Creamy & comforting: This vegan pumpkin risotto packs a whole lot of flavour! An easy recipe to try at home - created with pumpkin puree & arborio rice.

a bowl of vibrant pumpkin risotto on a pink table top

Mid-week dinner are gonna level up when you're adding this vegan pumpkin risotto recipe to your repertoire!

As you probably know by now, autumn is my favourite season of the year - and pumpkin recipes are right up my street, so I couldn't help but bring another one your way. I hope you don't mind 😉

I used to think risottos were difficult and time intense recipes that are only for the seasoned chefs to create, but they're honestly such simple, flavourful and comforting recipes, I can't believe I haven't tried them sooner (I think I made my first risotto about 3 years ago!)

Where to buy Pumpkin Puree in the UK

When I first started cooking with pumpkin, ready-made pumpkin puree was still hard to get by in the UK - I remember being ecstatic whenever I managed to finally find it somewhere, ha! I usually ended up making my own (& occasionally still do nowadays - homemade pumpkin puree recipe here), but every year it's now getting increasingly easier to find ready-made pumpkin puree, which is much more convenient to have on hand for recipes of this kind.

A few places that stock pumpkin puree in the UK in late summer/autumn:

Whole Foods Market
As Nature Intended
Sainsbury's
Tesco
Ocado
Amazon
Buywholefoodsonline
Healthy Supplies

What you'll need for this Vegan Pumpkin Risotto

Ingredients

rapeseed oil
fresh thyme
shallots
garlic
vegan white wine
pumpkin puree
risotto rice
vegetable stock
shiitake mushrooms
tamari soy sauce
salt & black pepper

Equipment

large pan
small non-stick pan
jug for the vegetable stock
kitchen scale to measure ingredients

How to make Vegan Pumpkin Risotto

As mentioned, this pumpkin risotto is fairly easy to create! For the base recipe all you need is a large pan - you can use either a deep frying pan or a large saucepan, both will do the job! If you're choosing to serve it with the shiitake topping, you'll also need a smaller non-stick pan to prepare them accordingly.

Start with vegan risotto recipe by heating the oil in the large pan, add the thyme and stir through - cook it for about 1-2 minutes and allow for the thyme to become fragrant. Be careful not to burn it! When it becomes fragrant carefully remove it from the oil and place it aside for later use.

Fry the diced shallots until translucent, then add in the minced garlic. Deglaze the pan with the vegas white wine - this is what will pack a whole lot of flavour for this recipe. Add in the pumpkin puree and risotto rice - stir it with a wooden spoon to combine the ingredients and allow it to heat through for 2 minutes whilst continuously stirring. Pour in the vegetable stock, 100ml at a time and continue to stir.

Make sure to stay nearby and stir almost continuously to prevent the risotto from sticking and burning in your pan.

Adjust the amount of stock depending on your type of risotto rice, the pan should never be too dry but also not swim in liquid. You will know that your risotto is ready once the rice is soft, the risotto creamy and no excess liquid left in the pan.

At this point stir in some nutritional yeast and also add the thyme back into the risotto. Combine well and then prepare your mushrooms.

Heat a little oil in a non-stick pan over high heat. Add in the shiitake mushrooms and cook for a few minutes until softened and most of their excess liquid evaporated. Take them off the heat and deglaze the pan with the tamari. Sprinkle black pepper on top and you're ready to serve.

Serve the risotto hot, topped with the shiitake mushrooms & enjoy!

What you'll love about this recipe:

it's 100% vegan
it's naturally gluten free
it's more-ish & comforting
it's hearty & warming
it packs a whole lot of flavour!
it's perfect for a meal prep
it comes with a stunningly vibrant colour
it can be served with or without mushrooms

📖 Recipe Card

Vegan Pumpkin Risotto (Gluten Free)

Romy

This creamy vegan pumpkin risotto is the perfect comfort food for the season! Full of flavour and served with shiitake mushrooms. Easy to make from scratch - gluten free & vegan!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 40

Total Time 45

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
2 shallots finely diced
2 cloves garlic minced
100 ml vegan white wine
150 g pumpkin puree
250 g risotto rice
500-600 ml vegetable stock
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast optional
salt & pepper to taste

For the topping:

125 g shiitake mushrooms
1 teaspoon rapeseed oil
1-2 tablespoon tamari soy sauce
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Heat the rapeseed oil in a large pan and place the fresh thyme into the oil. Allow to become fragrant for about a minute or two, but be careful not to burn the thyme. Remove the thyme from the pan and set it aside for later.
Fry the diced shallots in the oil on a high heat for 1 minute, then add in the minced garlic for another 30 seconds before reducing the heat to low. Pour in the vegan white wine to deglaze the pan.
Add in the pumpkin puree and risotto rice and stir to combine. Heat the rice for about 2 minutes whilst stirring, then begin to pour in the vegetable stock, roughly 100ml at a time. Continue to stir slowly and bring to a simmer, allowing for the rice to soak up the liquid. This will take about 30-40 minutes. You will know when the rice is cooked once it's completely softened and the majority of the liquid soaked up.
When done, stir in 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast (optional) the thyme back in and season to taste with salt & pepper.
In a non-stick pan, fry the shiitake mushrooms in a little oil for 4-5 minutes. Once softened, take them off the heat and instantly stir in the tamari soy sauce. Sprinkle with black pepper and serve on top of the creamy pumpkin risotto.

Notes

Looking for vegan white wine? Check Barnivore to find out which wines are vegan!

You can definitely create this recipe without using the vegan white wine, however it packs a whole bunch of flavour depth, so I wouldn't recommend skipping it entirely.

Keyword gluten free pumpkin risotto, gluten free vegan risotto, pumpkin risotto, risotto, risotto recipe, vegan pumpkin risotto

Looking for more pumpkin recipes for the fall/autumn season? Give these a go:

Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta

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