28 Risotto Recipes That Will Have You Diving Right Into Cozy Season

Americans have never gotten over their love affair with pasta, but Italy has an also-ran that deserves at least as much attention. Risotto is the complete opposite of steamed rice, which deliberately maintains the integrity of each individual grain and generally behaves as a blank canvas for go-with sauces. Instead, risotto bowls over with flavor on its own, cooked first with a low-and-slow saute of aromatics like grated onion or shallot, then simmered with wine and broth instead of water and finished with tons of grated cheese and butter. The utter comfort of a finished risotto is right up there with the best mac and cheese, and makes a sensational base for a slow-cooked meat dish but also stands in as a superior main course. Give us all the risottos.

This basic risotto recipe illustrates all the principles of making risotto in one place—including that it doesn’t need to be “flavored” with anything in particular (although a base of aromatics, wine and homemade broth are insurance that this simplicity comes with enough richness and depth). Consider this your blank canvas risotto—delicious as a first course, a great base for an osso buco or other stew or fricassee or a side dish for a grilled dinner. Once you’ve mastered the technique, you’ll be making risottos in your sleep.

Ina’s beguiling risotto combines two items with a natural affinity for one another. The risotto gains a yellow hue from the saffron that emphasizes the presence of the butternut squash, and the spice also contributes a gorgeous aroma. The occasional hit of pancetta and Parmesan tango beautifully with the sweetness of the squash.

This risotto is a symphony in green, employing asparagus in several stages and even fresh leaves of Bibb lettuce to impart the flavor of the hue. No worries about waste here: The asparagus bottoms steep for a super-vegetal green broth; sliced bottoms cook in with the rice. Finally, the spears get a quick sear to crown the dish.

Ina Garten uses the quotes to denote that this risotto is not cooked in the traditional way—but that is exactly why it will become your go-to risotto recipe. Baking in the oven, and finishing with a final, vigorous stir, replaces the twenty-plus minutes of stirring that a risotto usually requires. Though she nods to the classic Venetian combination of “risi e bisi” (rice and peas), those peas start from frozen, so they are the final punctuation that you won’t find any snobbery here, just practical, home-cook-friendly hacks.

The challenge: Create a satisfying and rich risotto without the aid of any meat, meat broth or dairy products. This recipe delivers, and then some. The dish takes its inspiration from the flavors of bouillabaisse, the classic French fish soup, building layer upon layer of flavor from the fennel to the tomato to the nutritional yeast, a veritable umami bomb.

Slivered almonds add a crunch that you didn’t know you needed to arancini, fried rice balls named for their resemblance to oranges. Leftover risotto is the perfect excuse to make them, as it is just the right consistency for rolling into a ball and frying after it’s spent some time in the fridge. Go ahead and buy your marinara so all you have to focus on is the frying.

And while we’re letting appliances do all the cooking, enter this easy-breezy dish that comes out of your Instant Pot. No stirring is necessary—the pressure cooking function prepares perfectly-cooked, creamy rice without it. Using jarred clam juice gives the rice a briny flavor that provides the perfect base for shrimp, which cooks in the residual heat of cooking the rice.

This recipe proves that risotto is easier to make than you think. Red wine adds a rich, robust flavor and add in frozen peas right at the end for a quick hit of freshness.

It’s fair to call this “barlotto,” since it’s barley rather than rice that provides the grain for this dish. Cooked in a slow-cooker, it’s a near-effortless vegetarian main or side. That the barley is a whole grain gives more texture and more staying-power.

Geoffrey Zakarian harnesses the power of the corn “milk” in cobs by simmering them into a sort of corn broth. Grilling the ears imparts a char to the risotto, and fennel in the initial saute of aromatics lends an anise note to the dish. The result is a wonderful mix of fancy and satisfying which means it will be a hit with all ages.

Ina says, "For this recipe, I start with sauteed leeks and fennel, then add Arborio rice, white wine and simmering chicken stock, gradually adding more stock as the rice cooks. A quick addition of lemon zest, lemon juice, mascarpone, Parmesan cheese and fresh chives, and you've got a delicious dinner the whole family will love. Once you've made this recipe a few times and you have the technique down, risotto will be easy to whip up after a busy day. Just turn on some good music, pour a glass of wine and unwind as you stir."

…and if you have leftovers from that risotto, try out these rice patties, that have all the crunch but without deep-frying, of arancini. Some extra Fontina keeps these cheesy even as they go willingly into cake form. We love these with the spicy bite of a bitter green salad alongside.

Lemon zest and juice bring a pronounced citrus flavor to this very unexpected risotto from Geoffrey Zakarian. (The recipe was nominated for Food Network Magazine’s family issue by his daughter, Anna.) This would be aces alongside a leg of lamb and some asparagus, calling to mind spring even when the first spring produce is still a ways off.

Italians have a name for the combination of mushrooms and pork—boscaiola—referring to the woods, thoroughly evocative of wild forest pigs sustaining on mushrooms (and thus, their meat taking on a bit of that earthy flavor). In any case, the two do go very well together. Fresh chives add a delicate note.

Yogurt is the unexpected player here, contributing richness but also a subtle tang. Fresh parsley, chives and other herbs play up the bright freshness of peas, even if the peas themselves come from the freezer. Adding a Parmesan rind to store-bought chicken broth is a hack that contributes homemade flavor despite the shortcut.

This recipe raises the question: Do we always have to think Italian when craving a risotto? The combination of broccoli and Cheddar confirms that it is just as comforting in rice form. In addition, this is a baked version, so making it is just as easygoing as eating it.

Rachael Ray takes a traditionally prepared saffron risotto and stuffs it inside peppers or squash, depending on what you’ve got on hand. Topping the risotto with breadcrumbs and baking it results in a toasty crust that makes way to the creamy rice beneath. The veggies can be stuffed right from their raw state; the time in the oven is all they need to cook through perfectly.

The inspiration: Shrimp and grits. The execution: Not quite a risotto, as this dish is made with oats, but hear us out. The corn kernels and oats are cooked low and slow with lots of stirring, just like risotto, for a toothsome dish that celebrates fresh corn and shrimp.

When you’re craving risotto but wish it came in a whole-grain option, this dish, which combines barley and brown rice, comes to the rescue. Cremini mushrooms and asparagus bring varying textures that keep the eating interesting. A little cream cheese enriches the dish.

Consider this your starting point for any kind of fish risotto, or at least most kinds that have a similar cooking time to shrimp. The technique is the same: layer in the initial saute of aromatics and rice, then stir in liquid in stages until the rice is nearly cooked, and finally add the seafood. Though the addition of cheese is often thought to be untraditional in Italian cooking when seafood is involved, there are some that do it, and it certainly works here.

Italy meets the American South in this version of risotto. For an Italian twist on dirty rice, use pancetta, spicy Italian sausage and freshly grated Parmesan.

You don’t have to tell anyone that this risotto came from the microwave, but you might be so amazed at the result that you’ll want to yell it from the rooftops. That’s due to the flavor bomb that is dried mushrooms, supplementing the broth and pairing deliciously with the fresh creminis and shiitakes, for tons of umami depth. Aside from occasionally stirring and adding ingredients, this method frees you up to focus on the rest of dinner.

If fettucine alfredo with chicken were a risotto, it might well be this one. All the creaminess, cheesiness, and, well, chicken, that you love from that pasta combo, will taste fresh and new in this iteration. Fontina is a creamy asset here, as is the subtle smokiness from deli chicken.

Jeff Mauro hits all sorts of notes here, for lovers of scampi and heat, resulting in a dish of risotto that might share its soul with the best kind of Creole cooking. Tomatoes pump up the classic flavor profile of garlic, parsley and butter. A little heat from crushed red pepper gives it a welcome bite.

If you’re new to mascarpone as an ingredient, beware; it quickly becomes one you want to put in everything (or even eat it from the tub). It’s called a cheese, but it tastes more akin to a crème fraiche, and it goes well with sweet or savory. Here, it acts as a creamy foil to salty prosciutto.

The best risottos play up their ingredients by adding them at several stages, and cooking them in several ways. Here, cauliflower is the star, its stems getting slow-cooked with the rest of the aromatics and the rice, and its florets roasting until they get toasty tips and yielding interiors. The subtle funk of Fontina and its inherent creaminess complements the earthiness of cauliflower, and almonds lend crunch.

When you want a flavor that suggests both onion and garlic but in a soft and savory way, reach for a leek, which also happens to be a great friend to mushrooms. Cooked in your Instant Pot, this risotto requires an initial saute, but otherwise outsources all the simmering and stirring to the action of pressure cooking. Stir in some butter and cheese at the end and you’ve got a restaurant-quality risotto at the ready.