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Autumny Roasted Pumpkin Risotto

Pumpkin Risotto Ingredients

What is better than nutritious and delicious risotto? One that features caramelized, roasted pumpkin of course! This risotto is fragrant and savoury, perfect for any autumn occasion. Also, the ingredients are quite cheap and the risotto will taste delicious, whether you eat it on a date night or your casual weekday dinner! Join in to make the most satisfying roasted pumpkin risotto!

While this risotto (plant-based as it is) is no traditional Italian recipe, it is a tasty spin I enjoy making a lot. As this is a fairly simple recipe involving only a few ingredients, I’d recommend going for high-quality ingredients, as this will influence the outcome of the dish tremendously. So, let’s get started!

What Pumpkins Work Well for this Recipe: 

If you can get your hands on Italian pumpkins like Maria di Chioggia, go for them, they will taste amazing in this roasted pumpkin risotto. With these thicker-skinned pumpkins, you should peel them before adding them to the risotto. I am using Hokkaido today, which works fantastic for this dish too.

Ingredients for Roasted Pumpkin Risotto:

  • Risotto rice
  • Pumpkin
  • Vegetable stock
  • Onion
  • Rosemary
  • Garlic
  • Vegan white wine
  • Vegan butter substitute
  • Olive oil
  • Nutritional yeast

As said, the quality of the ingredients really makes or breaks this type of dish. I’d especially recommend using good olive oil when cooking risotto and using homemade vegetable stock. I have linked you my recipe on how to make delicious vegetable stock at home, it adds so much flavour.

Pumpkin Risotto Recipe:

Roasting the Pumpkin

First, let’s take care of our pumpkin. I don’t mind the bit of texture coming from the peel in the risotto, and the peel adds lots of great nutty flavours. If you are not a fan of this, you can also decide to peel the pumpkin before roasting. In any case, take the seeds out, and chop the pumpkin into rough bits. Toss some olive oil, salt and pepper over them, and place them on your baking tray.

Raw Pumpkin Diced

Put them in the oven at 190° degrees (374° Fahrenheit), and give them a good roast. Don’t forget to toss them around at half-time for an even roast. This step may take up to 40 minutes, depending on the size of your pumpkin bits. You want the pumpkin to be completely soft, with a nice caramelization.

Oven roasted pumpkin

While the pumpkin is getting all toasty in the oven, it is time to prepare your risotto.

Making the Risotto:

Chop your onion to fine bits, as well as your garlic. Heat a mix of a good dash of olive oil with some plant-based butter in your pot. Now, add your fresh rosemary, gently fry them until turning crispy, and infuse all its great flavour into the oil. If you are using dried rosemary, you can also add them now. Be careful not to burn the rosemary, especially when using dried bits. 

Rosemary in Pot

Take out the fresh rosemary if you used it. There will be enough flavour in the oil. Set the crispy rosemary aside for your final garnish. If using dried ones, you can just continue with the cooking process. Now it is time to add your chopped onion. Sauté the onion until translucent, then add the garlic. Continue sauteing until you start to see a light colouration on the onion. Now, it is time to add your risotto rice. Allow the risotto rice to toast for a couple of minutes before deglazing your pot with a splash of white wine.

Now, add the first cup of vegetable stock. It should be just enough liquid to cover your rice. Let the rice take up that flavour while stirring continuously.

Risotto rice toasting

Continue adding stock after the rice has absorbed the liquid. Check for seasoning, and add salt as needed. Once the rice has reached an al dente consistency (you want the texture to remain but a lot of creaminess), add the roasted pumpkin and stir well, with a little splash of white wine. Now, take the pot off the heat, and let’s finish up the Risotto.

During that step, I like to add some nutritional yeast for a cheesy and rich flavour. Add a bit more olive oil and plant-based butter to bring everything together, and stir well until reaching the desired creamy consistency. You can then plate the risotto and garnish it with toasted rosemary or with some finely chopped flat-leaf parsley. Extra virgin olive oil, flakey salt, or a good crack of black pepper are fantastic garnishes too. There you go, now enjoy that delicious roasted pumpkin risotto!

Some more Recipe Inspirations:

I hope you liked this roasted pumpkin risotto recipe! Let me know what you think and have fun!

Finished garnished pumpkin risotto

Autumny Oven-roasted Pumpkin Risotto

Course: Entree, Main, FirstCuisine: MediterraneanDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

50

minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 medium-sized pumpkin

  • 1 cup of risotto rice

  • 1 medium-sized onion

  • 3 cloves of garlic

  • 4 stems of rosemary

  • 30ml white wine

  • 1l vegetable stock

  • 40g plant-based butter

  • 40ml olive oil

  • Optional: nutritional yeast

Directions

  • Wash your pumpkin. Take the seeds out, and chop the pumpkin into rough bits. Toss some olive oil, salt and pepper over them, and place them on your baking tray. Bake until soft and caramelized at 190° degrees (374° Fahrenheit). Toss the pumpkin once or twice.
  • Chop your onion and your garlic to fine bits.
  • Heat the olive oil and plant-based butter together in your pot. Leave half of the vegan butter for later. Add the fresh rosemary, gently fry them until turning crispy, and infuse all its great flavour into the oil. If you are using dried rosemary instead, you can also add it now. Be careful not to burn the rosemary, especially when using dried bits.
  • Take out the fresh rosemary if you used it, and set it aside on a paper towel. If using dried rosemary, you can leave it in. Add your onion and sauté until translucent, then add the garlic. Sauté another minute until you start seeing colouration on the onion.
  • Add your risotto rice to the onion and garlic, and continue sautéeing for a few minutes, before deglazing with white wine.
  • Add the first cup of vegetable stock to the risotto, and stir well. Continue adding stock when the rice has absorbed the liquid, while continuously stirring. This will result in a creamy risotto.
  • When the risotto is almost done, check for seasoning and add your pumpkin with a bit of white wine. Stir well until everything comes together as a creamy, beautifully orange risotto. You can add some nutritional yeast for cheesy notes during this stage as well.
  • Plate your risotto. You can garnish it with flakey sea salt, cracked black pepper, chopped flat-leave parsley and extra-virgin olive oil. Lay your fried rosemary on top if you used fresh rosemary, and enjoy!

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