I went to a fancy schmancy restaurant once a few years ago and felt so sophisticated ordering the butternut squash risotto they had on special. It was rich and creamy and yummy and I remember thinking I would love to try and make it at home. I did eventually get the courage to make a risotto but I started out with just a simple Parmesan risotto. It wasn’t as scary as people had made it out to be but still it was a lot of work to stand at the stove that long just stirring. It’s one of those dishes you can do so much with by changing up what you add to it and it can make a satisfying main dish or side that can go with so many dishes. I knew I needed to find an easier way to add it to our line-up and find a way to make crock pot butternut squash risotto.
I remember so well when I was doing my morning blog search for recipes and happened to come across a recipe for risotto in the crockpot! I’m pretty sure I ran right out to the store and picked up the ingredients so we could have it for dinner. Again, it was just a basic risotto, but it was so exciting to throw all the ingredients in the crockpot and walk away. It was delicious and I decided at that point I could find a way create a crock pot butternut squash risotto recipe.
After a few versions I think I have finally found it! I could eat this for lunch all week and in fact I think I will! It would be really good paired up with a crisp green salad with a creamy dressing. Is it lunch time yet?…
- 1 1/4 cups arborio rice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 12 oz bag frozen butternut squash
- 1 small onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 3 tablespoons Gorgonzola cheese
- 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Mix the rice and olive oil in the crock
- Add remaining ingredients except for the cheese and butter
- Give it a stir and cover
- Cook on high for 2 - 3 hours
- Add cheeses and butter and stir to combine
- Let sit for just a few minutes for the cheese and butter to melt
Do keep in mind this will not not be quite the same texture as a risotto cooked on the stove. It will be a little softer but will still have the same great flavor without all the work!
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I think I’ve found tomorrow’s dinner! I’ve shyed away from risottow because I’m a very efficient person, and staring at something cook for a few hours seems like an awful waste of time, no matter how yummy the result. So I’m looking forward to testing this out, and I even have squash on hand!
4-6 servings isn’t very much. If I double the recipe, will the cooking time change much?
I was wondering the same thing! I plan on taking it to a work potluck on Thursday of this week and was thinking I would need to double (or maybe even triple) the recipe. I will let you know how it turns out!
I was wondering if you tried to doubled or tripled the recipe and if so how did it turn out? I’d like to make this for a FiendsGiving party I am attending.
I have not tried it. If you are serving it as a Thanksgiving side dish I think this will serve quite a few people since most would only take a small portion due to all the sides. How many people do you have? My only concern with doubling would be that it may not cook as evenly.
Looks amazing! I have a fresh butternut squash, do you think I could use that instead of frozen??
Hi Anne! Yes, I think it would work. However, I would cut it into tinier cubes so that is will cook a little faster since the rice cooks fairly quickly. Let me know how it turns out!
Do I use dried or cooked rice? It does not specify.
Dried. It will cook in the slow cooker.
My crockpot has digital timer. What exactly is time it takes before ready. You stated 2-3 hours.
Hi Paula! Unfortunately with slow cookers it’s impossible to predict the precise time it will take them to complete their cooking as each one varies in it’s temperature, and with the amount of steam it lets escape. For this particular recipes, I would suggest being around the first time you make it to ensure you know just how your slow cooker handles risotto. It’s one of the rare recipes for the slow cooker that probably needs a closer eye kept on it than others, but is perfect for Thanksgiving dinner because it can basically take care of itself while you work on some of the other food 🙂
I’ve been cooking mine for going on 4 hours on high, because after two it was nowhere near being done. I put two more hours on high and still not done, I just put two more hours and changed the setting to low, risotto is still crunchy! I even had to add more liquid! What’s going on?! It almost 8 pm and dinner still isn’t done! Good thing I had a back up and this will be tomorrow’s dinner! Help!
Oh no! That’s awful! Okay, a couple of things… What size slow cooker are you using and how full is it? Even at that though, it should never take that long. I think you will need to test the temperature of your slow cooker. Heat it with water and check to see if it reaches at least 210 degrees on high.
Is the type of rice important? I realize that depending on the type, cooking times may vary. But do you think using a wild or brown rice would really change all that much, as long as an eye is kept on it? Of course I realize that it may not be as “risotto-y” with a different rice :).
Hi Joelle! While I haven’t tested it out, you probably could substitute another short grain rice in it’s place. Arborio rice is pretty starchy though, so you may lose some of the creaminess of the dish. Let me know what you end up going with!
Jennifer – girl this was amazing!!!! I honestly do not have a single bad thing to say. Thank you so much for this beautiful recipe. I cooked it to bring over to my boyfriend’s tonight and it honestly never made it because I couldn’t stop eating mouthful after mouthful! That being said, to reply to some other comments, this recipe makes PLENTY of food. I would say as a side it could feed 10-12 people, or as more of a main, at least 6.
The only thing I changed was the rice – I used sprouted brown rice. I was a little worried it wouldn’t come out with a risotto-like consistency but it totally did. I didn’t have to change cooking time either, 3 solid hours on high and it was done.
MORE PRAISE – this recipe has SUCH a great depth of flavour! It just doesn’t stop! Each bite I was noticing different notes. You deserve ALL THE PRAISE for coming up with this. I will definitely be making this again (and again and again and again…)
OH and it’s so simple ANYONE can make this. Honestly – someone please show me how you could possibly screw this up.
Ok I’ll stop there because I’ve started gushing. 😉
Whoops! I meant to say it honestly ALMOST never made it! I do have some sense of self-control…
Thanks Joelle! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for testing it out with the sprouted brown rice… it’s good to know other options will work too! Happy New Year! 🙂
Great review. I’m definitely going to try this.
It was delicious! I used blue cheese instead, as it was handy and I added some red-pepper flakes and some extra spices. Healthy, hearty and tasty. Thank you for the post.
Hi Michael! Thanks so much for letting me know!
I just made this and it is outstanding! I can’t stop eating it. Thank you!
Thanks Natalie! I really love this one too! 🙂
Hey, I’ve been cooking this for around 2 hours and the liquid doesn’t seem to have gone down! Is this normal?
It depends…what temperature at you cooking it at? It can take a bit to get up to full temp… once it does it will go much quicker.
Made this at my desk today for the holiday potluck (premeasured/chopped this morning, threw it all in the crockpot at my desk, set to cook for 2.5 hrs on high, & done). It was perfect! I thought about doubling the recipe, but given the number of other dishes there’d be, I didn’t – I made the right choice as there was hardly any leftover.
Everyone who tried it, loved it!
Thank you!
This was good, but if your not a fan of onions you might want to omit. I only like carmelized onions and even though they were cooking for 3 hours it’s still very onion-y! Next time I will either sauté before hand or omit in general. My husband who hates onions said he won’t eat this dish 🙁 otherwise it was good and very easy to make
Hi there,
Is this suitable for freezing? I’ll have a lot of leftovers from this. I’ve made it before and is delicious!! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I don’t think it will freeze well. I would halve the recipe instead.