How to Make Basic Risotto

This northern Italian staple of rice, garlic, onions and cheese provides a hearty base for a variety of dishes. By including seafood, fresh herbs or garden vegetables, you can make one simple dish morph into hundreds of others.

Classic risotto dishes are cooked with short-grained Arborio rice. In a pinch, any short grained rice such as Baldo or Carnaroli will work. In a pinch, sushi rice will also do. Short grained rice varieties tend to be more glutenous, which provides risotto’s signature stickiness.

There are so many variations of risotto you can make, even a vegan risotto if you swap out the butter, cheese and chicken broth.

Ingredients Overview

Step-by-step instructions for risotto

In a small stock pot, warm your soup stock. In a separate large skillet or five quart dutch oven at medium heat, warm the olive oil and two tablespoons of butter until it shimmers.

Add the onions and cook for about 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently until translucent.

Add the garlic and salt. Cook for about a minute.

Add the rice. Stir continuously until it browns just a bit. This should take about three minutes.

While continuing to stir, add about half of the wine. Once it is absorbed in the rice (about two minutes) add the other half. Continue to stir. In about two minutes the rest of the wine should be absorbed.

Once the wine is absorbed, add about three cups of soup stock. Let the rice simmer in the stock until it is absorbed (about five minutes).

Once the soup is just about absorbed, check the rice. If it is still too al dente (it likely will be) add the rest of the soup. Once this is absorbed, if the pasta is still al dente add water (or more soup stock if you have it) ¼ cup at a time until it reaches the desired texture.

Once the rice is at the desired texture, remove from heat, add the remaining butter, pepper and cheese.

Pro Tip

Risotto is time consuming to make, so I always make it in large batches. The recipe here is for two cups of uncooked rice. If you have a large skillet, you can easily double it. In a full-sized wok, go for a triple batch.

Storing Risotto

To store risotto, simply let it cool, divide it up and freeze in an airtight container or Ziploc bag. I store mine in one-to-two cup portions in my Souper Cubes. You can thaw it in the microwave or on the counter.

Once thawed, add your favorite accompaniment. I love shrimp scampi or parsley gremolata. You can heat it up in the microwave, but I prefer to pop it in a skillet with a tablespoon of olive oil and whatever else I’m having with it.

Risotto Recipes You Will Love

We’re working our way through getting these recipes onto Bagels and Lasagna. But we recommend using risotto in the following recipes:

• Copycat Trader Joe’s Arancini
• Risotto Salta
• Risotto with Peas and Bacon
• Risotto Shrimp Scampi
• Risotto Gremolata