Creamy Pumpkin Risotto | Dairy-Free + Vegan

This Creamy Pumpkin Risotto is cozy, hearty, and BIG on Fall flavor! The perfect fancy (but easy) vegan and gluten-free meal.

This Creamy Pumpkin Risotto is the cozy (yet still classy) Fall dish that you need in your life! Vibrant pumpkin, earthy sage, garlic, and a little white wine combine to create a truly delicious dish.

Risotto is a dish from northern Italy in which Arborio rice is cooked in vegetable broth until it is oh-so-smooth and creamy. Traditionally, risotto has two primary ingredients: rice and broth. The flavoring ingredients are where you can have fun and use almost anything your heart desires.

INGREDIENTS FOR CREAMY PUMPKIN RISOTTO

You’ll only need 10 simple ingredients for this Creamy Pumpkin Risotto! Rice and vegetable broth combine with cozy fall flavors to make this hearty dish that looks (and tastes) fancy, but is super easy to make!

• Arborio Rice is specifically used for risotto as it has a high starch content, which breaks down in the vegetable broth and gives you that classic creamy texture.
• Pumpkin Puree & Veggie Broth: Whisking pumpkin puree into the vegetable broth adds even more smoothness to the dish, as well as some earthy, subtly sweet flavor! Because the vegetable broth is added in increments to the arborio rice, this also creates even more layers and depth of flavor.
• Fall-Inspired Spices: Fresh Sage, Shallot, Garlic, Nutmeg, and Black Pepper add more tasty flavor and complexity to the final dish.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Vegan Parmesan Cheese: Butter and parmesan cheese typically help bring flavor and texture, but for this recipe we’ll swap them out for olive oil and plant-based parmesan to give us that creaminess and tasty cheesy flavor.
• Dry White Wine is a classic in traditional risotto recipes, giving it extra flavor and a bit of acidity to balance out the richness. I used Pinot Grigio, but any dry white wine will work!

HOW TO MAKE CREAMY PUMPKIN RISOTTO

Remember when I said this dish looks and tastes like it’s extra fancy, but in reality is actually very easy to make? I wasn’t lying! This Creamy Pumpkin Risotto comes together in less than 45 minutes, but tastes like it came straight out of a restaurant ????

1. Add vegetable broth and pumpkin to a pot over medium-low heat and whisk until evenly combined. Keep at a low simmer while you prep the remaining ingredients.
2. Add shallot, garlic, and remaining chopped sage to the pan and sauté until the shallot is translucent and the garlic begins to brown. Add nutmeg and arborio rice to the pan and mix well. Toast rice for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add white wine to the pan to deglaze it and simmer until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
4. Add a portion of the warmed pumpkin broth to pan with the rice. Reduce heat and stir frequently, adding additional warm broth in segments.
5. Once the risotto has cooked, remove from heat and stir in grated vegan parmesan.
6. Garnish with optional toppings and enjoy warm.

I topped my risotto with some pan-fried sage, pumpkin seeds, a drizzle of olive oil, and some extra vegan parmesan for good measure. It would also be delicious topped with some microgreens, or served alongside a kale salad and crusty bread. And don’t forget to finish off that white wine that you opened! ????

This Creamy Pumpkin Risotto is fancy enough to be the perfect date-night food, but it’s also easy enough to whip up and treat yourself to on a relaxed weeknight! Risotto is best served fresh, but if you do need to reheat it, I suggest doing so on the stovetop with a little extra vegetable broth to loosen it up. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

If you’re looking for more Italian-inspired recipes, you’ll also love this Instant Pot Minestrone Soup, this Instant Pot Penne Puttanesca, and these 5 Italian-Inspired Vegan Meals Under $3!

Finally, if you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I love seeing your delicious recreations ????

Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Risotto

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 4 reviews

This Creamy Pumpkin Risotto is cozy, hearty, and BIG on Fall flavor! The perfect fancy (but easy) vegan and gluten-free meal.

• Author: Caitlin Shoemaker
• Prep Time: 10 Minutes
• Cook Time: 30 Minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: Serves 4 to 6 1x
• Category: Main
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 6 cups (1.4 L) low-sodium vegetable broth (store-bought or homemade)
• 1 15-ounce (425 g) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large shallot, finely diced
• 2–3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh sage, sliced, plus extra whole leaves for garnish (optional)
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 cups (380 g) Arborio rice
• 3/4 cup (180 mL) dry white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
• 1/2 cup (28 g) vegan parmesan cheese, grated*
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• Optional: pumpkin seeds and extra oil and parmesan, for garnish

Instructions

1. Make the Broth: Carefully add the vegetable broth and pumpkin to a medium-to-large pot, then whisk until evenly combined. Bring to a low simmer over medium-low heat while you prep the rest of the ingredients; the broth should remain at this temperature when adding to the risotto.
2. Pan-Fry the Sage (Optional): Add the olive oil to a large pan over medium-high heat; if you do not wish to fry additional sage for garnish, skip to step 3. Otherwise, add 4 – 6 whole sage leaves to the oil once warm; pan-fry for 45-60 seconds, until the leaves darken and start to brown only slightly. Remove and place on a paper towel-lined plate; set aside until serving. Keep the oil in the pan, to continue making the risotto.
3. Sauté Aromatics: Add the shallot, garlic, and sage to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the onion is translucent and the garlic starts to brown. Then, add the nutmeg and arborio rice to the pan and mix well. Toast the arborio rice for 2-3 minutes, until the rice becomes more translucent. Toasting the rice adds more flavor to the final dish.
4. Deglaze: add the white wine to the pan to deglaze it, scraping off any burnt bits (a.k.a. flavor!) from the bottom of the pan into the wine. Simmer for 3-5 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated from the pan or been absorbed by the rice.
5. Make the Risotto: Start by adding 3/4 cup (180 mL) of the warmed pumpkin broth to the pan with the rice. Reduce the heat to Medium-Low and stir the mixture frequently, to ensure all grains of rice are cook evenly. Once you can drag your spoon through the mixture and it leaves a dry path, add an additional ½ cup of warm broth. Repeat this process with the remaining broth.
6. Quality Check: Begin to taste the Risotto for doneness at around the 14 minutes mark, though it may take 20-25 minutes to cook in total. The Rice will be creamy but have a slightly al dente texture once finished.
7. Make it Cheesy: Once the Risotto has cooked, turn the heat off and stir in the grated vegan parmesan; season with salt and pepper to taste, if desired.
8. Serve: Serve warm; I recommend topping each plate with a small drizzle of olive oil, extra sprinkle of parmesan, pumpkin seeds, and a pan-fried sage leaf. Risotto is best enjoyed fresh, but leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days and are best reheated on the stovetop with an extra splash of vegetable broth.

Notes

• Oil-Free: omit the olive oil and use 2-4 tablespoons of vegetable broth to sauté the garlic and onion until translucent, then proceed with the rest of the recipe as written.
• Substitutions: white wine can be replaced with equal parts vegetable broth. Vegan parmesan can be replaced with 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast, or 1/2 cup of this Rosemary Garlic Cashew Cream for an extra boost of flavor! There is no substitution for arborio rice; you can use another rice if you wish, but it will not be as creamy.

Keywords: vegan risotto, pumpkin risotto, vegan pumpkin recipes, savory pumpkin recipes, dairy free risotto, fall risotto