Tomato-Basil Risotto is fresh and light, yet decadent and creamy. This one pan recipe is delicious any time of year!
Although summer doesn’t “officially” start until later this month, I’ve always considered June 1st to be the kickoff to the best of the four seasons.
Bring on bike rides, steamy nights, fresh cut grass, and garden raids to make all my summer favorites, including Tomato-Basil Risotto.
This light and fresh take on risotto is a DREAM. Creamy, velvety risotto spiked with juicy tomatoes and herby basil? Bring it on!
We purchased a fresh basil plant at the grocery store last month and I love how simply picking up the planter to water causes the leaves to rustle and release their magical scent. If I could bottle up the scent of this season I’d snag summer mornings, tomato plants, and basil. A truly magical trio.
Tips to Make Tomato-Basil Risotto
- If you’ve never made risotto before, trust me when I tell you it couldn’t be easier. Really, all you have to do is stir.
- As I advise in almost all my rice-based recipes – rice quality DOES matter. Risotto is made with a short grain rice called arborio rice, and I prefer Lundberg Farms or Rice Select brands.
- Arborio rice is high in starch and stirring the risotto constantly during the cooking process causes the starch to be slowly released resulting in a creamy final dish. That said, this is a dish you’ll need to stick by the stove for. Pour yourself a glass of vino and enjoy the process.
- Since there’s so few ingredients in this dish, I recommend using chicken STOCK vs broth for maximum flavor, and super ripe and juicy tomatoes. That said, if the vine-ripened tomatoes aren’t great in your area yet, select whatever tomato variety is the most ripe.
- If you’d like to keep this recipe vegetarian, you may swap vegetable stock for the chicken stock.
Eek! I’ll can it so you can get to cooking – can’t wait for you to try this elegant and lovely risotto recipe!!
How to Make This Recipe
Start by bringing 3 cups chicken stock to a simmer then lower the heat to keep it hot. You want to use hot broth when making risotto so you don’t bring down the temperature of the dish and a.) make it take even longer to cook, and b.) mess up the texture of the rice in the final dish.
Ok! In a large skillet over medium-heat next door, melt 1 Tablespoon butter then add 1 minced shallot and 2 cloves garlic that have been pressed or minced. Season with salt and pepper then saute until tender, 5 minutes.
Next add 3/4 cup arborio rice then lightly toast for 1 minute while stirring.
Now add 1/4 cup white wine then stir until it has been absorbed by the rice. You can use any white wine you’ve got except sweet wine, like a sweet riesling. I usually use sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio. The addition of wine doesn’t make this dish taste “wine-y” – it just adds a hint of sophistication. That said, you can absolutely leave it out, if you prefer!
Once the wine has been absorbed by the rice, add one ladleful of hot broth to the skillet at a time, slowly stirring until it’s nearly completely absorbed by the rice before adding the next ladleful. The whole process will take 30-35 minutes.
When there’s two ladlefuls of hot broth left, add 2 vine-ripened tomatoes that have been seeded and chopped. Ripe Roma tomatoes would taste delicious too, if that’s all you’ve got! I’d use three or four of those.
When there’s one ladleful of hot broth left, add 2 cups baby spinach that have been chopped, plus 10 fresh basil leaves that have been chopped. Continue stirring until the rice is tender and creamy.
Last step is to take the skillet off the heat then stir in 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese. Taste then add more salt and pepper (or parm!) if you please.
That’s all she wrote! Isn’t this summery risotto GORGEOUS?! You can enjoy as is in a bowl, or serve it next to grilled chicken or shrimp – YUM. I hope you love this creamy, dreamy dish – enjoy!
More Creamy Risotto Recipes
- Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto
- Sweet Corn Risotto
- Bacon, Leek and Mushroom Risotto
- Shortcut Butternut Squash and Sage Risotto
- Lighter Chicken Piccata Risotto with Crispy Capers
Ingredients
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 shallot, minced
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- salt and pepper
- 3/4 cup arborio rice
- 1/4 cup white wine, Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio recommended
- 2 vine-ripened tomatoes, seeded then chopped
- 2 cups baby spinach, chopped
- 10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Directions
- Bring chicken broth to a simmer in a small saucepan. Reduce heat to low and keep hot.
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallot and garlic, season with salt and pepper, then saute until the shallots are tender, 5 minutes. Add rice then stir to coat in butter and lightly toast for 1 minute. Add wine then stir until nearly absorbed by rice.
- Add chicken broth one ladle full at a time, stirring slowly until the broth has been nearly entirely absorbed by the rice before adding another ladleful. The whole process will take 30-35 minutes. Note: the broth will absorb more slowly near the end of the cooking process.
- When there's two ladlefuls of broth left, add the tomatoes. When there is one ladleful left, add the baby spinach and basil. Once the rice is tender, remove skillet from heat then stir in parmesan cheese. Taste then add more salt and/or pepper if necessary, and then serve.
Notes
- Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a side.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
I used to make risotto this way until I made it in Instant Pot. It turned out perfectly with none of the standing and stirring. This recipe looks delicious, so I am heading to my Instant Pot to make it. Thanks for all your great recipes!
Sounds like a great time saver!!
I am gluten free and have made this recipe so many times. My family loves it. I even quadruple it each time as it gets eaten so fast. Thanks so much. It is so colorful,delicious and easy.
I made this with my very last batch of cherry tomatoes picked from my little side garden, and fresh basil. It was amazing! My husband is not a fan of spinach, but I enlisted him to stir (he loves risotto so much that he is willing to be the main stirrer while I fix other dishes) and as we put the spinach and basil in, he was not excited at all. Big surprise – served this with grilled salmon, and there wasn’t a bit of it left. Made a second batch two days later and used vegetable broth (because I had it on hand) and it was just as good – so vegetarians – I’ll vouch for that option as well. Thank you – I give this recipe 5 stars, and I’ve made lots of risotto!
Did it tonight without the basil because i didn’t have any.
Everyone just loved it !
Thanks a lot for sharing !
Dear Kristin, me and my family really REALLY enjoyed this simple but delicious meal. Thanks for sharing!
This recipe was fabulous! I ended up using 4 cups of chicken broth and not 2.5….regardless, this is a winner!!!!! My fiance and soon to be father-in-law LOVED it! I added cooked shredded chicken when I put the tomatoes in the risotto to make it a full meal! SO SO good!
Hello from your frozen northern neighbor! As a Minnesotan rabbt, I work quickly & quietly (as a ? must!). You can use a can of your most favorite organic tomato soup (or even ? basil soup (yum!!)) in place of the physical tomatoes! The water content is equivalent: these soups are dry but bring about 1/4 cup moisture to a dish that each medium tomato ? adds 1/8 cup water (on average, by weight) through the cooking process. When I use soup instead of ?s, I usually end up needing just a bit MORE stock to increase the absorption.
Why use organic soup when you’ve got all of the beautiful fresh veggies right there?
Time, convenience, and to do something else with the veg.
Or, if you’re elderly or disabled (like me) & standing for hours to chop & prep then to stir removes your ability to represent this fabulous dish — unnecessarily!
:-)
Use creamy soups at the end of any risotto prep in order to give all of those flavors, proteins, vegetables and spices to your basic dish without fear of losing your rights yo anything.
Be safe. Stay warm. And eat wonderfully!
Hello from your frozen northern neighbor! As a Minnesotan r
Found this on Pintrest, made it using my own home grown tomatoes and basil….so tasty! Love risotto (it’s so easy, don’t be intimidated!) and this was a really nice change from my usual mushroom/spinach/squash risotto. Fresh and delicious!!!!
Awesome, Lynn! Thanks so much for the great feedback!
Ummmm me encanta ese tipo de recetas, y esta se ve deliciosa. Mil gracias por su aporte a disfrutar de una comida sana y exquisita.
Hello. This looks delicious! I was just wondering, can I substitute additional chicken broth or water for the wine?
Sure! You can just use chicken broth instead.
From one Iowa girl to another, this is a great recipe. SO good. It’s my first time making a risotto and I wish I had made about 3x as much so I could keep eating it forever. Delicious.
Found this on pinterest tonight and it was so good. I haven’t made risotto before and this was so easy. GREAT recipe,sooo tasty.
So glad to hear, Michelle!