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
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Crispy Pan Fried Fish or Garlic Prawns/Shrimp – super quick and easy
-
Meatloaf – instead of the usual mashed potatoes!
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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…..
Never made risotto before and made this last night and it was perfect, will make into Arancini balls today, hopefully they work well too.
Love to know how you go Danielle! N x
Risotto is a favorite of mine – but I’m too scared to cook it – but THIS WAS AMAZING. More oven baked risottos pretty please!
Yes more oven baked risottos! It’s the only one I make. Please please please Nagi!
WAHOO!!!!
Nagi I froze leftovers just added a small amount of stock to loosen it and heated delicious
Sounds perfect Robyn!! N x
Absolute winner. Even the pumpkin hater in the family loved it (ok so I popped in a little bit of bacon to encourage him but probably didn’t need to in the end!) So so easy but so so tasty. Didn’t have sage but used thyme which was nice, could have used finely chopped rosemary as well. Great recipe for my young adult children to take with them when they leave home.
Hi Nagi, what do you think about using frozen pumpkin? I bought it on sale, chopped it up and froze it awhile ago. Not sure if it would be OK to use for this?
I made it! I just let my frozen pumpkin thaw for an hour before starting the recipe. It was absolutely delicious, as were the arancini balls I made with the leftovers the next day. Thanks so much!
Wonderful recipe! Was able to whip up a nice Friday night dinner for the family.
Wahoo! Perfect Kristin! N x
Hi can we freeze this risotto?
Hi NJ, risotto isn’t ideal to freeze as it dries out – N x
Super easy, super tasty, will be on rotation here. Used thyme sprigs instead of sage. garnished with toasted pine nuts and spring onion.
Perfect Cher!
Oh wow! Amazing! Loved it, the brown butter took it to the next level. Had no sage so put a bit of thyme in the risotto and crisped up basil leaves in the butter. Yum yum yum. Will definitely be making again!
Sounds like you nailed it Leigh!
Oh and 5 stars!!
I’ve made this 3 times now and our whole family loves it. So easy, creamy and delicious! Another winner!
Wahoo, I’m so happy it’s a hit Bree!
I love making this recipe – we don’t always get the pumpkin fully smooth, but that’s more because we don’t peel the skin.
The only trouble I have is with the crispy sage – are you supposed to filter out all the black burnt bits from the butter, or eat it as is? The first time I tried it, the sage went black almost immediately; the second time, the sage stayed soggy. I think I’ve got the balance right this time, but I’ve still got lots of unappetising black bits in the butter.
Hi Jo, sounds like your butter is going too dark and the burnt bits are the milk solids, try turning down the heat a little! – N x
I’ve just made this for the third time and it is all sorts of epic. I think the type of pumpkin you choose makes a difference though, because for the life of me, I CANNOT get the pumpkin to break down into golden delicious creamy smush! I roasted it for 45 minutes prior today, thinking it would soften them up nicely but I still ended up with some fairly solid (though still well cooked) lumps but I actually like the added texture and the flavour was amazing, so no big deal or anything but I must be using some type of Hulk pumpkin – I’ve only used Crown, the big grey skinned ones that grow if you sneeze on them and store for months, so I don’t know if using a butternut or other will make a difference but at this point, I don’t even care because DELICIOUS.
I add 4 – 6 rashers of streaky bacon to get golden and just starting to crisp before the onion, a bit more garlic because I like it but this was the first time I tried it with the crispy sage leaves and brown butter and I have to say WOW.
WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW!
I love the sage in it but the brown butter is NEXT LEVEL.
YUM.
For what it’s worth, I tried making the risotto today with butternut squash and the cubes still hadn’t softened enough, even after baking for 40 minutes. I may just try and roast the squash beforehand next time, because I want that rich orange color!
YES! Everything is better with bacon! Interesting in regards to the pumpkin – I’ll do some research into it!
I’m a regular on your site now, tried a few of your recipes and knew I could trust you on this. This was my second risotto attempt, my first was a stiff, gluggy mess so it took me a while to revisit the idea of
making it again.
It was a success, it came together at the end just like your video and the pumpkin blended seamlessly! Texture was perfect and I loved the burnt butter and crispy sage (but agree could go without, especially for kids or those who don’t typically like anything out of ordinary).
Had this tonight, hubby and 3 yo son absolutely loved it as did I. The crispy sage is so delicious, what a simple and easy recipe 5 stars!
Nagi I have just made and eaten your creamy baked pumpkin risotto absolutely delicious and loved by everyone thank you for the recipe
I’m so glad you love it Robyn ❤️
I was so nervous when I got to 25 min and it wasn’t the least bit cooked even in my Le Creuset pot. Another 15 min and it was perfect. I used a potato masher as pumpkin still a bit too firm to easily be stirred like yours. And what I’m proclaiming as a Sunday miracle both toddlers and my husband and myself all devoured it. Added a bag of spinach. Definitely add crispy sage and butter (for adults) as it’s so special. Will be serving this next dinner party we have vegetarian guests. For vegans do you use vegan butter? Vegan cheese?
Made this risotto tonight, definitely recommend, it was so tasty! Will definitely be a regular on dinner rotations
Wahoo, that’s great Lorraine!
Love risotto about to make this one this week. I have a combination steam oven as well as normal fan forced oven. Have you ever cooked it in a combi steam oven, if so what percentage steam thinking 50%?
Love this recipe. I combine mine with chicken thigh and peas. And the whole family eat it. Question though. Has anyone tried something like this in a slow cooker?
You are a legend! Honestly. I have this page bookmarked and this is literally a regular dish at our house – so incredibly easy and delicious!
Kudos to you.