Slow cooker butternut squash risotto
Hands-off risotto from the slow cooker, with sweet butternut squash that melts into the rice and makes it extra creamy, finished with parmesan and sage.
- 135 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $3.18 a serving
- 480 calories
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Most of the time here is hands-off, so you can sit down while it cooks.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 3 cups cubed butternut squash
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- 1½ cups arborio rice
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
- ¾ cup grated parmesan
- 2 cups baby spinach
From your pantry
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 480 calories, 13 g protein, 82 g carbs and 12 g fat, and costs about $3.18 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No cubed butternut squash? Butternut squash works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
- No baby spinach? Kale or arugula works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Cut any big squash down to about ½ inch, the onion and the garlic.
Cube. Cubing means cutting food into chunky, even squares, usually three quarters of an inch to an inch. Same-size cubes cook at the same speed and brown on every side.
How you’ll know: Your pieces look like a handful of sugar cubes, a little bigger than diced, all close to the same size.
Finely chop. Finely chopping means cutting food into small pieces, a little bigger than minced, about the size of a lentil. Small pieces spread their flavor through the dish and cook quickly.
How you’ll know: Nothing is bigger than a lentil, and the pile looks like confetti rather than paste.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Stir the rice with the butter in the slow cooker until every grain is coated.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Add the squash, onion, garlic, broth, sage and salt and stir.
Cover and cook on high 2 hours, stirring once halfway, until the rice is tender with a little bite and most of the broth is absorbed.
Timer: 120 min
Dolly’s tip: Risotto needs the high setting. On low the rice turns gluey before it’s tender. Start checking at 1¾ hours, since slow cookers vary.Mash some of the squash against the side with a spoon, then stir in the parmesan, spinach and pepper until the spinach .
Wilt. Wilting means cooking leafy greens just until they go soft and collapse. Greens shrink a lot, so a big pile of spinach becomes a small handful, and that’s normal.
How you’ll know: The leaves turn soft and deep green and slump into the pan, usually within a minute or two.
Leave the lid off for 5 minutes to let it a little, then serve.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Timer: 5 min
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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