A creamy, indulgent avocado risotto - with no cheese! Vegan comfort food at its best.
I'm usually not too inventive with avocados. Usually I just slice or dice them, and serve them as a garnish on top of some sort of Tex-Mex dinner. Sometimes I try to be a bit more imaginative (avocado ice cream is truly amazing!!), but I always think I should be creative with them more often. So to help me enjoy Veganuary, I thought I'd make something imaginative with one of my favourite vegetables (or, if you want to get technical, fruits), and I made this gorgeous avocado risotto - it's creamy and indulgent, and totally vegan!
How do you make vegan risotto?
Risotto might not be the first dish that comes to mind when you think about vegan food - it's often loaded up with heaps and heaps of cheese. And while I love a good cheesy risotto as much as the next person (...okay, probably more), it's not exactly vegan-friendly.
But luckily, a lot of the creaminess of a good risotto actually comes from the rice itself, not from added dairy. When you stir the rice, it releases its starch, and helps to create that beautiful creamy 'sauce' - no cheese required.
Basic risotto mixture
This avocado risotto recipe begins with a basic 'white' risotto - just onions and garlic, cooked with arborio rice and good quality vegetable stock. Add the stock a little at a time, and stir the dish regularly, for perfectly creamy rice. You can even add a good glug of white wine if you fancy it.
Of course, you could just stop there - you've already made a simple vegan risotto. It's delicious as is, but it doesn't have a huge amount of flavour, so you'll probably want to take it up a notch - and what better than to add the creamiest vegetable on the planet, avocado!
Avocado risotto
You'll want to use nice, ripe avocados for this avocado risotto - you want them to be slightly soft to the touch. If you use unripe avocados, you'll just end up with hard pieces of avocado in the risotto, and it won't actually add to the creaminess of the dish at all.
If you use super ripe avocados, though, they almost melt down through the rice, and really help to amp up the luxury. Some of the avocado remains in pieces, and the rest gets mashed right through the rice.
Finally, just add a good squeeze of lemon juice, some fresh herbs, and plenty of salt and pepper, and you're done! The flavour is mild and creamy, and the avocados really shine through - perfect for avocado lovers!
Can I make risotto in advance?
Absolutely! Risotto is actually one of my favourite things to cook for dinner parties, because you can have it all cooked in advance, then just reheat it when your guests are ready.
The only thing to remember with this particular risotto is that, despite the squeeze of lemon, avocado does brown a little when it's exposed to the air for long periods - so if you cook this risotto the day before you need it, and leave it in the fridge, it will definitely look less attractive the next day.
If you do need to cook your risotto in advance, I'd just stop halfway through the recipe, and then add the avocado at the last minute, when you reheat the rice. As with all rice dishes, make sure you cool it quickly, store it in the fridge, and then reheat it really thoroughly before serving.
And there you have it! A rich and creamy avocado risotto that makes the perfect vegan comfort food.
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Vegan avocado risotto
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Print Pin CommentIngredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 red onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 460 g (~ 2 cups) arborio rice
- 1.25 litres (~ 5 cups) vegetable stock
- 2 large, ripe avocados
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Small bunch fresh herbs, chopped - I used coriander (cilantro), but chives, parsley or basil would all work well too
- Salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Heat a dash of oil in a large, deep frying pan or wok. Add the red onion and garlic, and cook over a medium heat for at least 5 minutes, until soft and fragrant (you don't want it to brown).
- Add the uncooked rice, and cook over the heat for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Then add the vegetable stock a little at a time (I usually add about 250ml / 1 cup at a time), stirring regularly and allowing any excess liquid to be mostly absorbed each time before adding more. Continue cooking the rice like this until it's cooked to your liking - I needed around 5 cups of stock in total, but you don't need to use the full amount, or you can use a little more, depending on your preference.
- Remove the flesh from the avocados, and cut into small chunks. Use a fork to mix it into the risotto, mashing some of the avocado and leaving some of the chunks whole. Add the lemon juice, chopped herbs, and salt and pepper to taste, and mix well to combine. Make sure the risotto is piping hot, then serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
Holly says
I made this because I had an avocado that needed eating urgently.
To my surprise, it was a really nice dinner! I added some cherry tomatoes too because I thought it might need more flavour, but it didn't need them at all - it was lovely!
Thank you for sharing such a tasty recipe ☺️
Becca Heyes says
Thanks Holly, glad you liked it!
[email protected] says
My family loved this! We will surely cook it again.
Thank you!
Becca @ Easy Cheesy Vegetarian says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Emile says
Hi Becca,
Wonderful recipe. Thanks for the idea. I must confess that I didn't go towards the vegan direction but just took the idea of adding avocado in my regular mushroom risotto. Such a wonderful addition it was.
Thanks a lot for such a wonderful recipe and idea.
Cheers
Becca @ Easy Cheesy Vegetarian says
Thanks Emile, that sounds good! :)
Phil Avery says
I love avocado, and I love risotto, so you hooked me in. I actually tried to make something simialr a while back but it turned out way too bland, so I'm interested to give this a go this weekend and (take credit) show the rest of the fam that avocado and risotto is a delicious food marriage!
Arnab Saha says
I have no idea about but I thing i have to try it in my home because I love vegetarian menu. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful idea.
thapelo kooreng says
I like the dish because its simple and easy to cook.
Brian says
What would you serve with this for dinner?
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Hi Brian! You can serve this just how you would serve any other risotto, so maybe with some salad and garlic bread or something :) You could also add some extra veggies if you like - maybe a big tray of roasted veg on the side?
Kelly says
Hey, I just discovered your blog through Pinterest, and this recipe looks great! Also, as someone studying and teaching English, the name caught my eye (love it). I have been trying to reduce the amount of meat I'm eating and possibly become completely vegetarian eventually.
I was wondering if anyone has ever cooked this with liquid stock, and if so, do you still add water, or all stock? I don't usually buy the cubes, so I was just looking for some feedback. Thanks!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
It doesn't matter if you don't use stock cubes - just use liquid stock instead of the water and cube :) enjoy!