If it isn’t apparent yet, I am all-in on the fall-inspired dishes right now. Apples, squash, pumpkin anything…I am all about it. All of it. I love the shift into comfort food at the start of Autumn and I know that my body is craving it for a reason. Ask and you shall receive hungry tummy! What better way to combine Autumn flavors and produce with comfort food, than a delicious creamy pumpkin risotto.
I had been dreaming of a pumpkin risotto for a few weeks now and even had a few readers request a recipe, but instead of a traditional risotto like this one or this one, I wanted something that wasn’t quite so labor intensive. I never mind standing over the pot, spooning the broth or stock in, one ladle-full at a time, it is always worth it, but I wanted to see if I could create a simpler method for those days that you don’t have the extra time to dedicate an hour of your life to just one pot of food. In comes the magical Crock-Pot, the closest thing I will ever have to a personal chef!
This risotto is creamy, rich and comforting without any dairy at all. It’s quite unbelievable that this is not only gluten-free, but it is also vegan. The roast pumpkin and the pumpkin puree and not only provide a beautiful rich autumn-inspired hue to the dish, but a delicious hearty flavor. If you aren’t vegan and/or dairy-free this would also be quite delicious with a good chicken stock and some Parmigiano-Reggiano at the end, though I can say with confidence neither are needed or missed. The key to a creamy risotto is opting for arborio rice rather than the trational long grain.
[print_this]Creamy Crock-Pot Pumpkin Risotto – Gluten-free + Vegan
serves 6-8
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 leek, cleaned, halved the long way then thinly sliced (white and light green parts only)
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 2 cups uncooked Arborio rice
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 5 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, split in half.
- 1 cup pumpkin puree, canned or fresh
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small pie pumpkin, seeded, peeled, and cut into 1-inch cubes
- salt and pepper
Optional – 1/2 to 2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese — preferably Parmigiano-Reggiano
Heat the olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat and sauté the leeks, onions and red bell pepper until they have softened up a bit, about 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute or two, then add all of the veggies to the crock-pot. Next pour the wine into the pan that the veggies were cooked in and scrape up any leftover bits in the pan, then add in the rice, stir around and cook until all of the wine has been absorbed. Add the rice to the slow cooker along with the broth, salt and half of the fresh thyme. Cover and cook on HIGH for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until all the liquid is absorbed.
While the risotto is cooking roast the pumpkin. Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Toss the pumpkin cubes with olive oil and a little salt, and roast for 30-40 minutes until lightly browned and tender. Stirring after 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Just before serving, stir in the pumpkin puree, roasted pumpkin and the remaining thyme. If you are adding cheese, add it now. Stir it all together, cover and let sit for another 3-5 minutes, then serve.
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34 Responses
This looks like some thing I need to try! Is it on the sweet side?
No I wouldn’t exactly say it is on the sweet side. Maybe a little sweetness from the pumpkin, but it is quite subtle.
Sounds delicious! I love pumpkin! Headed over there now…
Sounds great! Love a good (simple) crock-pot recipe – they can be a life saver at the end of a hectic day…. off to check out the recipe 🙂
Sounds wonderful. I will try it in my risotto/rice cooker. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
I never would have thought to make risotto in the slow cooker . . . I’m going to check out the recipe now.
Right? I have a feeling I will be making a lot more risotto now 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
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This is one of the most delicious things I’ve made in the crock!! The only thing I didn’t add was roasted pumpkin cubes. My grocery store was all out (even though thanksgiving is a week away??) so I used a acorn squash instead and it was still great!
What can I use instead of wine? Any suggestions. I cannot use wine because we do not drink or use it in our cooking!
Great question! I would like to know the answer as well.
Hi, you can simply swap it out for stock or water.
I’m getting an error page when I click on the link 🙁 I’m not sure why but is there anyway you could check it please?
Thanks for the heads up. I just located the recipe and updated the page. You should be all set now. Sorry about that.
What an awesome idea, I wait to make it this week!! 🙂 thanks for the recipe!
wahhhh the link to recipe no longer works 🙁
Thanks for the heads up. I just located the recipe and updated the page. You should be all set now. Sorry about that.
I clicked the link that you put on this page for the recipe where you guest posted, but the link is broken (or domain doesn’t exist anymore). Can you please provide the updated link or if it doesn’t exist anymore, please list the recipe on this page!! I really want to make it!! Thanks!!
Thanks for the heads up. I just located the recipe and updated the page. You should be all set now. Sorry about that.
The link is indeed broken! Can you pretty please provide the recipe? I made this last year & I’m craving it again!!!
Thanks for the heads up. I just located the recipe and updated the page. You should be all set now. Sorry about that.
This looks delicious! I bought all the ingredients, now reading over the recipe. I may be overlooking something but I don’t see what to do with the pumpkin puree and the pie pumpkin?
OMG I am so so sorry, when I dug through the archives to find this recipe to republish it here (it was on another website, which was taken down so I had to search to find the original recipe) – somehow the end of the recipe was cut off.
I apologize. I edited the recipe and added the remainder of the recipe. I apologize for that.
When do you add the pumpkin and pumpkin puree? It says roast pumpkin, so I imagine you roast the cubes in the oven and add in the end? Or do they go in in the beginning? Thank you! I thought I had the whole menu planned until I saw this. Definitely wanna give it a try ☺
OMG I am so so sorry, when I dug through the archives to find this recipe to republish it here (it was on another website, which was taken down so I had to search to find the original recipe) – somehow the end of the recipe was cut off.
I apologize. I edited the recipe and added the remainder of the recipe. I apologize for that.
Thank you, Beth!
Am I missing something? Like the measurements for the rice/pasta???
Hey Laurel, it’s 2 cups of arborio rice. It was up there, but the formatting of the recipe was a little screwy and it was on the line above. All fixed now. Thanks for letting me know.
Just cooked it for dinner yesterday, it was damn delicious… I used a phô vegetable broth, with wine and oignons it was perfect in the rice. The pumpkin was a magical add. Really, I didn’t eat something that good for months, thank you so much!
Hmm.. when I made this, it took WAY longer than 2 hours in the crock pot! Is there a chance I read that wrong, or is my crock pot just not up to snuff?