Creamy risotto takes on sweet flavors in this pumpkin risotto rice pudding. If you’re a fan of rice pudding, you’re going to love this fall inspired version!
Happy Thursday! Anyone else feel like this week is going by super fast? I’m still in shock that it’s November already. Thanksgiving is right around the corner!
Anyone watch the World Series?! I’m not into sports, like at all. However, I’ve always enjoyed baseball. I’m not a follower by any means, but these were some fun games to watch. Last night’s game was such a nail-biter, but I’m so glad the Cubs pulled it together in the end!
I’m shocked I even made it to the end of the game as I’m usually asleep by 9pm. I haven’t seen 1am in a long time!
Let’s talk rice pudding.
Do you love it or hate it? As a child it freaked me out and I wanted nothing to do with it. I never even tried it until maybe college? It was love at first bite! Creamy, sweet, and cold. There’s just something about really cold rice pudding that tastes so amazing.
I’ve never actually made my own, but decided I wanted a fall version in the form of risotto. So, pumpkin risotto rice pudding happened.
SO GOOD.
I love making risotto. There’s something about the constant stirring that I find oddly therapeutic. Anyone with me on that?
The ingredients are really simple: arborio rice cooked with a milk and water mixture with pumpkin, sugar, and spices stirred in.
A few key things to note:
- If you’ve ever had risotto in a restaurant or made your own, you know it’s typically served with a bite to the rice. That’s great for savory risotto, but for a pudding version we want the rice tender and cooked through. Otherwise when it chills, the bite ruins it. I speak from experience here! So, make sure you taste it to make sure the rice is just cooked – tender, but not mushy.
- I prefer my desserts less sweet than most people, so I recommend you taste the rice pudding after you add the sugar and see if you need to adjust it. What tastes sweet to me usually doesn’t to everyone else, so keep that in mind!
- The spices can also be adjusted to suit your taste buds – I like to add a pinch of everything and then adjust from there. I don’t like my pumpkin desserts to be too overpowering on the spices, so once you add them, give it a taste!
The worst part of this recipe is waiting for the rice pudding to chill! However, you must let it chill so it’s nice and cold. It just tastes so much better when it’s really cold, at least in my opinion. If you like warm rice pudding, be my guest!
One of the best things about this pumpkin risotto rice pudding is that you can make it ahead and keep it in the fridge. So, you can make it for Thanksgiving or just to keep in your fridge for a nice sweet treat!
It also makes a pretty stellar breakfast… ?
- 2 Cups 1% Milk
- 2 Cups Water
- 1 Tablespoon Butter
- ¾ Cup Arborio Rice
- ½ Cup Pumpkin Puree
- 1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Cinnamon
- Pinch of Ginger
- Pinch of Nutmeg
- Pinch of Cloves
- Pinch of Allspice
- Pinch of Black Pepper
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Toasted Chopped Pecans, for topping, optional
- Combine the milk and water in a medium saucepan and bring it to a very low simmer.
- Melt the butter in a 12-inch skillet and add in the Arborio rice. Toast the rice for 1 minute or until it smells nutty, being sure to stir constantly.
- Stir in a ladle full of the warm milk/water mixture and stir. Once the liquid is almost absorbed by the rice, add another ladle full. Continue this process for around 20 minutes, or until the rice is just cooked through – you don’t want it to have much of a bite, but you don’t want it mushy either! You should still have roughly ¾ cup of the milk/water mixture left.
- Stir in the pumpkin, sugars, and spices. Taste the rice pudding at this point and adjust the spices/sugar depending on your tastes. If you want more spice add another pinch of each, or if you want it sweeter add another tablespoon or two of sugar. The rice will thicken a bit, so add another ladle of the liquid mixture and remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the vanilla.
- Let the risotto sit for a minute or two to set a little bit, and then stir in the remaining milk/water mixture. It will seem soupy at this point, but it will set up as it cools.
- Spoon the rice pudding into ramekins and let it cool for about 20 minutes before placing in the fridge to chill.
- Chill the rice pudding for 2 hours, or until cold and then serve topped with chopped pecans if desired.
Leave a Reply