Creamy asparagus risotto, cooked with fresh herbs, Parmigiano-Reggiano and a touch of lemon. Perfect Spring meatless main dish or wonderful topped with grilled shrimp or scallops.
Asparagus Risotto
If you’re looking for unique asparagus recipes aside from grilling or roasting, give this a try! Asparagus is the perfect addition to risotto in this light dish. A few other risotto favorites are Butternut Squash Risotto, Creamy Mushroom Risotto and Seared Scallops over wilted Spinach and Parmesan Risotto.
It’s March which means Spring is in the air. Asparagus season begins and this Italian rice dish is a great way to enjoy it. Because this risotto recipe is so simple, I like to use the freshest ingredients. The easiest way to do that is cook with seasonal vegetables, fresh herbs and good quality cheese.
Risotto can be a labor of love, it’s not the kind of dish you turn on and walk away from, but instead slowly cooked with ladle-fuls of broth, adding more each time it’s absorbed. Just before the last ladle, you add the fresh asparagus to the last five minutes of cooking time and finish it with a touch of lemon juice and lemon zest.
Asparagus Health Benefits
This spear-shaped veggie is an awesome weapon for your health. It’s packed with disease-fighting nutrients including fiber, folate, vitamins A, C, E and K and glutathione, a detoxifying compound that may protect against certain types of cancer. It’s also loaded with age-defying antioxidants that work to neutralize cell-damaging free radicals in your body. Look for spears with tight buds and firm stalks without wrinkles.
How To Make Asparagus Risotto
More asparagus recipes you will love:
- Chicken and Asparagus Lemon Stir Fry
- Grilled Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus
- Cream of Asparagus Soup
- Roasted Asparagus
- Asparagus and Caramelized Onion Tartlets
Spring Asparagus Risotto
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1/3 cup shallots, chopped
- 1 cup arborio rice
- 2 oz dry white wine
- 3/4 lb thin asparagus spears, tough ends trimmed, cut 2-inches long
- 1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
- salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
- 1 tsp grated lemon zest for garnish
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, heat broth over medium-high heat.
- When it boils, reduce heat to a simmer and maintain over low heat, taste for salt and adjust as needed.
- In a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil and add the shallots; sauté 3-4 minutes.
- Add the rice; mix well so the rice is coated throughout and saute until the rice is slightly translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the wine and stir until it is absorbed.
- Add a ladleful of the simmering stock; stir and wait until it is absorbed before adding another ladleful stirring gently and almost constantly.
- Continue this process until the rice is creamy, tender to the bite, but slightly firm in the center.
- Add the asparagus along with the last ladle of broth and continue cooking 5 minutes, total time should be about 25-30 minutes from the time you started.
- When all the liquid is absorbed, remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice, parsley and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
- Serve immediately and top with fresh cracked pepper, lemon zest, and extra grated cheese if desired.
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I did not have a fresh lemon so left out the zest. It takes some time but is not a difficult recipe. I’ll definitely be making again!
First time making risotto and it came out so good.
Wow! So delicious. A perfect springtime meal. I did add some sauteed shrimp, just because I had them in the fridge. Will definitely be making this again!
My husband and I both found this absolutely flavorless. I used excellent ingredients and parsley from our garden. I am mystified how this was rated so high.
This is delicious! I subbed in fiddlehead ferns that we foraged for the asparagus and it was awesome!
Amazing recipe. Perfect for spring and absolutely delicious and flavorful
So good!! I followed the directions from your prosciutto and peas IP version. My hubby gave me side eye for making Risotto in an IP but he was blown away by how delicious it was. As mentioned, I followed measurements/ingredients for rice in the P&P recipe, but added my asparagus at the end. Crisp and cooked perfectly. Thank you!!! xx
A perfect combination of lemon and spring asparagus and very easy to make.
DELISH!!!
I want to try this recipe because it looks amazing! Can I omit the wine and maybe add more broth? Wine/Alcohol is not an option in the household. Any input to make it taste great without the wine would be extremely helpful. Thank you.
Yes you can.
I have non-alcoholic white wine if it’s an acceptable option for you and yes if no wine chicken broth works you’ll get a touch of acidity from the lemon.
I experimented with pressure cooker. 5 minutes with quick release worked. Followed directions, but roasted asparagus on its own and had as side, decreased broth to 2 cups as a guess, my bag of risotto said two cups to one rice, and it worked.
This recipe was sooo good! We made it to serve with some seared lemony scallops – delish! Thank you!
Super good and really easy!!!!
Absolutely delicious!
Can I substitute quinoa for the arboria rice? I read that you would need to add some cream or milk. Is there anything else I would need to change in the recipe and how much cream should I add?
Wondering if I can substitute something for the wine .
broth would work
This is delicious! However, I needed at least a cup of extra broth to finish it, but that might be because I cooked it in a skillet instead of a sauce pan.
This was really good!
I’m making this tonight but of course the grocery store was sold out of arobrio rice….am I able to use white rice??
Very good! Make sure to salt between a few of the steps!
I made this tonight and it was SO GOOD! We’ve been sheltering in place for over 3 weeks, and our go-to recipes have started to feel stale. This risotto really boosted my spirits and gave us some much needed variety. Thank you Gina!
This recipe is amazing! I have made it several times and always look forward to it!
I just made the Asparagus and Lemon Risotto and it turned out delish! I used fresh lemons from the neighbor’s tree and parsley I had growing out back. Looking forward to making this for company sometime. I was a bit nervous about trying risotto because I know it has to be stirred constantly or it won’t turn out. I found the recipe to be very simple and also helpful. Thanks
Working with what I have on hand during our shelter in place order, do you think lime would still taste good instead of lemon?
Could I half the recipe?
Of course.
Made this for me and my daughter and we thought it was delicious so made it again along with Grilled Rosemary Lamb Chops for special family dinner. Everyone, including two twenty-something young men thought this risotto and the whole meal was delicious.
I love risotto, and this is yummy. Thanks!
could you send directions for this recipe using the instant pot?
This was awesome! Everyone enjoyed. Gina, I love your recipes! And your meal plans. They give me inspiration every week. I always start with your meal plans when planning my meals and groceries for the week.
Thanks Terri!
I love this risotto. I’m italian and your recipe Is fantastic. I love the lemon and all my family liked this dish. Thanks Gina😉
I love this risotto. I’m italian and you recipe Is fantastic. I love the lemon and all my family liked this fish. Thanks Gina😉
Tried this tonight and hubby loved it! Added scallops and it was so good.
This was really something special. I have always been a little intimidated to make risotto, and we were thrilled with how this came out! Creamy texture, bright flavors… just delicious!
I had thick asparagus spears, so I followed the advice of a fellow reviewer and microwaved them (with 1 Tbsp of water) for 2 min prior to adding to the pan. They came out perfect.
The only thing was that the risotto was creamy and had the perfect texture when I still had about a cup of chicken broth left. I trusted my instincts and stopped there rather than trying to force in another 1/2 cup and risk it being watery or mushy. It still gave the amount of yield that was listed in the recipe, so it’s possible that I just over measured my broth.
Thank you once again! Your recipes never disappoint!
I added thawed and peeled shrimp for the last 3 minutes (so 2 minutes after asparagus) and it was delicious! Also, we don’t keep wine in the house so we skipped it and made up with a little extra broth and lemon broth.
I have made this for my lunch today 😋. I don’t have meatless Monday, so my lunch was Asparagus Risotto with turkey meatloaf left from Saturday.
Amazing side dish, very tasty. Definitely recommend.
Could I meal prep this for lunch all week, or does risotto not last that long?
We made this tonight and it was yet another winner from Gina! So delicious and creamy. Most definitely going into our normal rotation!
Gina – made this verbatim with shrimp – restaurant quality delicious! Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
I made this for dinner this week and it was a huge hit!
Great!!
I have a family who is allergic to parmesan and romano cheeses. Is there another ingredient that you would recommend using in place of the parmesan? This looks delicious!
Thank you!
I would try manchego!
So good. I added shrimp!
Love this recipe!! Making this weekly going forward. So so good. I didnt want to call the family for dinner because I wanted it all to myself! I did finish off with butter because risotto. Thank you.
This looks totally tasty! Thank you!
I finally have all these ingredients at once time so I am going to try this Gina. I’ve actually never made risotto due to the labor intensiveness of it, but it doesn’t look too hard via your video. Looks YUMMY that’s for sure!! Great side for a Mediterranean chicken dish!
Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes!!
We didn’t have a shallot so we had to use an onion. We also microwaved the asparagus for two minutes before adding to the dish because we had very thick asparagus. It came out perfect!
Could this recipe be made using short grain brown rice instead of risotto? Would the method change at all? Wouldn’t that reduce the number of purple WW points?
I would try it with farro instead and yes it would reduce it.
I couldn’t wait for my sister-in-law’s homegrown asparagus to be ready before I tried this. I splurged on imported parm (the cheese quality makes or breaks this dish!), and made this for a special lunch. Since I had the day off, I was even able to have a glass of wine with it. So fresh, and such a spring like day we even were able to sit out in our gazebo for lunch today.
Can you provide instruction for cooking this in an instant pot please?
Has anyone tried this without the cheese? Do you think it would be good? Looks great otherwise!
I have always been too afraid to try to make risotto before but Skinny Taste has never failed me so I figured it was worth a try. I am SO glad I made this! It came out perfectly creamy, tender, and flavorful. I used chicken Better Than Bouillon in place of chicken stock. It came out super flavorful but a bit salty so no need for additional salt and extra lemon helped cut through the saltiness. I also used some regular shredded Parmesan I had on hand but I think the recipe’s directions for freshly grated Parmesan is the way to go. I absolutely loved how this turned out even with my on hand substitutions although I’d spring for the higher quality specific ingredients next time. Try something new and make this risotto!
Should the asparagus be pre-cooked? Roasted? Steamed? or will it cook enough in the process?
It took me a while to make this but it was worth it!!! So tasty! Full of flavor. I’ll definitely be making again.
This is an AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS risotto! There is a restaurant we go to once a year, I always order the scallops with asparagus risotto because it is SO good. After making this I will no longer have to wait once a year to have my favorite dish! The directions are so clear to follow. I made risotto once before and it was terrible. yuk. I was craving my favorite dish today and decided Skinny Taste never disappoints, lets see how it goes. I followed the instructions to a T and it turned out restaurant quality and taste!! Seared some scallops and had my favorite dish. The risotto was super creamy, the asparagus tender crisp and the fresh lemon juice and zest… shear perfection. If I could I would give it 10 stars!!
I've made this exact same recipe for years. Must be something handed down. It's very yummy.
This was fantastic and for a risotto first-timer, it was fun to make. I roasted the asparagus for almost 20 min at 425 with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Definitely going on repeat!
I made this tonight and it was so YUMMY! Was a little skeptical of the lemon zest, but it added so much flavor and totally made the difference. I love your website!
I made this today minus the wine. It is very good and light flavored. Mine turned out brownish probably because my shallots turned out more browned on the edges and even the rice got browned a bit. Less white than the photo but still very rich looking. I added less asparagus, a tiny bit of peas, and I added the parsley during the last ladle. I have not added the cheese just yet; will wait until we serve it and likely use romano, since my husband does not like parmesan. Great recipe, thank you. p.s. I made my own vegetable stock too (boiled carrots, celery, parsley, and onion for an hour or so and strained).
I made this for dinner tonight; added enoki mushrooms…yummy and will definitely make this again.
Can't wait to try this tonight, thank you!
I made risotto for the first time with this recipe and it turned out perfect! Thank-you Gina!
First Gina I love your site! I've been cooking from it for a long time before I joined WW (again) and now all the time since I'm back on it!
I love risotto, my husband hates cheese, I've never tasted any parm in any risotto I've had, so my question is can it be hidden from him in eating it, or can I leave it out so he'll eat it. Or lastly, do I just make it for myself and let him enjoy some bad take out! 🙂
thanks again for all your recipes, you've made my journey tasty!
this is a labor of love … and ABSOULUTELY fabulous!!
This was absolutely delicious! I've been looking for healthier recipes to use for Easter (Instead of the normal holiday side dishes that help my stomach bloat to 3x it's size), and I will definitely be using this one! Going to share this on my blog 🙂
http://livinglovinghealthy.blogspot.com/
Would this work as a make-ahead meal? I'm wondering if this would work to make on a weekend and be able to take it along with me to work since I work nights. I'm not sure how it would hold up as leftovers, especially since I've never made risotto and it says to "serve immediately!" Thoughts? Suggestions? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
sorry I didnt like the risotto but will make it with regular rice did try it just not fond of that type of rice
Thank you for this post! I made it last night and my boyfriend, who usually doesn't even really care for asparagus, was devouring it! Great side dish.
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! My husband ate all except my serving :). This was my first time making a risotto, your directions were easy to follow. It was also the first time I had ever cooked with shallot, I had to you tube how to chop it, lol. But the effort was worth it! Thanks for another great recipe!
I made this last night and it was amazing!! My husband was a huge fan! I rehydrated wild mushrooms in chicken broth and used that broth for the risotto. I just put the mushrooms in the same time as the asparagus. It was great!! Thanks so much for the recipes Gina!!
Looks absolutely delicious!!!!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delish! I opted to not use any cheese and it was still awesome, even my husband agreed!
this is delicious!!
thank you for sharing! since i live alone i started cooking.. and i discovered i love it! yummyyy!!
I can't wait to try this!! It looks so yummy!! Thanks for all you do Gina!! I've been introduced to your site a little over a month ago by a friend of a friend and I've tried so many of your healthy recipes in that month and I've lost 26 pounds by eating healthy!! I'm so happy and thrilled so I can't thank you enough. My husband thanks you too Gina!! He's lost 32 pounds in the same amount of time!! Please keep those recipes coming!!
I made this last night, it was so, so good. I've shied away from Risottos thinking they were hard to get right, you made it easy!
I made this last night, it was so, so good. I've shied away from Risottos thinking they were hard to get right, you made it easy!
Sorry to be dense, but is this gluten-free?
Hi Gina,
I love your blog and have made so many amazing recipes that you have shared. Thank you! So I decided to give this recipe a whirl last night, but didn't have any arborio rice, so I used brown rice. It didn't work out so well – I had to triple the amount of liquid, and it took 2 hours and 20 minutes of stirring crunchy rice before I finally had to abandon it and get to bed. The flavor is excellent, but it is still hard and kind of crunchy.
I know risotto is supposed to be made with white rice, but I've also made it with quinoa before and know it is possible to use something other than white rice, so I'm wondering if you have any suggestions on how to successfully make risotto with brown rice without it taking 2 and a half hours? Thank you,
Joli
I've done some experimenting with brown rice risotto. It takes a long time to cook brown rice no matter what, but here's a trick that seems to work pretty well for risotto. Pre-cook the brown rice for about 20 minutes and then drain it. Then follow the risotto recipe as-is by adding the pre-cooked rice to the saute pan. Good luck.
Thanks, Mark! I knew there must be a faster way!
Could this recipe work using quinoa or would the flavor be too nutty?
The whole idea with risotto is using Arborio rice. The starch release is different than that of regular rice or brown rice. The final results will be different and not creamy.
Looks delish! Can extra chicken broth be subbed for the wine?
I love cooking vegetarian at home! Will have to try this.
Also, I just came across your blog for the first time and your pictures are beautiful!
This looks so good!! I'm always looking for recipes to include asparagus. Thank you!
This looks like a winner. Over the last few weeks I have made about 20 of your recipes for my family and they have all been wonderful!!
I am slowly creating a binder of all these successful creations.
Thanks.
Now this is the way to welcome spring! Lemon and asparagus make me feel as though the warmer weather is right around the corner.
This looks great! We make something like this with chicken and carrots added too. I also loved your Butternut squash risotto. 🙂
I make a version with peas and saffron. I bet saffron would be wonderful with asparagus too.
Love saffron risotto with seafood 🙂
I love asparagus and am always looking for new ways to cook it! Thanks for sharing!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.blogspot.com
Mmm, I LOVE risotto! I love adding lemon to any recipe with asparagus – they just go so well together.
I agree!
Just bought asparagus at the farmers market yesterday…I will definitely be making this tonight!
Yum! This looks divine – I love asparagus!
looks too pretty to eat!
Looks absolutely delicious!
Hi Gina!
I want to make this for a pot luck dinner with some friends in a couple of weekends. But I am wondering if I could make this the day before and heat it up again on the day of? I don't enough time to make this on the same day.
Thanks!
J
I think it would reheat ok in the microwave.
Risotto reheats very well, although it can become a bit gummy. I keep some extra broth around to add to it and restore the original texture.
I have been absolutely loving risotto lately. I can't wait to try this recipe. It is well worth the work of standing by the stove adding broth and stirring for 1/2 hour. In fact, it's a pretty darn easy thing to make! Thanks for the recipe!
I agree, although it requires your full attention, it's pretty easy to make.
Love this recipe can't wait to try it probably can add chicken too it too and or mushrooms when not lent! Thanks again! Love your recipes and ideas!!
Sure, I make risotto with mushrooms, peas, butternut squash, and more!
I just found your site last week- and I have been absolutely in love with it!! Thank so much for sharing all these super yummy, healthy recipes:)
One thing I learned from my Italian friend is to throw the usused asparagus ends in the broth while it simmers and it adds some delicious flavor. I also do a similiar dish to this and add fresh peas and make it with leeks. It's delicious.
Love that idea!
Gina,
Looks yummy, but what is Arborio rice?
Thanks so much for all your effort!!
Gina,
Looks yummy, but what is Arborio rice?
Thanks so much for all your effort!!
It's an Italian rice, they sell it in the supermarket.
Great recipe! I'm SO happy asparagus is back in season 🙂
me too I love Asparagus! favorite!! 🙂
Looks absolutely delicious!
I just love risotto!! I recently went to a Williams Sonoma demo where they made this and it was so yummy!! I have to try it out at home!!
Very cool, I've never gone to one of there demos, must be fun.