Here I am with more orange food. This sweet and savory (and wildly delicious) butternut squash and sage risotto is made with bacon with just a touch of heat from cayenne pepper.
It's so good and will leave you feeling satisfied.
How to make butternut squash and risotto
Featured Ingredients
Butternut Squash:
- Butternut squash: Half of a small butternut squash that you'll roast until tender.
- Stock: To puree the squash.
- Maple syrup: To sweeten it just a tad.
- Spices: Nutmeg, cayenne and salt.
Risotto:
- Bacon: Crispy bacon to sprinkle on top of the risotto.
- Sage: Fried until it's crispy.
- Shallot: To flavor the risotto.
- Arborio rice: To only rice to use to make risotto!
- Parmesan: Freshly grated as a topping.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Place squash cubes on a greased baking sheet and toss with olive oil and salt.
- Roast for 25-35 minutes, until soft and caramelized on the edges.
- Transfer squash to a blender.
- Add the stock, maple syrup, nutmeg and cayenne pepper and puree until very smooth (mixture should be watery).
- Place squash sauce in a saucepan on low heat to keep it warm.
- In a Dutch oven, cook bacon pieces until crispy. Transfer to a paper towel to drain.
- Fry sage leaves in the bacon fat until crispy. Place on the paper towel to dry.
- Add shallot to the bacon fat and stir for 30-60 seconds.
- Stir in arborio rice, salt and black pepper and bring to medium-high heat.
- Add a ladle of squash sauce, stirring constantly, until liquid is absorbed, then add another ladle.
- Continue stirring and adding a ladle of squash sauce and allowing liquid to absorb, until all the sauce is used up and the rice is al dente.
- Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
- Serve risotto with crispy bacon and sage pieces and Parmesan cheese.
Recipe Substitutions and Alterations
- For the butternut squash: You can use any type of roasted/cooked squash, sweet potato or pumpkin for this recipe.
- Try this recipe with canned butternut squash, sweet potato for a short cut.
- Or, try with frozen cubed butternut squash or sweet potato for a short cut; simply follow the package directions for steaming it first.
- For the stock: Use any kind of stock you like, such as vegetable or chicken.
- Use homemade stock, if you'd like.
- For the bacon: For a shortcut, use precooked, prechopped bacon.
- For the shallot: Use minced white or yellow onion instead.
Nutrition Considerations
- To make this gluten free: This recipe does not contain gluten.
- Be sure all ingredients you choose are gluten free.
- To make this dairy free: Do not use the Parmesan.
- To make this vegan: Skip the bacon.
- Use vegetable stock.
- To make this nut free: This recipe does not contain nuts.
- Be sure all ingredients you choose are nut free.
- To make this egg free: This recipe does not contain eggs.
Squash recipes to make this fall:
- Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese
- Roasted Delicata Squash with Walnut Crumble
- Butternut Squash Carbonara
- Roasted Acorn Squash Salad
- Hasselback Butternut Squash with Cinnamon Butter
- Butternut Squash Apple Soup
Butternut Squash and Sage Risotto
This sweet & savory (and wildly delicious) roasted butternut squash risotto is made with bacon and sage with a touch of heat from cayenne pepper.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 60 mins
- Total Time: 75 mins
- Yield: 8 Servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stove-Top, Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
Butternut Squash:
- ½ small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed (about 1 ½ cups)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- 5-6 cups unsalted vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- Pinch cayenne pepper
Risotto:
- 4 strips bacon, chopped
- 4 leaves fresh sage, chopped
- 1 small shallot, peeled and minced
- 1 ¼ cups arborio rice
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Grated parmesan, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Place squash cubes on a greased baking sheet and toss with olive oil and salt. Roast for 25-35 minutes, until soft and caramelized on the edges. Transfer squash to a blender. Add stock, maple syrup, nutmeg and cayenne pepper and puree until very smooth (mixture should be watery). Place squash sauce in a saucepan on low heat to keep it warm.
- In a Dutch oven, cook bacon pieces until crispy. Transfer to a paper towel to drain. Fry sage leaves in the bacon fat until crispy. Place on the paper towel to dry. Add shallot to the bacon fat and stir for 30-60 seconds. Stir in arborio rice, salt and black pepper and bring to medium-high heat.
- Add a ladle of squash sauce, stirring constantly, until liquid is absorbed, then add another ladle. Continue stirring and adding a ladle of squash sauce and allowing liquid to absorb, until all the sauce is used up and the rice is al dente. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
- Serve risotto with crispy bacon and sage pieces and Parmesan cheese.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅛ of recipe
- Calories: 190
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 534 mg
- Fat: 5 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 34 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 6 mg
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