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
- Crispy Baked Chicken Tenders
MORE RISOTTO RECIPES!
- Chicken and Mushroom Risotto
- One Pot Baked Risotto with Lemon Chicken
- Shrimp / Prawn Risotto
- Tomato Chorizo and Kale Risotto
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
LIFE OF DOZER
Well, at least he’s out having fun in the water while suffering the indignity of Halloween dress ups…..
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I’m a risotto noob. This was brilliant and my 3 foster kids loved it. (You have no idea how hard it is to please kids raised on things that come in a box!).
I had roasted pumpkin for burritos. Used the leftover in this recipe. Put it in at beginning – still didn’t get the creamy orange of your pictures – but it was awesome. I even forgot the parmesan. I misgauged when the girls got home… So it sat for a bit after cooking (before stirring). We Just added a bit more stock and reheated it while the apple pork chops were finishing.
Hi Nykki, I’m so glad it was a winner with the kids! Risotto has a tendency to thicken if left but you nailed it by loosening it with more stock. Thanks for the awesome feedback – N x
Hi Nagi!
I’ve made this a few times now and it’s absolutely delicious! I don’t think you can skip the crispy sage and burnt butter – it really makes it! I also add chicken and mix through spinach at the end to make it a filling meal.
However I can never seem to get the pumpkin as ‘pureed’ as yours when I stir it at the end. It seems to be soft enough and can mash easily with a fork but doesn’t puree and blend like yours does!
If I steam the pumpkin separately, mash it and then stir it through at the end, will this work ok?
Does this mean I need to change the amount of chicken stock that I put in to cook the rice?
Thank you!
That should work fine Jess!
This is in the oven right now!
I had a few rashers of streaky bacon that needed using up, so they got chopped and fried before the onion and garlic and I didn’t have fresh sage so made do with dried and it is smelling delicious already… only 20 minutes left to wait.
I shall use that time to drink the rest of the white wine I happened to have open 😉
It’s a tough, tough gig, ain’t it?? 😂
That is by far the best pumpkin risotto i have ever had
Yummy!! and the garlic chicken on the side worked perfect. Next time i’ll cook some beans as well, for extra crunch and colou .
Thanks
Totally gorgeous – add some marscarpone cheese at end or creme fraiche and some chilli flakes to send to another dimension and crispy pancetta slices Also a few squash cbues pre cooked till brown in hot oven It becomes to die for
I’m so pleased to hear that Nick!! YUUM to the addition of mascarpone or creme fraiche 🙂 You fancied it up!! N x
Glad you enjoyed this Nick!! Thanks for letting me know – N x
How can you cut down to much less as I am by myself now ?
Hi Anna! If you have a small saucepan that’s oven proof, use that. 🙂 And the recipe scaler – click on servings then slide DOWN 🙂 N x
Love this photo!
His face says it all ….. “That’s my street cred down the pan”
Haha. x x
😂😂😂 Though…. he has NEVER had street cred!!
Made this for dinner and it was fantastic. Thank you Nagi.
I’m so pleased to hear that Carol!! Thanks for letting me know 🙂 N x
SO GLAD you enjoyed this one Carol! Thought maybe people thought I was weird for making pumpkin and risotto in one dish 🙂 N x
I Love pumpkin as much as rice. May have this for weekend. In my place it’s all silverbeat fresh from neighbours garden salad warm with roast potatoes, sun dry tomatoes , olives, risotto, made meat balls and beats sauce. Last Sunday went to market all about cheese, which one to go with different tea, than proseco and saki beer which is not in this country. Lots of tasting am mad about cheese. It was interesting expensive stuff and new as well. Now as for beautiful pic Dozer is still loveable but not scary. How did you get him to be still and BEHIVE ?? Have nice week!!
SAKE beer???? Sounds interesting Vera!!
Oh, how I adore risotto! I particularly enjoy it when I don’t have to stir it constantly, so this recipe appeals in that respect as well as for how delicious it looks! I’d originally bought an electric pressure cooker expressly for making risotto, because it’s so easy and quick to make that way, but am delighted to have another easy method for making it now. I’m not big on pumpkin-flavored everything, but a good pumpkin bread spread with cream cheese or cream cheese frosting and a savory pumpkin risotto are hard to resist!
The New England states of the US are totally inundated with pumpkins at this time of year. There are fields full of them everywhere, and road side stands and farms selling them–from tiny sugar pumpkin sizes popular for baking and cooking, to the larger Connecticut field pumpkin strain so popular for Halloween, and monstrously large pumpkins to large to be moved at all except by farming or industrial equipment. This is a seriously enthusiastic region for growing and decorating with pumpkins, and people with home gardens grow plenty of them too, but tons more are used for decorating than eating.
Wooowweee!!! I want to visit the states in October one year so I can see Halloween madness in full swing for myself…. AND all those pumpkins!!
Google pumpkins in New England for their images to see a sample of the fields and farm displays. The largest one in the region this year was over 2500 lbs. in the state of New Hampshire, close in size to the largest pumpkin ever grown. (A farmer in Belgium holds the world record for largest.)
I just did! WOOOAAHHH!!!!!!