Pumpkin Risotto with Bacon and Sage
This Pumpkin Risotto is creamy, savory, and cheesy. It takes just 30 minutes to make, so there’s no slaving over a stove for hours and hours! The chopped bacon and crispy sage pair so perfectly with the pumpkin and add richness and depth.
“This was so amazing! I’m not a big pumpkin fan, but combined with the bacon and fried sage, it was just creamy goodness. This is definitely a new fall favorite.” – Erin, So Much Food reader
Table of contents
This Is the Risotto I Crave Throughout the Fall
I’ve shared a number of risotto recipes over the years, and this pumpkin version is the one I turn to as soon as those late summer evenings start to cool down.
It’s a quick and easy recipe that calls for just 10 simple ingredients and about 30 minutes of prep. So many people assume that risotto is a complicated dish to make, but it’s actually very straightforward. You just have to be committed to stirring the pot frequently, that’s really it!
The canned pumpkin puree in this recipe makes the risotto extra creamy, but since it’s fairly plain on its own I doctored things up with two types of cheese, diced bacon, and crispy pan fried sage leaves. This is an impressive dish that’s perfect for weeknights and dinner parties!
Ingredient Notes
You can find the full list of ingredients, quantities & method in the recipe card at the end of the page.
- Risotto. Looks like a pasta, but it’s acutally rice! You can use either arborio rice (short grain) or carnaroli rice (medium grain).
- Bacon. Thick-cut bacon is the move here. If you need to keep this recipe vegetarian, you may omit the bacon (in that case, I’d add a little extra butter to make up for the loss of the bacon fat).
- Fresh sage. Do NOT swap in dried sage! There’s no substitute for the fresh sage leaves in this recipe. They’re cooked in the bacon drippings until crispy and add tons of flavor and texture to the risotto.
- Shallot. My aromatic of choice for flavoring the risotto because it’s milder than yellow onion or garlic and won’t overpower the pumpkin.
- Pumpkin puree. You can use homemade puree if you have some on hand, otherwise a quality canned pumpkin puree is just fine.
- White wine. Choose a dry white wine you’d happily drink, like a Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio.
- Broth. If possible, please use homemade broth or stock for this recipe. I prefer chicken stock for making risotto because it’s more flavorful than vegetable broth, but either will work.
- Butter. Stirring in a few pats of butter at the very end adds richness.
- Cheese. I added mascarpone to make the risotto extra rich and gouda for gooeyness. (There’s probably an Italian grandmother rolling over in her grave, but I stand by my use of mascarpone cheese. It’s not strictly traditional, but it gives the best texture!)
Tools You’ll Need
How to Make Pumpkin Risotto in 5 Steps
- Crisp up the bacon and sage. Add the bacon to a wide skillet with high sides (to keep this a one pot recipe). Cook until it’s nice and crispy and most of the fat has been rendered. After removing the bacon from the pan, add the sage leaves and cook until they’re crispy too.
- Sauté the shallot and rice. Working in the same skillet, cook the shallot in the bacon drippings just until soft. Then, add the risotto rice and toast for about 1 minute. This step is essential! Toasting hardens the exterior of the rice grains, which ensures they soak up the broth slowly and don’t go mushy on you.
- Deglaze the pan. Stir the pumpkin puree and white wine into the pan. Once the wine’s been fully absorbed, you can begin ladling in the broth.
- Add the warm broth 1 cup at a time. Do not add cold broth to the risotto! That will shock the rice and prevent the starches from being released (and you need all that starch to get the risotto super creamy). Add the broth a little at a time, and add more only when the liquid’s been absorbed.
Jenny’s Tip: Stirring the rice while it cooks releases its starches, which yields a creamy consistency. It may sound labor-intensive but I promise it’s not!
- Stir in the butter, cheeses, and bacon. Do this off the heat so the mascarpone doesn’t split. Then, garnish with crispy sage and dig in!
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Making Risotto
Using cold broth. Before you do anything else, pop your chicken broth into a saucepan and heat it until simmering. If you add cold chicken broth to the risotto, it will significantly slow down the cooking process.
Adding all the broth at once. If you dump all the broth into the pot at once, you’ll basically make a pot of rice and not a batch of creamy risotto. The rice grains need to be stirred so they bump into each other to release their starches.
Cooking over heat that’s too low. Risotto should only need to cook for 20ish minutes, and if your heat is too low it will take even longer to prepare. Maintain a medium-low simmer as the rice cooks and you should be fine.
Adding the mascarpone on the heat. Alway stir the mascarpone into the risotto off the heat or else it will split. (Split mascarpone is still edible, it just looks gross.)
Side Dish Suggestions
Make it an Italian-inspired feast by serving your pumpkin and bacon risotto with one or more of the following:
If you do give it a try, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter and never miss a new recipe! You can also snap a photo & tag @JENNYGOYCOCHEA on Instagram. I LOVE hearing about & seeing your SMF creations!
More Savory Pumpkin Recipes to Try
- Pumpkin Baked Ziti
- Stuffed Shells in Pumpkin Vodka Sauce
- Pumpkin Creme Brûlée
- Red Pumpkin Curry
- Creamy Pumpkin Tortellini
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Pumpkin Risotto with Bacon
Ingredients
- 4 strips thick-cut bacon diced
- 8-10 fresh sage leaves
- 1 large shallot, minced
- 1 1/2 cups arborio or carnaroli rice
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 6-7 cups homemade chicken broth, simmering
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
- 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
- 1 cup freshly grated aged gouda
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Render the bacon. Heat a wide skillet with high sides over low heat. Add the diced bacon and cook on the lowest heat setting, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is slightly crispy and quite a bit of the fat has rendered. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate.
- Crisp up the sage. Add the sage leaves to the bacon fat and fry for about 90 seconds, until darker in color and crispy. Transfer them to the same plate as the bacon.
- Sauté the shallot. Add the shallots to the skillet with the bacon fat and increase the heat to medium. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until the shallots are softened.
- Toast the rice. Add rice and stir to coat in the bacon fat so that all the grains are shiny. Toast rice for about 1 minute.
- Deglaze the pan. Add the white wine and pumpkin puree and stir into the rice. Bring to a simmer.
- Add the warm broth 1 cup at a time. Once the wine has been absorbed into the rice, add 1 cup of warm broth while consistently stirring. Once that broth has been absorbed, add another cup. You will continue to add broth, 1 cup at a time, while stirring until it has been absorbed into the rice and the rice is just slightly al dente, about 20-22 minutes.Jenny's Tip: A trick to tell when it's time to add more broth is if the bottom of the pan is exposed when you drag your spoon across the bottom.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Once the rice has reached your desired doneness, turn off the heat. Stir in the butter, mascarpone, and gouda cheese and continue to stir until the cheese and butter are melted and evenly dispersed. Stir the crispy bacon bits into the risotto. At this point, taste for salt and pepper and adjust the seasonings accordingly.
- Garnish and serve. Ladle the risotto into bowls. It should have the texture of slow moving lava. Top with the fried sage. Enjoy!
Storage Instructions
- Storage:Â Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Gently reheat in a saucepan or in the microwave (you might need to add a splash of broth to loosen the rice).Â
Rate & Review This Recipe
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This was so amazing! I’m not a big pumpkin fan, but combined with the bacon and fried sage, it was just creamy goodness. This is definitely a new fall favorite.
So happy you loved it, Erin!