Make this easy butternut squash risotto with roasted garlic. A delicious fall risotto recipe without any of the dairy!
Plain risotto is good, but risotto with a few savory additions is downright delicious.
This risotto features soft, subtly sweet, butterscotch flavor of butternut squash and the mild, sweet flavor of roasted garlic. A fabulous combination that results in a rich flavor AND an ultra creamy risotto, without any of the dairy!
Many risotto recipes have cheese, but you don't need any cheese to make a great risotto! In this recipe, the butternut squash and soft roasted garlic help develop that ultra creamy texture that makes a good risotto.
Step 1. Roast the garlic. If you have roasted garlic on hand, skip this step. Preheat the oven to 400. Wrap garlic in aluminum foil. Roast for 30-40 minutes until the garlic is soft. When cool enough to handle, remove the cloves.
Step 2. Heat the broth. Add the broth to a small saucepan and heat on low. Keep warm throughout the process.
Step 3. Make the risotto. Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons vegetable broth and stir in the shallots. Cook 1 minute.
Step 4. Add the roasted garlic and butternut squash to the pot along with another 2-4 tablespoons broth. Cook 6-8 minutes, adding broth as necessary to prevent sticking.
Step 5. Add the rice, sage, salt, and pepper to the pot and stir to coat. Cook 2 minutes.
Step 6. When the rice has taken on a pale, golden color, pour in wine, stirring constantly until the wine is fully absorbed.
Step 7. Add 1/2 cup of broth to the rice, and stir until the broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Step 8. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if desired. Spoon into bowls, top with fresh sage, and enjoy!
The reason risotto becomes so creamy is the starchiness of the rice. If you rinse the rice beforehand you rinse some of the starch off, resulting in a dry, crunchy risotto - not good.
Leave your rice as-is when cooking a risotto.
Especially for risotto newbies, this step is super helpful. Warm broth helps the rice cook evenly. Imagine adding cold broth to the pan - some of the rice will drop in temperature and cook slower while other parts of the rice will continue cooking at a higher temperature. Eventually this will lead to uneven cooking.
Or, if you don't have enough burners, heat up the broth in the microwave.
Since this risotto is oil-free, be extra careful not to burn your rice when you toast it in the pan.
There will be some moisture from the shallots, but the rice will not need as long to toast as it would if you used oil.
You definitely don't need to stir continuously for 30 minutes, but stirring early and often is a good rule of thumb, especially if this is your first risotto.
The starch from the rice is released when you stir, so more stirring = more creaminess.
The exact texture of your rice is up to personal preference, but risotto is classically cooked with a little toughness left in the grains.
Not enough to where the rice is undercooked and unpleasant to eat though. You want a happy medium between mush and tooth.
Thank you God for this risotto. Thank you for teaching us how to cook good food that is also good for our bodies. Amen.
Please leave a review in the comments section below. You can also stay in touch with me on social media by following me on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok or by subscribing to my newsletter.
Make this easy butternut squash risotto with roasted garlic. A delicious fall risotto recipe without any of the dairy!
If you don't want to use roasted garlic you can use 4-6 cloves of raw garlic instead. Mince the garlic and add it to the pot when you add the shallots.
Leave a comment