Butternut Squash Paella

This butternut squash risotto is perfect for a fall date night! Made with just 10 ingredients, it's creamy, comforting, and filled with cozy autumn flavor.

I love making this butternut squash risotto as much as I love eating it. Honestly! I know that risotto is famously tedious to prepare – add a little broth, stir, add a little broth, stir some more. But on a crisp, cool fall night, I welcome the chance to stand over the warm stove and watch it come together. I think it’s mesmerizing to see the raw squash and uncooked rice transform into a rich, creamy risotto. The fact that it smells amazing doesn’t hurt either.

And when you sit down to eat, all that stirring really pays off. This butternut squash risotto has a delicious creamy texture and a tangy, sweet autumnal flavor from the squash, fresh rosemary, and white wine. Jack and I can attest that it’s a perfect dinner for a fall date night. I also think it would be a great vegetarian main course for Thanksgiving…though I hope you don’t wait that long to try it.

Baked Butternut Squash With Pisto And Rosemary Infused Spanish Cheese

First, sauté the veggies. Cook the onion for 2-3 minutes over medium heat. Then, add the squash and cook for another 6-8 minutes, until it starts to soften.

Next, toast the rice. Stir it into the pot along with the garlic and rosemary or sage. Let it cook for 1 minute before you add the wine and cook, stirring, for another 1-3 minutes, until the wine cooks down.

Then, start adding the broth. Pour in 3/4 cup at a time and cook, stirring constantly, until the rice absorbs each addition. After you add the final 3/4 cup of broth, cook until the squash is tender and the risotto is soft and creamy.

Homemade Risotto With Butternut Squash

This risotto will thicken as it sits, so it’s best hot from the stove. Garnish it with fresh parsley, small sage leaves, and freshly grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese. (If you’re vegan, don’t worry! The risotto is great without the cheese too.)

Round out the meal with homemade focaccia or crusty bread and a vegetable side dish. I like to pair this butternut squash risotto with a simple salad, like my Pear Salad or Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad, or roasted vegetables like Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, or broccoli. Don’t forget the apple crumble for dessert!

If you have leftover risotto, it will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days. It will be thick on days 2 and 3, so I recommend reheating it on the stove with a splash of water or stock to loosen it up. Season to taste, and enjoy!

Winter Squash Risotto

This butternut squash risotto is creamy, comforting, and delicious! Filled with cozy autumn flavor, it's a perfect recipe for a fall dinner party or date night.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.Unlike most risottos, this one calls for brown short-grain rice instead of white. This yields a super creamy risotto full of whole grain goodness. The lightly nutty brown rice makes this risotto recipe remarkably flavorful, in the best of ways.

The only downside is that brown rice requires more cooking time than white, so I’ve switched from the traditional stovetop method to the oven.

Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto Recipe

This way, you only have to stir the risotto for a few minutes at the end, rather than for fifty minutes straight. That’s a serious arm workout, by the way.

While the risotto bubbles away in its pot in the oven, we’ll simply roast cubed butternut on the top rack until it’s tender and caramelized on the edges.

To take it to the next level, we’ll top it all off with crispy fried sage (you’ll learn how to make it in the recipe below). This risotto is heavenly, I tell you. Here’s to healthy, happy eating!

Summer Vegetarian Paella With Chickpeas

You’ll also enjoy my recipe for Roasted Cherry Tomato and Brown Rice Risotto in my cookbook, Love Real Food. See page 172.

Please let me know how your risotto turns out in the comment. I love hearing from you! Check the notes for a dairy free/vegan option.

This butternut squash risotto recipe tastes incredible! Roasted butternut squash and crispy fried sage take it over the top. This risotto is also healthier than most, since it calls for brown rice instead of white, and requires practically no stirring. You can just bake it all in the oven! Recipe yields 4 servings.

Butternut Squash And Shrimp Risotto

Make it dairy free/vegan: Starchy rice accounts for most of this risotto’s creaminess, so you can skip the dairy or replace it with the following. Replace the butter with vegan butter or a tablespoon or two of additional olive oil, to taste. Skip the Parmesan cheese. You might like to add some nutritional yeast for cheesy flavor.

*A note on Parmesan: I always get a few comments on recipes that include Parmesan (“It’s not vegetarian!”) but Whole Foods actually makes a great animal rennet-free Parmesan. There’s plenty of flavor in here without the Parmesan, if you’d rather leave it out.

If you must use white arborio rice: Bake it for 40 to 45 minutes, until tender to the bite, and proceed as directed.

Butternut Squash And Bacon Risotto

If you don’t have a Dutch oven: Use a large saucepan instead, then carefully pour the boiling broth and rice mixture into a casserole dish. If the casserole dish has an oven-safe lid, use that; if not, cover it tightly with foil. Bake as directed.

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #.

Brown Butter Scallops With Butternut Squash Risotto

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