Butternut Squash Risotto

This butternut squash risotto is the perfect dish for any fall meal! You’ll absolutely love the rich, savory flavors of this dish.

Delicious Butternut Squash Risotto

Dinner is served! Butternut squash risotto is on the menu tonight, and it’s so creamy and delicious. Risotto may seem like an intimidating meal to make, but it’s rather simple.

After you read through this easy tutorial for how to make butternut squash risotto, you’ll be a pro in no time!

Featured Ingredients

• Butternut squash: you have a few options when it comes to butternut squash. You can buy a butternut squash and chop it into cubes or you can buy a pre-chopped butternut squash from the store.
• Spices: we’re using coarse sea salt, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, coriander, and nutmeg. The perfect fall flavor blast!
• Light brown sugar: a little goes a long way in bringing out the sweet butternut squash flavors.
• Onion and garlic: these two fragrant veggies are essential starters in getting an incredible base flavor.
• Broth: any kind of broth works for this recipe. We’ve made it with both vegetable broth and chicken broth (our preference, but not vegetarian). Heck, you could even use our parmesan broth from The Cheese Knees!
• Fresh sage leaves: fresh sage is a must! It adds just the right amount of freshness to this dish.
• White wine: we used a Sauvignon blanc for this recipe but any dry white wine would do the trick.
• Arborio rice: make sure to use arborio rice. It’s a specific kind of rice used to make risotto.
• Freshly grated parmesan cheese: the key to a creamy and flavorful butternut squash risotto is freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Simple Instructions

1. Season the butternut squash. Place half of the butternut squash in a bowl and season t with brown sugar salt, black pepper, and oil. Let that mixture sit. Set aside the rest of the butternut squash for later.
2. Make the broth. You are going to make a simple, yet flavorful broth for your risotto. Saute onion and garlic in a large skillet. Then, add the broth and warm spices (coriander, nutmeg, and sage leaves) to the pot and simmer it the broth over low heat.
3. Sauté the butternut squash. Add olive oil to a large pot and saute the seasoned butternut squash and cook it down. When the squash is soft, smash it with the back of a fork. It will make a creamy broth.
4. Slowly add liquid to the rice and veggies. Push the squash mash to the side of the pot and then add butter to the other half of the pot. Add the remaining squash and arborio rice to the pot and toast it. Mix everything together and slowly add a ladle of broth to the pan and mix. When the broth absorbs add another ladle. repeat this until all the broth has been used and the arborio rice has a bite to it.

Top Tips

Running short on time? If you are running short on time or don’t like chopping butternut squash, buy pre-chopped squash from the grocery store. We bought our squash pre-chopped from Fresh Thyme.

Don’t like spice? Don’t like spice? Skip the cayenne pepper or use red pepper flakes instead. 

Take your time. This recipe is a labor of love, do not rush the process

FAQ

Storage

Store this risotto in an airtight container once it has cooled completely for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

To reheat: Transfer the risotto to a pan and heat it over medium/low heat. Add about 1/4 cup of broth to the risotto and mix. Cook until warm.