Spinach Basil Pesto Risotto with roasted cherry tomatoes. So creamy and rich, you won't believe it's gluten-free and dairy-free---and vegan if you use vegetable stock. Just remember: Keep stirring! From Heather Christo.

Preheat oven to 400ºF. To make the pesto, combine garlic, basil, spinach, olive oil and lemon juice in the jar of a blender. Puree until smooth and then season with kosher salt. Set aside. Place cherry tomatoes on a sheet pan prepared with a sheet of parchment paper. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Place in the oven and roast for 15 minutes. For the risotto, in a large pan over medium heat, add the olive oil and onion. Saute the onion, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add rice and stir to coat the rice with the onion and oil. Cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, bring stock to a simmer over low heat in a small pot near by the pan. Add wine to rice and stir, scraping any bits from the bottom of the pan. As the wine cooks off, add a large ladle of stock and continue to cook and stir. As the stock cooks off, add another ladle of stock. Continue this process of adding stock and cooking it off, stirring continuously. When you are about 20 minutes in and have added most of the stock, add the spinach-basil pesto and the rest of the broth. Continue to cook another 2 minutes or until rice is tender and cooked through. Season to taste with kosher salt. Spoon into serving bowls and top with the roasted cherry tomatoes and a drizzle of olive oil. Garnish with fresh basil if desired.

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My older sister Julie taught me all about risotto in the mid-90s. I was in high school and she was already a “grown up,” married with children of her own. She always loved to cook and put dinner on the table almost every night, even in her twenties.

I worshipped the ground she walked on and was soaking up any and all tips she was willing to share, in all of life’s arenas! So cue my discovery of risotto, which happened as my sister was busy mastering the “it” dish of the moment. Lucky for me, she was willing to teach me all the techniques for making good risotto at such a young age. I still remember sweating away while I was told to “Keep stirring!!!” at top volume. After all, the creamiest risotto is the one stirred the most! This eventually led to our mother asking us make risotto for every single family dinner and holiday. We were pretty much professional risotto makers.

Here we are twenty years later (goodness, that makes me feel old!) and risotto isn’t the trendy dish it once was. Now, it’s considered a classic. I love it most for its delicious blank slate. You can add just about anything to this luscious creamy rice dish (from beets or red wine and bacon to zucchini or butternut squash—-the possibilities are endless) and create a beautiful, tasty, seasonal dish. Typical risotto calls for a liberal hand with the Parmesan cheese and sometimes with butter too, and since I no longer use dairy in my recipes, this is a much lighter version. And while, admittedly, I do miss that cheese, by constantly stirring the rice, you actually achieve a rich creaminess that will surprise you.

Plus, I’ve found that the flavors of whatever you pair with the risotto really get a chance to shine—in this case, the brilliant green color and flavor of fresh basil and spinach, accented by the sweet burst of cherry tomatoes. Pretty much the perfect combination! If you’re strapped for time, you can always stir in store-bought pesto, but I promise the few minutes that it takes to make this homemade version is well worth it.



Enjoy this risotto on its own as a meatless main course, or as a side dish. I think it would be delicious served with grilled salmon or a nice steak with a green salad. So grab the printable recipe in the sidebar and feel free to use your favorite ingredients to make it your own. Whatever you do, don’t forget: Keep stirring!

(Note: We’re working on the sidebar printables a little bit. In the meantime, you can also find the recipe here: Spinach Basil Pesto Risotto on Tasty Kitchen.)