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Sage Butter and Pumpkin Risotto

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Updated Aug 8, 2019
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Pumpkin isn’t just for desserts. This creamy, savory pumpkin risotto recipe is infused with sage, butter and parmesan for a comforting fall dinner that tastes like fall on a fork!

More About This Recipe

  • Risotto isn’t actually complicated, but don’t bother telling that to your friends when you serve it. Creamy, cheesy, warm, pumpkin-y—THIS is how you do fall comfort food.

    Risotto has the quite the reputation, doesn’t it? If you made a list of top ten foods that folks are scared to do at home, risotto would be somewhere near the top between “baking with yeast” and “pressure canning.”

    The truth? Risotto gets a diva rep because you can’t just set-it-and-forget, but it isn’t actually complicated. To make a really great risotto, you gotta do some babysitting. But holy guacamole, it is WORTH IT.

    This fall-tastic risotto recipe is a great place to get your feet wet. It’s packed with butter, fresh sage and hearty, sweet autumn flavor thanks to pumpkin puree. You can do this. Here’s how:

    It’s always a good idea to have everything ready to go when cooking, but with risotto, it’s super important. Get all your vegetables chopped and make sure you have all the ingredients measured and ready to roll.

    First up, pour eight cups of Progresso™ Chicken or Vegetable Broth into a medium-size saucepan and heat it to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and keep it simmering while you move on.

    In a high-sided skillet over medium-high heat, melt a half stick of butter, and then add in a big handful of chopped fresh sage leaves. Stir that baby and just wait for the smell to hit you. (Are you excited? You should be excited.)

    Add in one diced onion and three cloves of minced garlic. Sauté it until your whole house smells so good you might just pass out. (Also known as “about three minutes.)

    Next up, pour in two cups of Arborio rice—that’s the kind of rice you use to make risotto, and you can nab it in the grain aisle at your supermarket—and stir, stir, stir until each grain of rice is coated with the buttery goodness. Keep stirring and cooking until the rice just begins to slightly brown and smell toasty.

    Turn off the heat (or remove the pan from the burner) and pour in half a cup of white wine. Return the pan to heat, and use a spoon to scrape up any yummy brown bits that were on the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring the rice until the wine is mostly absorbed.

    Once the wine is soaked in, take a ladle and add one ladleful of the hot broth to the pan. Stir the rice constantly until the broth is soaked in. It shouldn’t take too long, just a minute or two.

    Once that first ladleful is soaked up, add in another ladleful of broth, stir until it’s absorbed, and keep on keepin’ on with this pattern until you have about two cups of broth left to add. This should take 15-20 minutes.

    Depending on the age of your rice and the humidity in the air, you might need more or less broth to get the rice tender. The only way to know if it’s done? Taste it, baby! Grab yourself a spoon and keep tasting until it’s soft, tender and oh-so-creamy.

    Once the risotto is creamy and tender, remove it from the heat. Stir in the remaining half stick of butter, a half cup of Parmesan and a full cup of pumpkin puree. Stir until it’s all melted.

    Serve immediately topped with more sage leaves and pepitas (if you like the crunch).

Sage Butter and Pumpkin Risotto

  • Prep Time 10 min
  • Total 40 min
  • Servings 6
  • Ingredients 11
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Ingredients

  • 8 cups (about 2 32-oz. cartons) Progresso™ chicken broth or Vegetable
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
  • 1/3 cup packed fresh sage leaves, chopped
  • 1 medium onion, finely diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cups arborio rice
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and additional sage leaves, for garnish

Instructions

  • Step 
    1
    Pour the broth into a large sauce pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to low and simmer.
  • Step 
    2
    While the broth simmers, melt half of the butter (4 tablespoons) in a large, high-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the sage leaves, and cook until the sage is fragrant and the butter begins to slightly brown, about 4 minutes. Add in the onions and garlic, and cook until they are fragrant and tender, about 3 minutes.
  • Step 
    3
    Add in the rice, and stir so each grain of rice is coated by the butter mixture. Continue cooking the rice until it begins to brown slightly and smell toasty, about 3 minutes.
  • Step 
    4
    Remove the pan from the heat and add in the white wine. Return the pan to the medium-high heat, and then use a spoon to scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir constantly while the rice absorbs the wine.
  • Step 
    5
    Once the rice has absorbed most of the wine and the pan looks relatively dry, add one ladleful of the hot chicken or vegetable broth to the pan. Stir frequently until the liquid is absorbed and the pan again looks relatively dry, about 2 minutes. Repeat this process, adding broth one ladleful at a time and stirring until the liquid is absorbed, until only about 2 cups of broth are left.
  • Step 
    6
    Begin tasting the risotto for doneness and seasoning when you have 2 cups of broth left. Depending on the age of your rice and the humidity in the air, you might not need all 8 cups of broth to get the rice soft and tender. Your rice should start to soften up around the 15-20 minute mark.
  • Step 
    7
    When the risotto is tender and creamy, remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and then stir in the remaining butter, Parmesan and pumpkin until cheese and butter are melted. Serve immediately topped with additional sage leaves and pepitas.

Nutrition

460 Calories
18g Total Fat
10g Protein
61g Total Carbohydrate
4g Sugars

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving
Calories
460
Calories from Fat
170
Total Fat
18g
28%
Saturated Fat
11g
57%
Trans Fat
1/2g
Cholesterol
45mg
16%
Sodium
1230mg
51%
Potassium
200mg
6%
Total Carbohydrate
61g
20%
Dietary Fiber
2g
9%
Sugars
4g
Protein
10g
% Daily Value*:
Vitamin A
140%
140%
Vitamin C
4%
4%
Calcium
15%
15%
Iron
15%
15%
Exchanges:
3 Starch; 0 Fruit; 1 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 0 High-Fat Meat; 3 1/2 Fat;
Carbohydrate Choice
4
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

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