This vegetarian Risotto Primavera is spring in a bowl loaded with asparagus, peas, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes. Great as a main or side dish.
Risotto Primavera
Risotto, a classic Italian favorite known for its creamy texture, is made even more delightful with the addition of crisp, fresh spring vegetables. It’s a perfect blend of the comforting arborio rice with the fresh, vibrant flavors of the season’s produce. Here I served this easy Risotto Primavera as a vegetarian main dish but you can also halve the recipe and portion to serve as a side dish with fish, chicken breast, seafood, and more. For more simple risotto recipes, try my Instant Pot Risotto with Prosciutto and Peas and Spring Asparagus Risotto.
Is risotto a pasta or a rice?
There is no pasta in risotto. Risotto is an Italian rice dish cooked low and slow until it’s creamy.
What is risotto primavera made of?
Ingredients: (See exact amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.)
- Broth: Use homemade or store-bought chicken or vegetable broth. I have this homemade chicken broth recipe if you want to make your own.
- Olive Oil to sauté the onion and garlic in
- Rice: Risotto is typically made from arborio rice, a short-grain Italian rice.
- Wine: Use a good-quality dry white wine, like pinot grigio or chardonnay.
- Vegetables: Primavera risotto wouldn’t be complete without a mix of spring veggies. I use zucchini, thawed, frozen peas, asparagus, and cherry or grape tomatoes.
- Salt seasons the vegetables
- Basil adds freshness and color.
- Butter: Stir in a little butter at the end for extra creaminess.
- Cheese: Mix in grated Pecorino Romano and sprinkle some on top before serving.
- Pepper: Top the risotto primavera with freshly ground black pepper.
How to Make Risotto Primavera
- Warm the broth in a saucepan before cooking the risotto.
- Sauté the onion and garlic in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat for a few minutes until soft.
- Add the rice and cook until the grains are translucent. Pour in the white wine and cook until it’s absorbed.
- Slowly add the broth: Pour a ladle of broth into the pot and cook until it’s absorbed, stirring the rice. Continue to mix in the broth, cooking until the broth is absorbed and the rice is al dente.
- Spring Vegetables: Add the zucchini, peas, tomatoes, asparagus, and salt about five minutes before the rice is done. The entire process should take 20 to 25 minutes, and the risotto should be loose and creamy but not runny. You can overcook risotto, so once you hit 20 minutes, taste the risotto to see if it’s ready.
- Final Touches: Turn off the heat, stir in the butter and cheese, sprinkle with chopped, fresh basil, and season with freshly ground pepper.
Variations
- For extra flavor, add diced pancetta with the onions.
- Liquid: Use water instead of broth.
- Wine: If you don’t drink wine, omit it and use more broth.
- Onion: Sub red onion or shallots.
- Zucchini: Swap zucchini with yellow squash.
- Herbs: Substitute dill or tarragon.
- Cheese: Replace Pecorino with Parmigiano Reggiano.
- For more protein, add chicken to this risotto primavera.
What is the secret to the best risotto?
There are a few tricks for making the best risotto primavera.
- Buy the correct rice. Arborio is the most popular, but there are other short-grain Italian rice, like carnaroli and vialone nano.
- Use heated broth, which will help the temperature remain stable and ensure the risotto cooks evenly.
- Stir often to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot. However, don’t stir too much because the rice can become goopy—taking occasional breaks is OK.
What to Serve with Risotto Primavera
This healthy risotto primavera recipe is a beautiful spring side dish or vegetarian main entrée. If you want to serve this as a side dish, it would go great with:
- Seafood: Breaded Shrimp, Parmesan-Herb Baked Salmon, Air Fryer Shrimp, Fish Cakes
- Poultry and Meat: Grilled Chicken, Filet Mignon, Air Fryer Chicken Breast
Storage
Since the vegetarian risotto primavera contains no meat, leftovers will keep in the fridge for 5 days. Microwave it for about a minute until warm or heat it on the stove. If the rice has dried out, you may need to add a splash of broth or water.
More Risotto Recipes You’ll Love
- Scallops over Wilted Spinach Parmesan Risotto
- Mushroom Risotto
- Butternut Squash Risotto
- Carrot Rice Leek Risotto with Bacon
- Quinoa Risotto
Risotto Primavera
Equipment
Ingredients
- 7 1/2 to 8 cups hot vegetable broth, or chicken broth, homemade or store-bought
- 1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves mined garlic
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 3/4 cups Arborio rice, or other short-grain Italian rice
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup diced zucchini
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
- 1 cup asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 1/3 cup cherry , or grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano, or Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Keep the broth warm in a small pot.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until it’s soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the rice, and stir to coat.
- Cook until the rice grains are translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the white wine, and cook until it’s absorbed.
- Add a ladle full of broth or water to cover, cook until it’s absorbed, and give the rice a good stir.
- Continue to add the broth and mix as the broth is absorbed until the rice is al dente, adding the zucchini, peas, tomatoes and asparagus, 1/4 teaspoon salt for the last 5 minutes. The process should take about 20 to 25 minutes from the first addition of liquid, with the final product still a bit loose and creamy, but not runny.
- Stir in the basil, butter, grated cheese and serve right away.
Delish with ham! 😊
Great!!!
Creamy and delicious! Added turkey bacon to the onion/garlic mixture and extra veggies (yellow squash, mushrooms, tomatoes, asparagus, peas)
Can I use brown rice instead?
This was a huge hit with my wife! I added the veggies a bit later to there was a bit more crunch from the asparagus – which suited us just fine. Definitely will make again. Thank you for this recipe!
Great recipe! I had never made risotto and this was pretty easy. I used brown jasmine rice and did not use all the broth. Definitely took more than 20-25 min to absorb. I added extra basil. Otherwise I followed the recipe and this is definitely a keeper because even my carnivore daughter likes it.
Made exactly as written but took longer to cook then expected. Kept going and it turned out amazing!
Wow! This recipe was great, even though I didn’t have Arborio rice: i used Jasmine instead, but it still turned out very good for my meatless dinner.
Made this for dinner tonight. I had everything on hand except the zucchini. It was OUTSTANDING! Once you prepare all the veggies, etc., it comes together in 25 minutes. I’ve made pasta primavera many times, but this was a terrific version since I’m gluten-free. This will go in my list of favorites.
So good, this was my first risotto attempt and nailed it! I was worried about putting the veggies in raw but they cooked to perfection in those last few minutes.
Could this be done in an Instapot?
Amazing! I never thought I could make a good risotto but this looked so good and was WW friendly. I was getting nervous because it took longer than 2 minutes for my rice to start looking translucent and took longer than 25 minutes to absorb all the broth. Could be that it’s an electric stove. But I feel like a fancy ass chef today after dishing it out and my husband saying he loved it. We served it as a side dish to grilled tilapia. This will definitely be another regular meal we rotate in to the ‘keep’ binder. Good for a weekend meal when you have more time to prep and cook it.
This was excellent! I added some lemon zest and used asparagus, peas and fresh green beans because that’s what I had on hand. Will make again!
I love risotto and asparagus, the addition of more vegetables really adds depth! I think this is a new favorite. I have made twice already. For Good Friday, I served with seared sea scallops, made for a very decent restaurant quality meal!
I’m so glad you are enjoying it!!
I love risotto and asparagus! This recipe did not disappoint. Served with seared scallops for Good Friday 🥰🥰
Simply delicious. I just added sweet corn that I had left from another recipe at the end . It takes time for the rice to get to the right consistency. But totally worth it
I made this for the 1st time as a side dish for Easter. Everyone really enjoyed. I will definitely make again.
I made this for Easter yesterday and it was devoured! Delish!!!
very good. I made this for Easter as a side dish with Ham.
I was going to make Shrimp, Peas and Brown Rice (another great Skinnytaste Recipe)last night but I realized I had all the ingredients to make Risotto Primavera which was so easy and absolutely delicious!! I have been making Skinnytaste recipes exclusively since 2018, and never a disappointment !!
I didn’t feel like 5 minutes was enough to cook the veggies. Everything was still very crunchy. I’m unsure if I’ll be able to salvage the leftovers but I’ll try.
I like my veggies crisp tender not mushy but if you like it soft, you can add them earlier.
I don’t know if I just suck at making risotto but I followed the recipe and at the end my rice mixture was so watery. I tried to cook it more to get the liquid to cook down some but it wasn’t working so I strained the whole thing. In the end the rice was mushy and definitely overcooked as well as extremely bland.
This was absolutely delicious! Tasted rich and creamy just like in a restaurant! I subbed broccoli for the asparagus and it was yummy!
This was delicious and so colorful. My husband commented that each forkful seemed to hold a different veggie.
This risotto is fantastic! I made it today because I had asparagus to use up and had the other ingredients on hand. I was a bit short on Arborio rice, but had some Japanese short grain rice that I used to take up the slack. Didn’t even notice a difference. I added about 2 oz of pancetta when I added the vegetables and that was a win. I needed more salt than was called for and added additional pepper because I love pepper. I am very pleased with this recipe.
Haven’t made this yet, but sure looks amazing. I plan on trying it in a few weeks when company arrives.
Question, I don’t see a place, as I have seen on other sites, that lets you keep the iPad on while making. Mine closes after a few minutes.
Also can’t seem to view the video.
Much thanks.
This sounds delicious!! I have come accustomed to making risoto in the Instant Pot. It comes out perfect every time. If I want mushroom risoto, I normally saute mushrooms prior to adding the arborio. Can I do the same with these vegetables?
Sure but they will cook more than I did, or add them at the end.
This turned out divine! It was so creamy and the cherry tomatoes gave a bright pop of flavor. Be patient with all the liquid absorbing – it will come together in the end. Might add some cooked chicken at the end for added protein.
Isn’t it delicous!!!
Can you make this the day before serving and reheat?
If you want to make your risotto ahead and serve it later, follow the recipe slightly undercooking it. To re-warm, you just add the last ladle of broth, then the rest of the ingredients.
Can you make this in the instant pot?
You can follow my instant pot risotto recipe as a guide!
Is this recipe gluten free? I don’t see it marked as such, but it looks GF to me?
yes it is
When do you add the basil, butter and cheese? At the end?
yes sorry let me fix!!
I made this yesterday as a side dish, first time making risotto. It was amazing! Wonderful recipe.
Gina, find a way to use the instant pot 😜
There’s already a bunch of Instant Pot risotto recipes on this site. All you’d have to do is use a little initiative and swap the vegetable ingredients to suit this version. 🙂
Gina, find a way to use the instant pot 😜
Sorry I may have missed it but when. Is the cheese added?
Sorry at the end, I just fixed.
The post recipe note says for extra flavor add Pancetta and Onions. How much of each?
You aren’t asking me, but I’ll offer a suggestion…I’d just add to taste.