Lemony Butternut Squash Risotto

The perfect creamy lemony butternut squash risotto — golden and creamy and totally delicious. Packed full of flavour and easy to make — it’s a winner!
Lemony butternut squash risotto

I love risotto, as it’s so comforting and wholesome.

I wouldn’t usually make it on a weeknight, as I usually need a speedy dinner when I get home from work.

However, when I’ve got more time at the weekend, I think it’s a lovely cosy meal for a snowy Sunday afternoon or evening.

When I think about risotto, I think about huge amounts of butter and cheese. No doubt tasty, eh?

So how do you get you all that flavour into a vegan risotto?

My healthy squash risotto has tons of favour from the slow cooked onions, garlic and rosemary, is super creamy from the pumpkin and has a yummy cheesy flavour from the nutritional yeast.

Plus, adding the zest and juice of a whole lemon gives it so much flavour and a lovely freshness.

I really hope you like this one. It’s super tasty!

Love, Niki xx

The Recipe

Lemony butternut squash risotto

Lemony Butternut Squash Risotto

The perfect creamy lemony butternut squash risotto - golden and creamy and totally delicious. Packed full of flavour and easy to make - it’s a winner!
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
2-4 servings
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Ingredients

For the risotto

  • 1 medium butternut squash or pumpkin
  • 2 medium onions chopped finely
  • 2 tbsp olive
  • 4 cloves garlic sliced
  • Fresh thyme
  • 1 litre veg stock
  • 150 g Arborio rice
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • Zest 1 organic lemon
  • Juice 1/2 lemon
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • Black pepper
  • 3 tbsp nutritional yeast.
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.

For the topping

  • Roast squash
  • Handful crushed hazelnuts
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Fresh thyme

Instructions

To make the risotto

  • Chop off about a quarter of the squash and slice into chunks- no need to take the skin off. Coat in a little olive oil, salt and pepper, then add to a baking tray, then bake in the oven on 180c for approx 40- 50 minutes until roasted nicely.
  • Whilst it’s roasting, add your oil and onion to a wide bottom pan and fry gently on a low heat for around 10 minutes until soft and browning.
  • Peel and de- seed the rest of the squash and chop into small cubes. Add to the pan with the garlic and fry for a further 5 minutes.
  • Add the rice, thyme and a splash of white wine to the pan and stir thoroughly to combine. Pour in about 400ml of the stock.
  • Turn up the heat a little and then keep adding more stock when the rice has absorbed the liquid. Repeat until the rice is cooked but still has a little bite and the squash is tender.

To serve

  • Add in the zest and juice of your lemon, salt, pepper, chilli flakes and nutritional yeast and stir to combine.
  • For soft gooey rice, cover the pan and allow to sit in the pan with the heat off for a further 5 minutes. Stir in the extra virgin olive oil.
  • Top with the roast squash and crushed hazelnuts.
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