This butternut squash risotto is perfect for a fall date night! Made with just 10 ingredients, it's creamy, comforting, and filled with cozy autumn flavor.
I love making this butternut squash risotto as much as I love eating it. Honestly! I know that risotto is famously tedious to prepare – add a little broth, stir, add a little broth, stir some more. But on a crisp, cool fall night, I welcome the chance to stand over the warm stove and watch it come together. I think it’s mesmerizing to see the raw squash and uncooked rice transform into a rich, creamy risotto. The fact that it smells amazing doesn’t hurt either.
And when you sit down to eat, all that stirring really pays off. This butternut squash risotto has a delicious creamy texture and a tangy, sweet autumnal flavor from the squash, fresh rosemary, and white wine. Jack and I can attest that it’s a perfect dinner for a fall date night. I also think it would be a great vegetarian main course for Thanksgiving…though I hope you don’t wait that long to try it.
Butternut Squash Risotto Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this butternut squash risotto recipe:
- Butternut squash, of course! Make sure to cut it into little 1/4-inch cubes so that it can cook through in the time it takes to make the risotto. If you have leftover squash, save it to make this pasta or this soup!
- Arborio rice – This Italian short-grain white rice gives the risotto a wonderful creamy texture.
- Garlic and onion – For savory depth of flavor.
- White wine – It adds rich, tangy flavor.
- Fresh sage or rosemary – Either works! Both of these herbs add cozy, woodsy autumn flavor to the risotto.
- Vegetable broth – Use store-bought, or make your own.
- And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Butternut Squash Risotto
This butternut squash risotto takes a little time to prepare, but the process is simple. Here’s how it goes:
First, sauté the veggies. Cook the onion for 2-3 minutes over medium heat. Then, add the squash and cook for another 6-8 minutes, until it starts to soften.
Next, toast the rice. Stir it into the pot along with the garlic and rosemary or sage. Let it cook for 1 minute before you add the wine and cook, stirring, for another 1-3 minutes, until the wine cooks down.
Then, start adding the broth. Pour in 3/4 cup at a time and cook, stirring constantly, until the rice absorbs each addition. After you add the final 3/4 cup of broth, cook until the squash is tender and the risotto is soft and creamy.
Season to taste and serve. That’s it!
Butternut Squash Risotto Serving Suggestions
This risotto will thicken as it sits, so it’s best hot from the stove. Garnish it with fresh parsley, small sage leaves, and freshly grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese. (If you’re vegan, don’t worry! The risotto is great without the cheese too.)
Round out the meal with homemade focaccia or crusty bread and a vegetable side dish. I like to pair this butternut squash risotto with a simple salad, like my Pear Salad or Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad, or roasted vegetables like Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, or broccoli. Don’t forget the apple crumble for dessert!
If you have leftover risotto, it will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days. It will be thick on days 2 and 3, so I recommend reheating it on the stove with a splash of water or stock to loosen it up. Season to taste, and enjoy!
More Favorite Winter Squash Recipes
If you love this butternut squash risotto, try one of these winter squash recipes next:
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta
- Butternut Squash Ravioli
- Vegetarian Black Bean Enchiladas
- Easy Coconut Curry
- Roasted Kabocha Squash
- Stuffed Acorn Squash
- Roasted Delicata Squash with Apples & Sage
Butternut Squash Risotto
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups cubed butternut squash, ¼-inch cubes
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon minced rosemary or sage
- 1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 4 cups warmed vegetable broth
- Chopped parsley or small sage leaves, optional, for garnish
- ½ cup grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese, optional, for serving
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, salt and several grinds of pepper, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the butternut squash and cook for 6 to 8 minutes.
- Add the garlic, rosemary, and the rice. Stir and let cook for about 1 minute then add the wine. Stir and cook for 1 to 3 minutes, or until the wine cooks down.
- Add the broth, ¾ cup at a time, and stir continuously to allow each addition of broth to be absorbed before adding the next. Cook until the butternut squash is tender, and the risotto is soft and creamy. Season to taste.
- Garnish with parsley or sage leaves and serve with grated cheese, if desired.
This turned out really lovely! I must confess that I made a number of modifications, including using acorn squash instead of butternut, and also adding a few mushrooms and some red bell pepper. In the end I used all 4 cups of the broth but probably would have been fine with just 3.5 cups.
In any case it was delicious and I will come back to this recipe the next time I want risotto. 🙂
This was delicious. I had to make a small substitution, I didn’t have an onion in the house so I used some frozen pearl onions cut in half. I used fresh thyme instead of rosemary or sage…going to make this again
Restaurant quality! And enjoyable to make exactly as written. Cheers!
I’m so glad you loved the recipe!
Made this yesterday and it was delicious! I topped mine with red chili flakes and butter-fried sage—went really well with the creamy squash.
I’m so glad you loved the recipe!
Hi! Can you use quinoa instead of rice?
Ummm this is AMAZING! I just made this and I’m staring at my empty plate and calculating how much more I can have without my boyfriend going hungry. I added an extra clove or two of garlic, used sage instead of rosemary, and added a little extra white wine and I could cry this is so delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
This was good! I made it with sage and served it with shredded pork, and the two went together well! Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Greaaaattt!! I also added some garlic which I put a whole bulb in a 230 deg C oven for 30 mins and then squeezed and mashed the pulp from each clove into the rice (same time as I added the wine – except I added Noilly Prat vermouth instead… I was enjoying my Sauvignon Blanc too much!!!). Lovely!!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Great main dish with bread and side salad leaving loads of leftovers. Will definitely make again to help use up the garden bounty of squash for a great warm winter dinner. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Bridgette, I’m so glad you enjoyed the risotto!
Great recipe we loved it
I’m so happy to hear!
Made this recently and my family loved it! Even my picky toddler enjoyed it. It was so good, that as I spooned the leftovers into a Tupperware, I was sneaking an equal amount of spoonfuls into my mouth… Great squash flavor throughout. We served it as a side dish and it easily served 6-8 that way.
Hello!
Just wanted to let you know that my wife and I tried this recipe the other night. It so happens that my inlaws were there too. They like the recipe so much that they ask for the leftovers to go!
Anyways, thanks a lot for sharing this. Excited to send the next recipe here to my wife.
Have a great day!
Hi Timothy, I’m so glad you all loved the risotto!
This was delicious but was not even close to serving 4, more like a little more than 2 servings. Will double the recipe next time to have enough with a bit of leftovers.
Delicious! I added baby spinach during the last couple of cooking minutes for some extra veggies. Will make again.
We really enjoyed this Butternut Squash Risotto. So delicious! I used sage since I think that sage and butternut squash is such a tasty combination. I will definitely make this again. It came out perfect.
Made this with sage and it was delicious!
I made this a couple nights ago, and it was an easy and satisfying autumn dinner. I improvised a little by using 20 ounces of frozen cubed butternut squash instead of fresh (I added this to the skillet first and sauteed for a few minutes to thaw before adding onion). This worked out well for me and wasn’t too mushy by the end of cooking. I also subbed extra broth for the white wine, since I didn’t have any on hand, but I will be sure to add the wine next time for that extra punch of flavor.
Leftovers also reheated well for lunches!
We love making risotto and this is a wonderful recipe to add to our rotation. It was delicious! Thank you for sharing!
The Thanksgiving leftovers are gone, it’s snowing outside, and the Butternut Squash Risotto was the perfect cozy meal for a cold night! My husband told me many times how good it was! This was my first time to ever make risotto…fun! I used apple cider in place of the white wine. Thank you for sharing your recipes! =)
I found the idea of making risotto super daunting but was excited to tackle for November challenge.
I needed more broth than the recipe said but I warmed more at the start so it worked out well. The recipe came out wonderfully and was a nice low key thanksgiving dinner for two.