The butternut squash risotto is so comforting, and it’s perfect for a fall or winter night. It’s vegan and gluten-free too!. It pairs so well with the sage, and our homemade vegan parmesan adds the perfect cheesy finish. I know you’re going to love it! It’s also easy to make. It’s just a matter of prepping the ingredients and then letting the magic happen while stirring occasionally. Trust me, this recipe is a must-try!
Butternut Squash Risotto with Sage Walnut Pesto
A comforting butternut squash risotto, perfect for a fall or winter night. Paired with sage and vegan parmesan for a cheesy finish. Easy to prepare and gluten-free.
Equipment
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 3 cups butternut squash - diced in 2cm cubes
- 3 tbsp olive oil - divided
- 1 head garlic
- 1 tbsp white miso paste
- 4 cups (946.35 ml) vegetable stock - warm and preferably sodium reduced, divided
- 1 cup (200 g) arborio rice
- 2 leeks - finely chopped, white and light green part only
- 3 sage leaves - finely chopped
- 2 tbsp vegan parmesan
Walnut Sage Pesto
- ½ cup (58.5 g) walnuts
- ¼ cup (8 g) sage
- ½ cup (30 g) fresh parsley
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp vegan parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 C). Toss the diced squash with 1 tbsp olive oil and a dash of salt. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Cut 1 cm from the top of the garlic to expose the cloves. Drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil, and bake in the oven for 35 minutes. Allow to cool, then squeeze the garlic out of the skin.
- Divide the cooked squash into two portions. Blend one portion with the roasted garlic, miso paste, and 1.5 cups of stock.
- On medium heat, add 1.5 tbsp of olive oil to a pan. Add the leeks and cook for 5 minutes until golden. Stir in the rice and sage.
- Once the rice is translucent (about 3 minutes), reduce to low heat and add in the blended butternut squash. Gradually add the rest of the vegetable stock ¼ cup at a time, stirring continuously. Monitor the pot closely to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom.
- While the risotto is cooking, prepare the Vegan Parmesan by blending cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic, and salt, until you reach a fine powder consistency.
- For the pesto, blend the walnut, sage, parsley, olive oil, and 2 tbsp of the Vegan Parmesan.
- Once all the liquid has been absorbed by the rice, taste it to ensure it's cooked and al dente. Stir in 2 tbps of Vegan Parmesan.
- Plate the risotto, top with the remaining roasted squash, and the walnut sage pesto. Enjoy!
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Loving this! The most unordinary risotto I’ve ever tried.
I swapped the butternut squash for sweet potatos, and didn’t bake the garlic (adjusting the measurements). I’ve also added a bit of wine before the blended soup, like for any risotto, and used normal parmesan. It was still super good and special. Thank you for this! ❤️🍃
Hi Ana, I love your presentation! Sorry I didn’t get to your previous message earlier about the sweet potato substitution. I’m heading on holiday next week, and it’s been such a crazy time trying to shoot enough new recipes before I go!
And I’m kind of glad I didn’t reply sooner, because my initial guess would have been that sweet potato might have been a little too starchy. But seeing your comment now, I really want to give it a go myself. Brilliant, thanks so much for sharing, lovely 💕
What do you think about replacing the butternut squash with sweet potato and using common parmesan instead of vegan?
Hoping to make this yummy dish tomorrow.
Question —
Listed in Main Ingredients is “3 sage.” Does that refer to 3 fresh sage leaves? And are they to be chopped?
Thank you!
Hi lovely, thank you for pointing this out! You are correct, I’ve adjusted the recipe, hope you love it x
Loving it! Any recommendations for when we can’t find fresh sage?
And if we don’t have miso, what should be adjusted and how?
Hi lovely, basil would be lovely in here!
Miso brings a lot of umami flavors and is very specific. You can use a more concentrated broth, add more salt or nutritional yeast, but it won’t be exactly the same! Although I’m sure it’s still delicious 🙂 Some chopped sun-dried tomatoes could be a delicious addition if you have some x
My first time making risotto and the recipe came out even more delicious than I could have expected! Thank you so much! X
That’s so nice to hear, I’m so happy you like it 💚 and well done on your first risotto!
Hi, what’s the white miso paste for?
It brings a delicious umami flavour, you can still make it without if you like, but will have to adjust the seasonings 🙂
Where in the recipe is it to be added though?
Also in the ‘parmesan’ for the pesto, is this taken from nutritional yeast or the vegan cheese made in the recipe?
I’ve just updated the recipe for clarity! the miso is added when blending the pumpkin, and the ‘parmesan’ always refers to the vegan parmesan recipe provided, however you could skip that part if you prefer and use store bought vegan cheese 🙂 hope you love the risotto 💕
Hello! For the pesto, is it supposed to be basil or parsley? The instruction say something different than the ingredients
Parsley! Thanks for spotting it, all fixed now x