A bowl of this creamy butternut squash and bacon risotto is comfort food heaven!
Roasted, nutty, sweet butternut squash and salty streaky bacon combine gloriously in this creamy risotto dish. It's so easy to make, taste's delicious, and I guarantee you will be coming back for more!
There's nothing quite as comforting as a big bowl of risotto is there?
Since having children I usually make oven baked risotto's (my oven-baked prawn and pea risotto is one of the most popular recipes on the blog), but sometimes a bit of mindless stirring on the hob is just what you need!
I hope you enjoy this creamy bacon and butternut squash risotto as much as we do!
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✔️ Why should you try it?
- Creamy and comforting risotto recipe.
- Delicious flavours of Autumn.
- Easy to make.
- Family-friendly one-pot meal.
🥘 Ingredients
- Butternut Squash - peeled, seeds removed and the flesh chopped into bitesize 2cm chunks.
- Olive Oil - for drizzling on the squash before roasting.
- Bacon - smoked streaky bacon gives the best flavour, or substitute with chorizo.
- Butter - salted butter gives the risotto lots of flavour.
- Onion - 1 small white onion, finely chopped. Alternatively you could use 2 shallots.
- Garlic - 2 garlic cloves peeled and finely chopped.
- Thyme - I use dried thyme for ease but feel free to substitute with fresh thyme is you prefer.
- Risotto Rice - Arborio rice is the most widely available risotto rice. You could also use Carnaroli.
- Wine - a decent quality dry white wine, something you would be happy to drink yourself!
- Stock - chicken stock (broth) made from a stockpot or cube. Or use fresh stock if you have any.
- Parmesan - freshly grated is best for flavour, or substitute for another hard cheese like Grana Padano.
- Parsley - an optional extra which adds a lovely burst of colour to the finished dish.
🔪 Instructions
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: Preheat the oven to 200°c (180 fan/ 400 F/ Gas 6) and put the butternut squash cubes in a baking dish, drizzle with oil and roast in the oven for 20 minutes until tender.
Two: Meanwhile, heat the butter in a heavy bottomed casserole or pan and gently fry the onion, garlic and thyme until soft. This should take about 4-5 minutes on a medium heat.
Three: Add the smoked steaky bacon (chopped into pieces) and cook until the bacon changes colour.
Four: Stir in the risotto rice and coat every grain in the buttery juices. Pour in the white wine and stir for a minute until it starts to evaporate.
Five: Start adding the chicken stock, a ladleful at a time, stirring often. Make sure each ladleful of stock is absorbed fully before adding the next one. This should take 15-20 minutes.
Six: Take the butternut squash out of the oven and spoon it straight into the risotto.
Seven: Season and stir through the grated Parmesan, before serving in bowls with freshly chopped parsley to garnish (optional).
💭 Top tips
- Slowly add the stock. You must wait until the rice absorbs all of the stock before adding more. One ladleful at a time is the best way to create creamy textured risotto, that everyone loves.
- Stir often. Make sure you are stirring the risotto regularly to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. This isn't a dish you can leave to fend for itself!
- Don't overcook the rice. The rice should be tender and al dente. Don't let it get to the mushy stage!
🍴 Serving suggestions
The risotto is delicious just as it is, in a bowl with extra grated Parmesan on top. Some freshly made pesto focaccia is a great side if you want to make it go further!
I sometimes serve green vegetables with it too. Roasted tenderstem broccoli is a tasty option, as is air fryer asparagus.
📖 Variations
- Use chorizo instead of bacon for a smokier flavour.
- Substitute the butternut squash for pumpkin or sweet potato.
- Use sage instead of thyme to flavour the dish. Fresh or dried would both work.
- Stir in some creamy goat's cheese for extra creaminess. The slightly sour taste of fresh goat's cheese would complement the butternut squash and bacon really nicely.
- Up the veggies by adding frozen peas to the risotto. Add them when you have a couple of ladles of stock left. They will only take a few minutes to cook.
- Stir through a spoonful of green pesto for added taste and flavour.
- Add an interesting crunch by sprinkling on toasted pecan nuts before serving.
🥡 Storage
Store: Risotto is best eaten fresh but leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheat: Microwave the risotto until piping hot. Add a few tablespoons of water to the risotto before reheating to ensure it doesn't dry out.
Freeze: Risotto can be frozen but it will lose its delicious creamy texture.
❓ FAQS
Chop off the top stem of the squash first and then use a sharp knife to carefully cut away the skin. I find a vegetable peeler isn't robust enough to deal with its hard skin.
The skin on the butternut squash is very tough so you can pop it in the microwave before you start preparing it for 2-3 mins to make it softer and easier to remove. The skin is edible though and gets softer when baked so you may prefer to cut the butternut squash in half, drizzle it with oil, roast it in the oven and cut into cubes once cool. Personally, I prefer to peel, cube and roast without the skin for this dish.
Butternut squash has the texture of a roasted sweet potato but a bit softer. It tastes nutty, earthy, and slightly sweet once roasted or cooked.
😋Related recipes
More delicious risotto recipes to try!
- Chicken and Chorizo Risotto
- Salmon and Prawn Risotto
- Broccoli and Wild Garlic Risotto
- Asparagus, Pea and Bacon Risotto
- Slow Cooker Risotto
🍽️ More family-friendly recipes
Easy dinner recipes from the Effortless Foodie kitchen!
Recipe
Butternut Squash and Bacon Risotto
Equipment
- Kitchen Scales
- Chopping Board
- Knife
- Shallow Casserole
- Wooden Spoon
- Measuring Jug
- Cheese Grater
Ingredients
- 1 Butternut Squash peeled, seeds removed and cut into 2cm chunks.
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 25 g Butter
- 1 Onion finely chopped
- 2 Garlic Cloves peeled and finely chopped
- 2 teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 6 Streaky Bacon Rashers cut into pieces
- 125 ml White Wine
- 250 g Risotto Rice
- 750 ml Stock
- 50 g Parmesan finely grated
- 2 tablespoon Parsley chopped
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°c (180 fan/ 400 F/ Gas 6) and put the butternut squash cubes in a baking dish, drizzle with oil and roast in the oven for 20 minutes until tender.
- Meanwhile, heat the butter in a heavy bottomed casserole or pan and gently fry the onion, garlic and thyme until soft. This should take about 4-5 minutes on a medium heat.
- Add the smoked steaky bacon (chopped into pieces) and cook until the bacon changes colour.
- Stir in the risotto rice and coat every grain in the buttery juices. Pour in the white wine and stir for a minute until it starts to evaporate.
- Start adding the chicken stock, a ladleful at a time, stirring often. Make sure each ladleful of stock is absorbed fully before adding the next one. This should take 15-20 minutes.
- Take the butternut squash out of the oven and spoon it straight into the risotto.
- Season and stir through the grated Parmesan, before serving in bowls with freshly chopped parsley to garnish (optional).
Notes
- Slowly add the stock. You must wait until the rice absorbs all of the stock before adding more. One ladleful at a time is the best way to create creamy textured risotto, that everyone loves.
- Stir often. Make sure you are stirring the risotto regularly to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. This isn't a dish you can leave to fend for itself!
- Don't overcook the rice. The rice should be tender and al dente. Don't let it get to the mushy stage!
- Use chorizo instead of bacon for a smokier flavour.
- Substitute the butternut squash for pumpkin.
- Use sage instead of thyme to flavour the dish. Fresh or dried would both work.
- Stir in some creamy goats cheese for extra creaminess. The slightly sour taste of fresh goats cheese would complement the butternut squash and bacon really nicely.
- Up the veggies by adding frozen peas to the risotto. Add them when you have a couple of ladles of stock left. They will only take a few minutes to cook.
- Stir through a spoonful of green pesto for added taste and flavour.
- Add an interesting crunch by sprinkling on toasted pecan nuts before serving.
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Biana
Yum! We love Butternut Squash, so this is definitely something I would like to make.
Shalini
Easy one pot dish! I am bookmarking this! It'd be perfect for a weeknight dinner.
Jessica Formicola
You had me sold at bacon! This creamy risotto looks absolutely delicious and I can't wait to try it out!
Lima Ekram
Oh my this looks absolutely delicious! I love the idea of having butternut, risotto and bacon in one dish! Great flavors!
Michelle
We love butternut squash -- what a beautiful addition to risotto! Can't wait to try it soon!