This Date Night Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto is perfect for a special occasion or dinner for two. It’s simple to make but tastes mega fancy! This recipe is gluten-free and can be made dairy-free if needed.

Two white bowls with risotto with butternut squash in them with a napkin on the side

Butternut Squash Risotto with Sage

Some nights are all about quick and easy dinners like weeknight lentil soup or quinoa chili. And other nights are for spending a little more time and care to prepare dinner and eating something that makes you feel pretty damn fancy. This recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto is one of those dishes. 

It starts with roasted butternut squash that gets pureed and added to the pan with rice, sage, white wine, and veggie broth and cooked down until tender and creamy.

If you’re intimidated with how to cook a butternut squash make sure to read this guide.

How to make this recipe

Start by roasting the squash in the oven. While it cooks, you’ll start working on the rice. Simply sauté some shallots, garlic and sage in the skillet then add the rice.

rice in a pink pan

Then you’ll slowly begin to add in the broth 1/2 cup at a time and keep stirring the rice until its tender. Once it is, you can add in the butternut squash (which you can puree before).

Butternut squash risotto in a pan

Your final risotto should look something like this! The colour of the risotto will depend on how much squash you add, and if you add it as a puree or in small cubes. (both ways are delicious)

Two bowls of butternut squash risotto topped with sage with a pinch bowl of pepper on the side

What to Serve with Butternut Squash Risotto

I like to serve the risotto as the main dish.

If this is what you are planning to do, then I recommend pairing it will a side salad and perhaps a soup. I would recommend using citrus and acidic flavours in the salad because this will help cut the richness of the risotto. As for the soup, keep it on the lighter side. A nice tomato bisque or this vegan beet soup would work great!

If you are looking to serve a more traditional Italian dinner, this risotto would probably be considered more of the first course or “primo piatto”.

Feel free to combine this with eggplant parmesan, or for my meat-eaters, saltimbocca, scallops or fish. That’s what makes this recipe so great – it can be the main attraction or not, either way, it is delicious and impressive!

Tips for making this recipe perfectly

  • Use arborio rice or any short-grain rice. For this recipe, I use short grain brown rice to keeps things extra healthy, but technically any short grain rice will work. (Though I’d recommend sticking to the short grain brown rice as in the recipe, or to use arborio rice.) 
  • Adding a splash of white wine to the recipe gives a little kick of acidity to the risotto. If you don’t have any white wine, you can add a tablespoon of lemon juice instead. 
  • One of the key secrets to making a perfect risotto is patience. That’s right! No quick tricks here my friends. So go ahead and use this as an excuse to pour yourself a glass of wine, put on your favourite playlist on Spotify, and just ENJOY the process of making some risotto! Can you say #selfcare?
  • If you’re wondering, can risotto be reheated? The answer is YES, YES IT CAN! But do yourself a favour and reheat your risotto in a pan rather than a microwave. Add a little extra splash of water or vegetable broth in the pan along with the risotto to help loosen it up and get that nice smooth & creamy texture. 

If you’re feeling a little intimidated about the process of making risotto, tasty has a great how-to video you can watch here!

A bowl of butternut squash risotto topped with sage leaves

What can I do with any leftover butternut squash?

This recipe only calls for about 3/4 cup of butternut squash, so you’ll likely have some butternut squash leftover. Save any leftover squash to use in another recipe like this Spicy Thai Butternut Squash Soup or this Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese.

Other great date night recipes to try

A white bowl wit orange risotto in it topped with sage leaves

If you tried this date night roasted butternut squash risotto or any other recipe on the blog let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment/rating below! Be sure to follow along on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook for even more deliciousness!

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A bowl of butternut squash risotto topped with sage leaves

Date Night Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto

★★★★★ 5 from 9 reviews
  • Author: Jessica Hoffman
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 2–4 servings 1x
  • Category: Main
  • Method: Cook
  • Cuisine: Italian
  • Diet: Vegetarian
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Description

This Date Night Butternut Squash Risotto is perfect for a “fancy” at home dinner that is easy to makes but tastes like you’re dining at a restaurant!

Scale

Ingredients

Roasted butternut squash puree: 

  • 1 small butternut squash

Risotto: 

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 shallots, finely chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 5 sage leaves
  • 1 1/2 cups short-grain brown rice or arborio rice
  • 2 tsp butter (or dairy-free butter if needed) 
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 4–6 cups vegetable broth, heated (in a pot or microwave)
  • 3/4 cup butternut squash puree 
  • 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • a generous handful of grated parmesan cheese (or dairy-free cheese for vegan)
  • salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
  2. Cut the butternut squash in half and place face down on the baking pan. Bake for 30-45 minutes until the squash is tender. Remove and let cool.
  3. Remove the seeds, peel and transfer about 3/4 cup worth of the squash to a blender. blend until smooth.
  4. Heat the olive oil in a pan on medium-high heat.
  5. Add the shallots and cook 3-4 minutes, until translucent. Then add the garlic and sage and cook another 2 minutes.
  6. Add the rice and butter and mix together, letting the rice toast for about a minute, then add in the wine and cook until the liquid has evaporated.
  7. Slowly add the broth, a 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently until the liquid is completely absorbed before adding more broth.
  8. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes or until the rice is al dente. Add broth, as needed.
  9. When the risotto is almost done, add in the butternut squash, nutmeg, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. 
  10. Divide into bowls. Garnish with sage and extra parmesan if desired.

Notes

Use arborio rice or short-grain brown rice to make this recipe.

Adding a splash of white wines gives a nice acidity to the dish. If you don’t have white wine on hand you can add a splash of lemon juice. 

To test if the consistency of your risotto is right, run a spoon through the risotto in the pan. If it slowly seeps back together you’ve got the consistency you want! 

You’ll also know the rice is cooked when it is soft, but with a very slight bite to it. (Like pasta that is cooked al dente) 

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 bowl
  • Calories: 291
  • Sugar: 8g
  • Fat: 10g
  • Saturated Fat: 3g
  • Carbohydrates: 40g
  • Fiber: 6g
  • Protein: 11g

Keywords: risotto with butternut squash, healthy risotto recipe, butternut squash risotto