• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Comfort Food Faves
    • Cooking Tips
    • Easy Weeknight
    • Gatherings
    • Kid-Friendly
    • Meal Prep
    • Pantry Staples
  • About Me
  • Work With Me
  • Cookbooks

The Healthy Epicurean logo

Home » Recipes » Main Course

Modified: Sep 23, 2022 | Categories: Instant Pot & Crock Pot

Slow Cooker Risotto with Italian Sausage

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

This slow cooker Italian sausage risotto takes the guess work out of making risotto the traditional way!

This dish is packed with Italian sausage, oregano and spinach and is the ultimate comfort food.

You'll love how simple and easy it is to make!

Three bowls of risotto on a marble backdrop.
PIN THIS RECIPE FOR LATER!

How to make slow cooker risotto

Ingredients Needed

  • Onion. Aromatics for flavor, know what I'm sayin'?
  • Italian sausage. You can use pork or turkey.
  • Garlic. I think it's obvious we want garlic in this recipe, eh?
  • Italian seasoning and oregano. For flavor, of course.
  • Arborio rice. It's important you use arborio rice for risotto because of the starch content.
  • Stock. I use unsalted chicken.
  • Parm and parsley. For garnish!

Equipment Needed

  • A cutting board and chef's knife.
  • A stove and skillet.
  • A wooden spoon.
  • Measuring spoons and cups.
  • A slow cooker.
  • Bowls and spoons for serving.
A side shot of bowls of risotto.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Heat oil in large skillet to medium-high heat.
  2. Add the onion and saute 3-4 minutes, until tender.
  3. Add the Italian sausage and cook, stirring regularly, until browned, breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon.
    • (If you're using an Instant Pot, you can do this step right in the Instant Pot set on saute.)
  4. Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, oregano, salt and black pepper and stir to combine.
  5. Place the Italian sausage mixture into the bowl of a slow cooker.
  6. Add the arborio rice and chicken stock and stir to combine.
  7. Cook on high 1 ½ to 2 hours or low 3-4 hours. Stir in the spinach.
  8. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
  9. Serve garnished with parmesan and parsley.

Nutrition Considerations

  • To make it gluten free: This slow cooker risotto with Italian sausage recipe is gluten free.
    • Just be sure the packaged ingredients you use are gluten free.
  • To make it dairy free: Skip the Parm and try it with nutritional yeast.
  • To make it vegan: Skip the sausage and use 2 pounds of sliced mushrooms.
    • Use vegetable stock instead of chicken.
    • Skip the Parm and try it with nutritional yeast.
Bowls of risotto on a marble backdrop.
PIN THIS RECIPE FOR LATER!

Comfort food recipes you'll love:

  • Spaghetti Pie
  • Tater Tot Casserole
  • Chicken Parmesan Pasta Bake
  • Tuna Noodle Casserole with Potato Chips
  • Brussels Sprouts Sausage Pasta
  • Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce
  • Classic BBQ Meatloaf Cups
Print

Slow Cooker Italian Sausage Risotto

Print Recipe

This slow cooker risotto takes just a few minutes of prep and is loaded with Italian sausage, spinach and herbs.

  • Author: Julie Andrews
  • Prep Time: 10-15 mins
  • Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins-4 hrs
  • Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins-4 hrs 15 mins
  • Yield: 10 Servings 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Slow Cooker
  • Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced
  • 1-pound ground Italian sausage (turkey or pork)
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves
  • 1 ½ teaspoons coarse salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 cup arborio rice
  • 4 cups unsalted chicken stock
  • 4 cups fresh spinach
  • Shaved parmesan and chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in large skillet to medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute 3-4 minutes, until tender. Add the Italian sausage and cook, stirring regularly, until browned, breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon.
  2. Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, oregano, salt and black pepper and stir to combine.
  3. Place the Italian sausage mixture into the bowl of a slow cooker. Add the arborio rice and chicken stock and stir to combine.
  4. Cook on high 1 ½ to 2 hours or low 3-4 hours. Stir in the spinach.
  5. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Serve garnished with parmesan and parsley.

Notes

Cooking Tip: Note that this recipe will overcook easily and all slow cookers are different. Keep watch of the risotto as it cooks to be sure it has enough liquid and is not overcooking (becoming mushy).

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/10 of recipe
  • Calories: 254
  • Sugar: 1g
  • Sodium: 277mg
  • Fat: 6g
  • Saturated Fat: 1g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 2g
  • Trans Fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 31g
  • Fiber: 5g
  • Protein: 18g
  • Cholesterol: 34mg

Keywords: healthy, easy, weeknight dinner, make ahead, family friendly, comfort food, creamy

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Share a photo and tag us on Instagram and Facebook @thegourmetRD. We can't wait to see your creation!


« Pulled Pork Chili with Cornbread Croutons
Copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Bread »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jake says

    August 28, 2020 at 8:20 am

    If I were to substitute the beans, what would you recommend doing it with?

    Reply
    • Julie Andrews says

      September 01, 2020 at 12:47 pm

      Hi Jake - you can just leave the beans out and have it as a rice dish only!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

recipe categories

hi, i’m julie!

chef, registered dietitian & mom
passionate about simple, healthy cooking

*formerly the gourmet RD*

More About Me

Subscribe to my newsletter

FREE Kitchen Essentials Guide

This free guide is your ticket to a well-stocked kitchen and more enjoyable cooking! From pantry and freezer staples to fresh ingredients, these are the ingredients you’ll find most often in my recipes. With a bit of prep, you can skip that extra trip to the store and instead pour yourself some wine.
Pantry Guide Preview

Shop my kitchen favorites

Footer

↑ back to top

More

Privacy Policy

Terms & Conditions

Media Kit

Newsletter

Thank you for subscribing!

As seen in...

Prevention Magazine

NBC News

Well + Good

The Healthy

Verywellfit

Real Appeal

Aaptiv

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Copyright 2021 © The Healthy Epicurean All rights Reserved.
  • 43