Less work = Awesome
This vegan oven risotto is my new jam! Quick and easy, not much hands on cooking at all and still that perfect creamy risotto I know and love! Made even creamier with some amazing thick, delicious AND oil-free pesto! When I was in culinary school, we had to be able to make perfect risotto. I remember loving it so much, but thinking, I probably won’t make this for myself. It is time consuming and completely hands on and I’m pretty lazy.
So this vegan oven risotto is the answer to all of my risotto problems! You just stir and simmer on the stove top for a few minutes, and then put in the oven. The oven finishes the job and it’s awesome! If you have ever made risotto, you know you have to stand and stir it. Adding a little bit of broth at a time. This eliminates all of that work.
It is so creamy and yummy all on it’s own. Then add this amazing pesto and you will be a pretty happy camper! I added chives to my classic basil pesto and I am in love. I like to stir about half the pesto into the risotto and put more on top.
I also LOVE to serve this vegan oven risotto with roasted veggies. Charred broccoli is a favorite of mine, but it would be great with your choice of protein as well. This perfect plant-based meal also happens to be naturally gluten-free. So most everyone can enjoy!
Vegan Oven Risotto with Pesto
Ingredients
Vegan Oven Risotto
- 1 Tablespoon Olive oil
- 2 Large Shallots, chopped
- 1 Cup Arborio rice
- 1/2 Cup White wine, dry
- 2 Cups Vegetable broth
- 2 Tablespoons Vegan butter, I used Earth Balance
- 2 Tablespoons Nutritional yeast
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Oil-Free Pesto
- 2 Cups Fresh basil
- 1/4 Cup Fresh chives
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 1/4 Cup Pine nuts
- 3 Tablespoons Vegetable broth
- Juice of 1/2 a Lemon
- Pinch of Salt and pepper
For Serving
- Roasted Broccoli, optional
- Vegan Parmesan, I used Violife
- Red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In an oven safe pot, heat the olive oil on medium high. Then add the chopped shallots.
- Saute the shallots for about 3-5 minutes or until the shallots are translucent. Reducing heat as needed.
- Then, add the arborio rice to the pot, and stir. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and saute the rice for about 2 minutes.
- Now, pour the white wine into the pot. Stir and simmer for about 3 more minutes or until most of the wine has been absorbed.
- Next, add the 2 cups of vegetable broth. Stir. Season with another pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then put the pot into the oven.
- Bake the risotto in the oven for 15-18 minutes or until all of the broth has been absorbed and the rice is cooked.
- While the risotto is baking, make the pesto. Add all the pesto ingredients to a food processor or blender. Pulse until the pesto is smooth. You can always add another splash of vegetable broth if it is thicker than you would like. Set aside.
- When the risotto is done baking, remove it from the oven. Then stir the vegan butter and nutritional yeast into the risotto.
- Next, stir about half of the pesto into the risotto, saving the rest for topping. Then taste the risotto and adjust seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if needed.
- Serve immediately! I like to serve with roasted broccoli or crispy tofu.
I love this recipe! I added green peas and broccoli rabe. Even my meat eating boyfriend is a fan!
not this one but seeing it inspired me to comment on all your recipes – they are so flavourful, ‘clean’ tasting,we have started using them where I work (a non-profit) and this risotto will be on the menu! thank you!
Seriously good and so easy, I’m so glad I’ve found your website, everything I’ve tried of yours so far has been inspiring and come out perfectly!
Loved making this — I’m not vegan but I’m trying to increase how much vegan food I eat. This was such a good weeknight meal!
Could I put this in a glass dish before putting in the oven if I dont have an oven safe pot?
I have not tried that, but I do think it would work!
Love this recipe! I’ve made it a couple times. Last time I ran to the store to grab spinach and basil before hand but they were out, so I improvised and used a little mint and arugula for the pesto (plus the tiny bit of the basil that we had left at home). It was so good, would recommend as the recipe states or with these substitutions, especially if you’re a mint fan!
I typically make my vegan pesto with hemp seeds instead of pine nuts. Do you think that would be okay? Thank you!
Yes! I think that would be delicious!
So easy and so yummy! I added peas because my two year old loves them and they give it a little protein boost and topped it with roasted broccoli as suggested. It was excellent; your recipes consistently are!
This was delicious!! It also didn’t take too long and was fairly simple which I appreciated. I didn’t have chives so I left that out of the pesto but I added in some of the VioLife Parmesan cheese and it was delicious! For the risotto I used vegan chicken broth instead of veggie and it turned out well. I would definitely recommend using this recipe! My non-vegan family members loved it too.
Delish…first vegan recipe I’ve ever made! Will make numerous times.
Any chance you could add volumes for cut up veg? Large shallot etc varies by region/county. If you could add an approx. measured amount that would be super helpful for the rookies 🙂 Keep up the great work.
Oh and lid on or off in the oven?
Love that it’s easy to make and it’s oh so delicious.
I’ve been meal planning the last 3 weeks and I ONLY use your recipes. I’m obsessed with so many of them and just bought 2 of your cookbooks. Thank you so much for your passion!
Love this recipe, so delicious and easy to make!
Made this last night and it was absolutely beautiful! I added mushrooms and peas and I was honestly quite sad when it was gone. Thank you for the recipe!
Finally made this and it was absolutely delicious! We served it with crispy tofu AND roasted broccoli (and garlic bread) and wow. So so good!