There's not much I love more than a savory pumpkin recipe! This creamy pumpkin risotto is made with caramelized onions and topped with toasted hazelnuts and crispy sage! It's the perfect cozy fall meal! It would make a delicious, elegant side for Thanksgiving dinner.
Risotto is a classic Italian dish of rice cooked with broth until it reaches a super creamy consistency. It falsely has a reputation of difficult or time consuming to make, but it's actually super simple! It can be a tad annoying because you do have to stir it pretty regularly, but that's it!
Risotto is one of my favorite things to make when I want to impress but also but in minimal effort! It’s incredibly easy to make, has amazing depth of flavor, and just seems fancier than other side options. It's also extremely versatile! You might also like this mushroom risotto or this butternut squash risotto!
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Ingredient Notes
You just need a few ingredients to make this pumpkin risotto with caramelized onions!
Arborio rice - This recipe is best if you use rice that’s specifically for risotto! Risotto is traditionally made with short grain rice that has a high starch content. This is what gives risotto that super creamy, luxurious texture! Arborio rice is most common but I’ve also made this recipe with loto rice and paella rice and they work great! But always double check the cooking instructions for your rice. This recipe uses a 1:4 rice to liquid ratio but if your rice uses a 1:3 ratio, you’ll want to reduce the liquid by 1 cup.
Pumpkin - I almost exclusively use Libby's Pumpkin because it really is the best of the best! A ton of people have run blind taste tests comparing different brands of pumpkin puree, and Libby's is always the winner! You can also make your own roasted pumpkin puree! However, you could also make this risotto with butternut squash, kabocha squash, etc!
Nutmeg - Pumpkin and nutmeg is one of my favorite flavor combinations that adds a warming flavor to the risotto.
Hazelnuts - I use the dry-roasted, unsalted hazelnuts from Trader Joe's. If you buy raw hazelnuts, you can still toast them in the butter, it just might take a little bit longer. You could also top the risotto with roasted pumpkin seeds instead!
White cooking wine - This is optional but adds some great flavor to your risotto! I always keep cheap, dry white wine on hand that I use for cooking. It’s amazing how much flavor a $3 bottle of sauvignon blanc can add to a dish!
Vegetable stock - I always use my homemade vegetable stock when I make risotto for the best flavor!! You can also use store bought vegetable stock, chicken stock, or even water.
Fresh sage - I like to top the pumpkin risotto with some crispy sage leaves for added crunch, flavor, and they're just a beautiful garnish!
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make Pumpkin Risotto
This pumpkin risotto takes a little longer to cook than most risotto recipes because of the caramelized onions. But it's just mostly mindless stirring!
The toasted hazelnuts and sage are optional, but a great topping to add texture to the risotto!
In a small pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium high heat. Then add in the sage leaves and cook for 1-2 minutes or until crispy. Immediately remove from the heat and pour off into a small dish and set aside.
In the same pan, melt 1 more tablespoon of butter and then add in the chopped hazelnuts and toast gently for 2-4 minutes or until the nuts are toasted and the butter is browned. Remove from the heat and pour off into a small dish and set aside.
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add in the sliced onions, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook slowly for about 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft, golden brown, and beginning to caramelize. If you want to speed up the process slightly, you can add in 1 tablespoon of brown sugar once the onions are soft.
In a medium pot, heat your vegetable stock over medium heat until simmering (you can also use a microwave if you're lazy). Remove from the heat and set aside.
Add in the rice and toast, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes. Then add in the white wine to de-glaze the pan and make sure to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot.
Add in ½ cup of the warmed vegetable stock, fresh sage, and nutmeg and stir the risotto until the stock is completely absorbed, then add in another ½ cup and repeat. Continue to add in the stock ½ cup at a time until it’s all absorbed and the rice is fully cooked.
Then stir in the pumpkin puree and parmesan cheese until fully combined and creamy. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.
Top the pumpkin risotto with the toasted hazelnuts and crispy sage and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
This pumpkin risotto is already vegetarian but you can also make it vegan by just omitting the Parmesan and butter! It’s still creamy and tasty without the cheese! But if you eat cheese then you should DEFINITELY add the cheese. Trust me. Instead of butter, you can caramelize the onions in olive oil.
Recipe FAQ's
Store risotto in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
This risotto heats up easily in the microwave or on the stovetop!
NO!!! Rinsing rice washing away extra starch which is the opposite of what we want to do. All that starch is what helps make risotto super creamy and delicious!
Yes, but it won't be as flavorful. If using water, I recommend also using some sort of bullion to enhance the flavor. You can also use chicken stock if you prefer!
Technically yes, but I don't recommend it. Long grain rice will take a little longer to cook and won’t be quite as creamy. Follow the same instructions as below but use 3 cups of water instead. You can also add in ¼ cup of heavy cream towards the end to make the pumpkin risotto extra creamy if desired.
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
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Recipe Card
Pumpkin Risotto
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Toasted Hazelnuts & Crispy Sage
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 12 fresh sage leaves
- ½ cup dry roasted unsalted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
Pumpkin Risotto
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup arborio rice
- ½ cup white cooking wine, optional
- 4 cups vegetable stock, substitute chicken stock or water
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
Toasted Hazelnuts & Crispy Sage
- The toasted hazelnuts and sage are optional, but a great topping to add texture to the risotto!
- In a small pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium high heat. Then add in the sage leaves and cook for 1-2 minutes or until crispy. Immediately remove from the heat and pour off into a small dish and set aside.
- In the same pan, melt 1 more tablespoon of butter and then add in the chopped hazelnuts and toast gently for 2-4 minutes or until the nuts are toasted and the butter is browned. Remove from the heat and pour off into a small dish and set aside.
Pumpkin Risotto
- In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add in the sliced onions, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook slowly for about 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft, golden brown, and beginning to caramelize. If you want to speed up the process slightly, you can add in 1 tablespoon of brown sugar once the onions are soft.
- In a medium pot, heat your vegetable stock over medium heat until simmering (you can also use a microwave if you're lazy). Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Add in the rice to the skillet with the onions and toast, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes. Then add in the white wine to de-glaze the pan and make sure to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot.
- Add in ½ cup of the warmed vegetable stock, fresh sage, and nutmeg and stir the risotto until the stock is completely absorbed, then add in another ½ cup and repeat. Continue to add in the stock ½ cup at a time until it’s all absorbed and the rice is fully cooked.
- Then stir in the pumpkin puree and parmesan cheese until fully combined and creamy. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.
- Top the pumpkin risotto with the toasted hazelnuts and crispy sage and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Samantha says
Are you really cooking the onions for 30 or 40 minutes or is that a typo?!
"Pumpkin Risotto
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add in the sliced onions, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook slowly for about 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft, golden brown, and beginning to caramelize. "
Kyleigh Sage says
Yes! It takes a long time to properly caramelize onions.
Diane says
Do you have a substitution for onion? I have a guest that is allium sensitive
Kyleigh Sage says
Unfortunately there's not a good non-allium substitute. However, you could just leave out the caramelized onions and do just pumpkin risotto. Just skip step one and in step 3 add in 1 tablespoon of butter with the rice and in the salt and pepper at that step.
Meghan says
This was delicious! Don’t skip out on the hazelnuts.. it really tied the whole dish together. Can’t wait to make it again 🙂