This parmesan risotto is my favourite basic risotto recipe. With a simple list of flavourful ingredients, this risotto is so easy to make, and it's the perfect accompaniment to any meal.
Lately, my comfort food dreams have been made of this parmesan risotto. It's creamy, flavourful, super cozy - and the best part - made from pantry ingredients.
There is nothing fancy about it, just a short list of ingredients (rice, onion, garlic, butter, wine and parmesan) but it is the simplicity of the dish that truly allows for the flavour of the ingredients to shine through.
How to make parmesan risotto
Place the stock in a pot, bring it to a low boil, then reduce it to a low simmer. Cover, and leave it alone until it is needed.
Place the butter in a large skillet then heat to medium. When the butter is melted, add the diced onion and the crushed garlic. Sautee the onions for until they begin to turn translucent - about 3-5 minutes.
Add the arborio rice to the skillet and stir well to make sure that the grains are all coated with butter from the pan, then allow the rice to 'toast' for a few minutes. You should see the grains turn from white to almost clear.
After the rice has been toasted and coated, pour in the wine then reduce the heat to a low simmer.
Let the rice cook in the wine without stirring until the liquid is almost absorbed, then begin adding the stock one cup at a time. Let the liquid from the first cup of stock get absorbed by the rice before adding the next, and so on.
Continue adding stock to the risotto one cup at a time until the rice is cooked. This should about take 30-40 minutes so the best test is to taste the rice for doneness.
For the best consistency in your risotto, try not to stir it too much while it's cooking - although I like to give it a little stir around the edges once in a while to make sure that the outer pieces of rice cook well.
When the rice is cooked, add the parmesan cheese.
Then give the risotto a good stirring.
Serve along with your favourite main dish.
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Parmesan Risottto
Ingredients:
- 1⁄2 onion - diced
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1.5 cups arborio rice
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 3-4 cups chicken stock
- 3⁄4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- sea salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet to medium heat and melt the butter. Add the diced onion and crushed garlic then saute for 3-5 minutes or until the onion softens.
- Add the arborio rice to the skillet and mix well to coat each grain with butter.
- Let the rice cook for a minute or so to absorb the butter. When the rice turns translucent, add the wine and reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Let the rice simmer in the wine (without stirring) until the liquid has almost been absorbed.
- Begin adding the stock to the skillet one cup at a time, allowing for the stock to be absorbed almost completely before adding the next cup.
- Continue adding stock one cup at a time until the rice is cooked - this should take 30-40 minutes, but the best test is to taste the rice to check for doneness.
- After the last cup of stock, add the parmesan cheese to the skillet and season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper.
- Stir well and serve.
Nutrition
* nutritional information is calculated by online tools and may not be 100% accurate.
Ty says
I love this parmesan risotto with a little extra parm on top with fresh parsley, delicious!
Noelle Simpson says
Yum! This had great flavors, saving to make again soon!
Shelley says
Hahaha - glad I'm not the only one who has "comfort food dreams" ... or ANY foodie dreams for that matter! 😉 But yes ... this parmesan risotto is dreamy, for sure! So very simple, but with big, big delicious results!
Angela says
This will make an excellent side dish for my Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks for sharing!
Courtney says
You're welcome! Enjoy!
Lisalia says
Creamy, comforting and delicious! This was so so good!
Courtney says
I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it!
Judy says
I love risotto. Because of the carbs I limit making it to “treat” status. I followed the recipe exactly and delightfully anticipated the end result. I used a Pino Grigio and found it too “wine-y” for my tastes to hit 5 stars. It was good, but the wine was a bit overpowering and that’s what I tasted with every bite. (Full disclosure: I’m not much of a dry wine drinker but had opened this bottle last week to use in French onion soup)
I’ll try again but maybe only using ½ C.
Courtney says
Thank you for your feedback. If you don't enjoy the taste of the wine, you can always reduce the amount of it and increase the amount of stock.
Lucy says
This recipe was so easy to follow, it was simple and sooooo yummy!!!!
Nancy says
This is so delicious! The flavors are perfectly balanced. I topped it with lots of shiitake mushrooms gifted by a friend who has a bumper crop. This is hearty enough to be a vegetarian main course.
Courtney says
Thank you! I love that you added mushrooms, sounds like a great meal!
Francesca M MacKenzie says
Can I use marsala instead of dry white wine?
Courtney says
Marsala is a lot sweeter than white wine. If you must use it as a substitute reduce the amount of wine used and add a touch of something acidic, like lemon juice to compensate.
Jean says
This is an excellent recipe for risotto. The past few times I have used extra broth to prevent the risotto from becoming too dry. Once the risotto is cooked, I add an extra half cup or so and remove it from the heat. It’s moister after adding the Parmesan cheese. If I am planning on saving half for another meal (when it’s just 2 of us eating), I found that refrigerating a cup of chicken broth and then adding it to the risotto to reheat it, it’s just as moist and flavorful as the first time. I’m planning on making extra again tonight and saving half the risotto and some broth.
Thanks, my family loves it !
Ange Fergtown says
Fabulous! This was creamy and tasty- as good as could be! I have resisted making risotto because it used to be constant stirring for 40 minutes but this was easy! Thanks so much!