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Creamy vegan pumpkin risotto in black cast iron pan with fresh rosemary and a wooden spoon

Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Risotto

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  • Author: Bianca
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 1x
  • Category: gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free
  • Method: stovetop
  • Cuisine: Italian
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

Creamy, warming pumpkin risotto with fresh herbs. A satisfying, gluten-free and vegan dish with all the ultimate warming fall flavors.


Ingredients

Scale

PUMPKIN BROTH

  • 3 cups (700 ml) vegetable broth
  • 1 cup ( 225 gr) pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie mix)

ARBORIO RICE

  • 1 tbsp olive oil (or vegan butter)
  • 1 medium white onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp freshly chopped sage
  • ½ tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup (220 gr) Arborio rice
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) dry white wine*
  • ½ tsp sea salt (or to taste)
  • ¼ tsp black pepper (or to taste)

OPTIONAL

  • ½ cup (60 gr) sweet potatoes or pumpkin, cubed (frozen or fresh)
  • 1 sprig rosemary
  • 34 tbsp vegan Parmesan cheese or 3 tbsp nutritional yeast

Instructions

PUMPKIN BROTH

Add the vegetable broth and pumpkin puree to a medium pot and gently whisk over medium heat until you have a beautiful pumpkin-infused broth.

Then bring the heat to low and let the broth simmer. The broth must still be warm when you add it to the risotto rice later.

ARBORIO RICE

Sauté
Add the olive oil to a pan to warm up over medium heat.

Add the onion, garlic, and chopped sage to the pan as well. Stir until the sage becomes a bit crispy.

Add the white wine to the pan as well and stir.

Risotto
Then add the Arborio rice to the pan and stir. Let the rice warm without any other liquid to release its flavors and combine with the white wine.

Stir and make sure it doesn’t start to burn and stick to the pan. Lower the heat if necessary.
Reduce the heat to medium/low and slowly add the warm pumpkin puree broth to the rice and stir well. Add about 1-2 cups at a time and stir.
When the rice is almost sticking to the pan, add more pumpkin broth to the rice.
Add ground nutmeg, salt, and ground black pepper.

Continue adding the broth and stirring until there is no more broth left.

Optional:
When about half of the broth is left, add in sweet potatoes or pumpkin cubes for extra flavor and texture. You can also add fresh rosemary for flavor.
Then continue to add the rest of the broth slowly while stirring until there is no more broth left.
About 10-15 minutes after finishing adding in the broth, look at the texture. If it’s creamy, you can try the rice. It should be soft but slightly chewy. A bit al dente. In total, this can take about 20-30 minutes.

Make it extra creamy
When the risotto is ready, take it off the heat and make it extra creamy by adding vegan Parmesan cheese. Stir it in the warm risotto and sprinkle a bit on top of the risotto when serving. This is optional. If you want to make this without oils and fats but would like to add a cheese flavor, add nutritional yeast instead.

Serve
This pumpkin risotto is best served warm. You can serve it with more vegan cheese or a drizzle of olive oil.

A risotto is best enjoyed fresh and warm. Any leftovers can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container. Reheat it on the stove with a bit of olive oil or broth. This recipe is not freezer-friendly.


Notes

Oil-free
To make this recipe oil-free, use 4 tablespoons of vegetable broth to sauté the garlic, onion, and sage and omit the olive oil.

Alcohol-Free
You can substitute the white wine with 1:1 white wine vinegar. Alternatively, you can use lemon juice.

Fat-Free
You can omit the vegan Parmesan. If you still would like to have a cheesy flavor, add 3 tbsp nutritional yeast instead.

Rice
For this recipe, I don’t recommend replacing the Arborio rice with any other rice. The texture and flavor will not be the same.