Easy Pumpkin Risotto Recipe

This pumpkin risotto is a creamy arborio rice dish made with roasted butternut squash purée, shallots and Asiago cheese, ready in about 1 hour 25 minutes. It serves 4 as a main dish or 6 as a first course, and it turns out silky, with crisp sage and toasted pine nuts on top.

Why This Recipe Works

Roasting the squash cut side down, with a few fork pricks in the skin, steams the flesh while the cut side browns against the foil. The purée comes out sweet and smooth instead of watery, so it colors the rice without thinning it.

Warm stock is added to the rice a little at a time, and the pot is stirred after every addition. The grains rub against each other and release their starch. That starch is what makes the risotto creamy without any cream.

The squash purée goes in near the end, when the rice is almost done. If it went in earlier, it would break down and turn the risotto heavy and pasty. Butter and Asiago at the finish tie everything together.

Pumpkin Risotto Ingredients

For the risotto

• 1 small butternut squash
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 shallots, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese, divided

For the garnishes

• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 8 to 10 fresh sage leaves
• Balsamic glaze (store-bought, or make your own: reduce 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar with a spoonful of brown sugar until thick and syrupy)

How To Make Pumpkin Risotto

Roast the squash

1. Heat the oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with foil.
2. Prep the squash: Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Rub the cut sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Lay the halves cut side down on the baking sheet, then prick the skin a few times with a fork so steam can escape.
3. Roast: Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the flesh is tender. Let it cool a little so you can handle it.
4. Make the purée: Scoop the flesh out of the skin and blend it in a food processor until smooth. Measure out 1 cup of purée and set it aside.
5. Warm the stock: While the squash roasts, warm the chicken stock in a small saucepan over low heat. Keep it covered and warm, because cold stock would stop the rice from cooking evenly.

Make the garnishes

6. Toast the pine nuts: Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a very small saucepan over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and stir to coat them. Toast for 2 to 3 minutes, until they just turn golden. Watch them closely, since they go from toasted to burnt fast.
7. Drain the nuts: Lift the nuts out with a slotted spoon and put them on a plate lined with paper towel.
8. Fry the sage: Return the pan to the heat and add the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil, or enough to make a 1/4-inch layer. When the oil is hot and shimmering, add 2 or 3 sage leaves at a time. They will crackle, so stand back a little. Cook for about 30 seconds.
9. Cool the leaves: Move the leaves quickly to a paper-towel-lined plate to cool and crisp up. Repeat with the rest of the leaves.

Cook the risotto

10. Soften the aromatics: Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until soft and fragrant. Stir in the chopped sage and cook 1 minute more.
11. Toast the rice: Add the rice and stir for about 2 minutes, until every grain is coated and starts to turn translucent.
12. Add the wine: Pour in the white wine and stir until it has been completely absorbed.
13. Add the stock: Add 1/2 cup of warm stock and stir until most of the liquid is absorbed. Keep adding stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly after each addition.
14. Stir in the squash: After 15 to 18 minutes, when the rice is almost done, stir in the squash purée. Keep cooking until the rice is creamy and al dente. Season with salt and pepper.
15. Finish and serve: Stir in the butter and 1/4 cup of the Asiago until fully mixed in. Divide the risotto among bowls and top with the remaining cheese, a drizzle of balsamic glaze, the pine nuts and the fried sage leaves.

Recipe Tips

• Keep the stock warm: Cold stock slows the cooking and can leave the rice unevenly done. Keep the pot on the lowest heat beside the risotto.
• Stir constantly: Stirring is what releases the starch that makes risotto creamy. Don’t walk away between additions of stock.
• Taste the rice: Start tasting at about 15 minutes. The grains should be tender with a small firm bite in the center, which is what al dente means for rice.
• Serve right away: Risotto keeps thickening as it sits. Bring it to the table as soon as it’s finished, and loosen it with a splash of warm stock if it tightens.

What To Serve With Pumpkin Risotto

Serve the risotto in warm shallow bowls, with the crisp sage and pine nuts added at the last minute so they stay crunchy. A peppery arugula salad and a glass of dry white wine go well alongside.

How To Store

• Fridge: Cool the risotto, then keep it in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Store the garnishes separately.
• Reheat: Reheat in a pan over low heat with a splash of stock or water, stirring until hot all the way through.
• Make ahead: Roast and purée the squash up to 2 days ahead and keep it in the fridge. Fry the sage and toast the nuts on the day you serve.

FAQs

Can I use pumpkin instead of butternut squash?

Yes, if you use a sweet cooking pumpkin such as a sugar pumpkin. Roast and purée it the same way. Avoid large carving pumpkins, which are watery and bland.

Can I make pumpkin risotto vegetarian?

Yes. Swap the chicken stock for a good vegetable stock. Asiago is usually made with animal rennet, so look for a vegetarian-labeled cheese if that matters to you.

Can I use canned pumpkin purée?

Plain canned pumpkin purée works as a shortcut, and 1 cup is all you need. Don’t use pumpkin pie filling, which is sweetened and spiced.

Why is my risotto gummy instead of creamy?

Most often the rice was overcooked or the stock went in too fast. Add the stock a little at a time, stir often, and take the pot off the heat while the rice still has a slight bite.

Nutrition

Estimated per serving (1 of 4), worked out from the ingredients.

• Calories: about 520 kcal
• Total Fat: 26g
• Total Carbohydrate: 58g
• Dietary Fiber: 4g
• Protein: 14g

Pumpkin Risotto

Recipe by Paula

0.0 from 0 votes

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

25

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

Total time

85

minutes

Creamy arborio risotto made with roasted butternut squash, shallots and Asiago, topped with toasted pine nuts, fried sage and balsamic glaze. Serves 4 as a main dish.

Ingredients

• For the risotto

• 1 small butternut squash

• 4 cups chicken stock

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 3 shallots, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

• 1 cup arborio rice

• 1/4 cup dry white wine

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

• Salt and black pepper, to taste

• 1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese, divided

• For the garnishes

• 1/4 cup pine nuts

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided

• 8 to 10 fresh sage leaves

• Balsamic glaze (store-bought, or make your own: reduce 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar with a spoonful of brown sugar until thick and syrupy)

Directions

• Heat the oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with foil.
• Prep the squash: Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Rub the cut sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Lay the halves cut side down on the baking sheet, then prick the skin a few times with a fork so steam can escape.
• Roast: Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the flesh is tender. Let it cool a little so you can handle it.
• Make the purée: Scoop the flesh out of the skin and blend it in a food processor until smooth. Measure out 1 cup of purée and set it aside.
• Warm the stock: While the squash roasts, warm the chicken stock in a small saucepan over low heat. Keep it covered and warm, because cold stock would stop the rice from cooking evenly.
• Toast the pine nuts: Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a very small saucepan over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and stir to coat them. Toast for 2 to 3 minutes, until they just turn golden. Watch them closely, since they go from toasted to burnt fast.
• Drain the nuts: Lift the nuts out with a slotted spoon and put them on a plate lined with paper towel.
• Fry the sage: Return the pan to the heat and add the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil, or enough to make a 1/4-inch layer. When the oil is hot and shimmering, add 2 or 3 sage leaves at a time. They will crackle, so stand back a little. Cook for about 30 seconds.
• Cool the leaves: Move the leaves quickly to a paper-towel-lined plate to cool and crisp up. Repeat with the rest of the leaves.
• Soften the aromatics: Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until soft and fragrant. Stir in the chopped sage and cook 1 minute more.
• Toast the rice: Add the rice and stir for about 2 minutes, until every grain is coated and starts to turn translucent.
• Add the wine: Pour in the white wine and stir until it has been completely absorbed.
• Add the stock: Add 1/2 cup of warm stock and stir until most of the liquid is absorbed. Keep adding stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly after each addition.
• Stir in the squash: After 15 to 18 minutes, when the rice is almost done, stir in the squash purée. Keep cooking until the rice is creamy and al dente. Season with salt and pepper.
• Finish and serve: Stir in the butter and 1/4 cup of the Asiago until fully mixed in. Divide the risotto among bowls and top with the remaining cheese, a drizzle of balsamic glaze, the pine nuts and the fried sage leaves.