Pumpkin Risotto with Goat Cheese

Pumpkin Risotto with Goat Cheese & Dried Cranberries is a perfect fall comfort food – Rich, creamy & perfect for an elegant weeknight meal or a vegetarian Thanksgiving.

The pumpkin craze is real folks! Is it just me, or is pumpkin everywhere this year?! Pumpkin Spice Cookies, Pumpkin Spice Cereal, Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter, and of course, the iconic Pumpkin Spice Latte. It’s a bit overwhelming – I even have a Pinterest board dedicated solely to Pumpkin.

In an effort to keep up with the Pumpkin-wielding Jonses, I’m throwing this Pumpkin Risotto with Goat Cheese & Dried Cranberries into the mix.

While some people may have a pumpkin obsession, my obsession generally lies with risotto. Like my Lemon Mascarpone Risotto, Beet Risotto and Grilled Shrimp Risotto.

Not only do I like eating risotto, but I thoroughly enjoy the process of making it – Mainly because I get to stand over a hot stove when it’s freezing cold outside. Freezing cold = 60 degrees and below in my book.

The process of making risotto is easy, but it does take some babysitting because you need to “feed” the risotto. We’re feeding the risotto with a ladle full of stock time after time, letting it fully absorb between each addition.

The process takes about 20 minutes from start to finish, and it’s a full evolution. The risotto starts as hard grains of rice, then it becomes more plump, and then, through all the stirring and the feeding, it takes on the most incredible creamy texture that’s tasty on it’s own, but also totally customizable with any ingredients of your choosing.

Pumpkin Risotto with Goat Cheese and Dried Cranberries in bowl with a Barolo wine pairing.

This is the most amazing fall risotto. The pumpkin and dried cranberries just call out Thanksgiving to me. Plus, I’m making this risotto totally meat free, meaning that it would be a perfect option to serve for a vegetarian Thanksgiving.

The creamy pumpkin lends a rich, earthy flavor to the mix, the goat cheese adds tang and creaminess, and the dried cranberries give zing and add their beautiful color to the dish.

Pumpkin Risotto with Goat Cheese and Dried Cranberries in bowl - Close up shot.

🍽 Serving suggestions

What’s your favorite pumpkin dish or product of the season? I’d love to hear in the comments below.

Wine Pairings for Pumpkin Risotto

  • Barolo has a firm tannins and great body that will cut through the creaminess of this dish.
  • With its buttery notes, Chardonnay pairs nicely with the creamy risotto and pumpkin.
  • Bubbles are always fun – Especially for a special occasion. Try Cava, Prosecco or Champagne.

If you loved this Pumpkin Risotto I would appreciate it so much if you would give this recipe a star review! Also, be sure to snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #platingsandpairings and tagging me @platingsandpairings.

For more great Platings & Pairings recipes, be sure to follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

More risotto recipes:

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Overhead shot of pumpkin risotto in bowl with goat cheese & cranberries

Pumpkin Risotto Recipe

This Pumpkin Risotto with Goat Cheese and Cranberries is a perfect fall comfort food. It’s rich and creamy and perfect for an elegant weeknight meal. Or try serving this to your vegetarian guests at Thanksgiving.
4.97 from 117 votes
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Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 4 cups bone broth (or vegetable stock)
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 shallot (minced)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
  • 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • Fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 cup crumbled goat cheese
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Instructions

  • In a medium saucepan, whisk together the stock and pumpkin over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to low. Cover and keep warm.
  • Melt the butter in a large dutch oven or saucepan over medium heat. Once the foaming subsides, add the shallot and salt. Cook until softened, 2-3 minutes. Add the thyme and rice and cook for one minute longer.
  • Add the white wine vinegar and a ladle of warm stock and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated. Add another ladle of stock, and continue cooking until evaporated again. Continue cooking, adding a ladle of stock at a time, and allowing to evaporate in between each addition. Cook until the rice is done, but has a bite to it, it should be creamy in texture, and will take about 20-25 minutes.
  • Mix in the parmesan, half of the parsley, and nutmeg. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with the remaining parsley, goat cheese and dried cranberries. Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?Mention @platingsandpairings or tag #platingsandpairings!

Nutrition

Calories: 478kcal | Carbohydrates: 78g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 867mg | Potassium: 219mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 9815IU | Vitamin C: 3.1mg | Calcium: 155mg | Iron: 4.3mg

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110 thoughts on “Pumpkin Risotto with Goat Cheese”

  1. 5 stars
    There are basically two kinds of people. The pumpkin haters and the pumpkin EVERYTHING people. I love to see you embracing the inevitable of this flavorful season! 😉 And I love the combination of flavors you have here! Canned pumpkin puree is pretty darn bland, but I love how you sweetened it up with the cranberries and add the tang from the goat cheese! Also, this would be an awesome starter course for Thanksgiving!!! Yum!

    Reply
  2. I too have a pumpkin risotto up on my blog and looking at yours, I am absolutely drooling. The color came out so rich and adding those cranberries … so very interesting!

    Reply
  3. To be honest Erin, it’s been a week since I’ve cooked a proper meal, but I feel like you may have inspired me to get out to this funk and hop on the seasonal bandwagon! Thanks so much for sharing this delicious recipe 😀

    Reply
  4. 5 stars
    Made this tonight for dinner and it was delicious! I am NOT a pumpkin sweets girl so the fact that this was savory was perfect. So warm and comforting!

    Reply
  5. This was absolutely fabulous, and not difficult to make. Next time, I’m thinking of adding some toasted walnuts to the top. Thanks for a great recipe!

    Reply
  6. Question, I’m making this for thanksgiving, do you think I could make this a few hours prior to dinner? Could you reheat it without it getting overcooked?! Thank you!

    Reply
  7. I made this and paired with pecan-crusted grouper—the flavors were so amazing my fiancé and I have vowed to cook it for our next gathering with friends! The richness of the Parmesan pairs fantastically with the lightness of the feta..and the dried cranberries were such a great component too! I added a pinch of white pepper and about 1/8tsp cayenne. Delicious! Thank you so much for this recipe!

    Reply
      • I’m wondering if you get enough pumpkin flavor and texture by putting it in with the broth? How would it work to add the pumpkin puree at the end, after you have finished preparing the risotto? Since you heat everything after all the ingredients are added this would seem to be okay. What do you think?

        Reply
  8. Have you ever made this recipe a couple of days before? I’m looking for recipes to make beforehand to minimise my cooking the day of. How does this risotto do after a day in the fridge?

    Reply
    • Hi Jana – I definitely prefer this recipe right after it is prepared. Although it is good reheated, it loses its wonderful texture. The best way to reheat it would be in a warm oven.

      Reply
  9. 4 stars
    I’ve made this two times, the first attempt wasn’t bad but I’ve been missing that wine flavour from the risotto. The next time I used 1/2 cup of dry white wine like with a classic risotto, left the vinegar out and it was waaaaay better!
    I also like everything creamy so I just melted the goat’s cheese in, it was heaven. Never thought of pairing pumpkin and risotto before, thanks for the idea!

    Reply
  10. Really surprised by the amount i got out of this recipe, had doubled the quantities of everything hoping to get approx 10 meals to last us the week…came out with 6 medium size portions, so felt like a bit of stuffing around for not much result! I did make fresh puree though as i would avoid processed food wherever possible.

    Reply
  11. Even after cooking for an hour and adding more vegetable stock, my rice never cooked. Thinking the pumpkin puree was too heavy? Any suggestions?

    Reply
    • What a bummer Ali! I’ve never had that happen. It sounded like you did everything correct, even adding more stock. Perhaps your heat was not on high enough? You should also be sure that the stock is warm when you’re adding it.

      Reply
  12. 5 stars
    My husband and I absolutely love this recipe! We made it last year, and were so excited for it to become fall so we can make it again!

    We aren’t huge fans of goat cheese, so we subbed feta and it’s phenomenal!
    Thank you so much for this delicious recipe!

    Reply
  13. 5 stars
    No joke, my husband said this dish was “the food of the gods.” It was really delicious. The only note I would make is that it’s important that your saucepan is medium sized. Mine was really big, so the liquid evaporated too fast. Nothing to do with the recipe, just a note on technique because I’m a risotto newb. Thanks so much, this will become a fall regular!

    Reply
  14. 5 stars
    This is one of my favorite recipes ever – easy enough to make, but impressive enough to serve to anyone! Warm and comforting and savory and rich I honestly don’t have enough good things to say! Thank you so much for sharing!

    Reply
  15. 5 stars
    Hi there, thanks for sharing this. I was planning on making this tomorrow for Christmas so I’m not sure if you’ll be able to get back to me so quickly, but I was a bit confused about the stock. Step one says to add stock and the purée, but later on we add warm stock to the pan. The ingredients mentions four cups, so is it 2 cups with the purée in step one then add 2 more cups gradually later? Apologies for my confusion, new to cooking but loving this site. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Hi Judes – I’m sorry I wasn’t able to respond sooner! I hope you were able to make the recipe. To clarify, you mix together the stock and pumpkin puree. That mixture gets added to your rice. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  16. I’ve made this twice (I love the flavor), but it had a weird bitter aftertaste both times. I used homemade stock, and I thought that was the problem, but I had the aftertaste again tonight using stock that tasted fine.
    Any ideas what could cause this taste? I was thinking maybe the nutmeg or the parmesan I used (I just used pre grated, did you grate it yourself?)
    I really like the combo of flavors here, so I’m hoping to get this figured out

    Reply
  17. 4 stars
    Delicious! Didn’t change a thing except leaving out the parsley because I don’t like it, and boiling/mashing my own pumpkin because pumpkin puree is not available in my country. That in itself is a miracle, because I always feel the need to change 100 things about a recipe, but this was good as it is! Only complaint is that the portion size is a bit small if you eat this as a full meal. Definitely add some greens on the side!

    Reply
  18. 5 stars
    I made this risotto last year and it was amazing. The recipe is easy to follow and the results are a lovely, unique side dish to any Thanksgiving meal. I cannot wait to make it again this year!

    Reply
  19. 5 stars
    This was GREAT! I had bone broth in the freezer that I’d made from last year’s charcoal-grill-roasted holiday turkey so that added a lovely, smokey depth of flavor. I’m keeping this recipe to make again. As with all risotto-making, don’t be tempted to walk away from the stovetop to do other things, you need to pay attention in order to add more liquid in a timely manner.

    Reply
  20. 5 stars
    Amazing! This came out perfect and was delicious! And I’ve never made risotto from scratch before and your instructions made it so easy. You given me new skills and some great new confidence in the kitchen. Thank you!

    Reply
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  22. 5 stars
    I am not a fan of pumpkin. At all. but this recipe has been a favourite of mine ever since I first tried it, so easy and so delicious, and it looks awesome too!
    only change I would suggest: add the pumpkin together qith the parmesan so it keeps its full colour and taste!

    Reply
  23. 5 stars
    This is so delicious! I will definitely make it again. Used dried herbs because that’s what I have on hand, and swapped in plant butter & 1/4c FYH plant-based parmesan to keep it vegan. Instead of feta, I added some toasted walnuts as a garnish. Just a beautiful and tasty dish! Thank you for the recipe!

    Reply
    • Hi Danielle – Unfortunately risotto is one of those dishes that is best served right after making it. Otherwise the rice absorbs too much liquid and becomes mushy.

      Reply
  24. 4 stars
    What a great recipe idea! I love risotto and pumpkin, and hadn’t thought of them together. The garnishes of goat cheese and dried cranberries were inspired.

    I have to admit, I nearly doubled the amount of canned pumpkin bc I just wasn’t getting enough of that flavor. I also used the traditional 1/2 cup of dry white wine (I was shocked by the tiny amount of white wine vinegar in the recipe). Those were my only adjustments.

    This required way less prep than my usual mushroom risotto. I bought a costco amount of canned pumpkin so I’ll definitely be making this again!

    Reply

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