is absorbed.
- Remove from the oven and stir in the butter and parmesan cheese until combined. Serve immediately.
Stove Top Instructions:
- In a medium size sauce pan, combine the chicken stock and pumpkin purée. Bring mixture to just a simmer over medium heat, then turn off the heat and cover.
- In a large sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add shallot and sauté until they start to become translucent. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 to 60 seconds.
- Add 1½ cup aborio rice to the pan and stir to incorporate shallots and garlic. Rice will absorb the remaining olive oil. Add ½ cup white wine (or additional stock if substituting) to deglaze the pan and reduce heat to medium-low.
- When white wine is almost completely absorbed by the rice add 1 cup of chicken stock, salt, and white pepper. Stir continuously until all liquid has been absorbed by the rice. Repeat three more times. After the last addition of chicken stock, add 4 tablespoons butter and 1 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Risotto is the best when served right away. If planning to serve later, prepare the risotto up until step 5. Once ready to serve, slowly bring back up to heat before adding remaining ingredients.
- To make this vegetarian, substitute vegetable stock and a vegetarian parmesan cheese.
- If you prefer not to use wine, substitute additional chicken stock.
Krystal // The Krystal Diaries says
Risotto is delicious and I bet pumpkin risotto is even better! I absolutely love pumpkin recipes this time of year!
Shannon @loveatfirstbento says
This recipe looks so good Lauren! I've been sick lately and looking for tasty recipes that are easy to swallow, and I think this would be perfect! Two questions though:
Firstly, how many ounces or cups was the can of pumpkin you used? My store only sells ginormous cans of pumpkin (much bigger than regular ones), plus I also have a bunch of pumpkin puree in my freezer that I'd love to use up.
And then I was just wondering if the parmesan cheese gets super stringy once cooked in the oven? I'm looking for the cheesy taste without all the stringy goodness - which is very sad, I know, but unfortunately I can't swallow stringy cheese that well at the moment.
Thanks, and looking forward to trying this soon!
Amanda Rosson says
Yum!! This looks absolutely delicious!! I can't wait to try this with the pumpkin!
Holly says
Risotto is one of my absolute favorite foods! I always request it when my fiancee is cooking, so I'll definitely have to share this recipe with him 🙂 xx
http://hollyhabeck.com
Tiffany says
This looks so delicious! I am definitely adding this into the rotation this week.
Jae (@gorjaeous) says
I don't like anything pumpkin (sorry!), but I wouldn't pass up on a chance to try a pumpkin risotto because it has cheese in it! 🙂