Easy Bacon Butternut Squash Risotto.
Are we really here right now?!
I think we are. Let’s eat bacon butternut risotto and maybe take a bowl to all those friends we unfriended (or at least muted?) on social media until the election was over.
It’s insane how different our world is today. I remember having to BEG my mom to tell me who she voted for when I was a kid, and most times she wouldn’t even end up telling me. And I had absolutely no idea who she did vote for, or what it meant back then, but just the simple fact that she wouldn’t tell me? I mean, that was reason enough that I couldn’t handle NOT knowing. I would harass her endlessly.
I assume she didn’t tell me because I probably would have ran my 8-year-old mouth to someone while in the grocery store or I’d just randomly scream MOM WHY DID YOU VOTE FOR ROSS PEROT while we were shopping in Limited Too, but the thing was that she didn’t tell anyone. Not ANYONE.
I’m sure my dad knew, but she didn’t discuss it with my aunt or my grandma or anyone. No one discussed it in such a weird taboo way! And now… well I know who my third grade best friend’s boyfriend’s sister’s mother-in-law voted for yesterday thanks to social media.
What a crazy world we live in. This is nuts.
Thank goodness we can go back to watching Matthew McConaughey looking all hot even while he talks to himself and drives down a deserted highway on commercial breaks from This Is Us. (OMG. This Is Us. Are you watching? Dying over it. And this never happens this early.)
So, risotto? Peace offering risotto?
This bowl has everything I want to eat on a chilly fall night. Soft, bacon-toasted, wine soaked rice with caramely butternut squash cubes, crispy bacon, fresh sage and parmesan out the wazoo.
It’s the most perfect friendsgiving side dish OR just a side dish for your dinner tonight. It’s even more perfect as a full meal and pair it with a little spring greens salad and I’m good to go. I mean, great to go.
I feel like this is such a classic, simple meal, but I couldn’t go without sharing because the flavors are so spot on. Isn’t it funny how sometimes a simple dish sounds SO delicious, but you didn’t even THINK about it until someone mentions it? That happens to me all the time.
Thanks to instagram, I constantly see things like new little toppings for avocado toast or a certain way to cook chicken and I’m all WHY HAVEN’T I BEEN DOING THAT before immediately grabbing exactly what I need and making said recipe.
So while this risotto is pretty fantastic… what I did with the leftovers is even more fantastic. You’ll see that soon enough but let’s just say it involved LOTS of cheese (shocking) and a dipping sauce. Mmmm.
Don’t spoil the secret!
Bacon Butternut Squash Risotto
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups butternut squash cubes
- salt and pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 4 to 5 cups low-sodium chicken or veggie stock, warmed
- 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- fresh sage for topping
- fresh parmesan shavings for topping
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add the bacon. Cook until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crispy. Once crispy, remove it with a slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel-lined plate to drain any excess grease.
- Remove about 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease from the skillet and reserve it for the risotto. Add the butternut squash cubes to the skillet with a sprinkle of salt and pepper and the nutmeg. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash is just fork tender (you don’t want it to be mushy!).
- Heat a saucepan or pot over medium-low heat and add the reserved bacon grease. Add the arborio rice and stir. Toast the rice until the pieces are translucent and fragrant. Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in the white wine, constantly stirring or at least stirring every minute or so, until the rice absorbs the wine. Once the wine is absorbed, add in 1 1/2 cups of the stock, stirring until the rice absorbs the liquid like it did with the wine. Repeat this 2 to 3 more times, until all stock has been added and the rice is al dente. You want it to appear “hydrated” – and want there to be some liquid left when serving. This process should take about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Once the rice is cooked, stir in the butternut squash cubes, parmesan cheese and almost all over the bacon, leaving some for the topping. Top with a bunch of fresh sage (you can stir some in if you want, it will get incorporated once you serve the risotto) and parmesan shavings. Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
That color and flavor. WHOA.
38 Comments on “Easy Bacon Butternut Squash Risotto.”
I adore risotto! And LOVE This is Us! So good. I was hooked with the first episode and that rarely happens.
same!! it usually takes me awhile to get into shows but it’s soooo good.
#1 my parents did the same thing. They refused to say who they voted for and urged my brother and I to make up our own minds. Man, social media has made people think their opinions are way more important than they are! No one CARES who your voting for. Do you.
#2 I have a huge butternut squash from my farm share..and I’ve been searching the google machine for a new recipe. Thank you for reading my mind.
#3 This is us. Holy geez. so, so good.
so good!
Limited Too!!! I remember being 9 and wanting my entire wardrobe to be from there because that’s where all the cool kids shopped.
I love every single ingredient in this risotto. These are some of my favorite fall ingredients together! Gorgeous!
i also wanted EVERYTHING from there! and my mom would let me get like one shirt and i had to figure out which one to choose, haha.
Yes! My parents never ever ever talked about who they were voting for – I don’t even think they told each other! And I’m 99% sure they never voted the same way.
And thank god I have all these ingredients at home (sans the fresh sage), because this risotto is happening ASAP. I’m thinking Friday date night in :)
love that idea. xoxo
I’m definitely heartbroken about this election. I need to drown my sorrows in this creamy, comforting risotto. Maybe with some wine too.
it’s certainly a good comfort food!!
Yes, yes! This looks like the most comforting bowl of risotto ever and I can’t wait to try it! And now I’m so curious as to what you did with the leftovers!
ohhh just you wait. :)
ohh, I already whipped up this recipe today (delicious!) and now I was hoping to find what magic you did with the leftovers and then copy you ^__^
I thought fresh sage was bitter!
really?! i don’t find it to be bitter but you can also fry it before. :)
This is ultimate comfort food for cozy winter nights! Love the bacon and butternut squash combo.
thanks jenna!
Sold. I want to take this dish to my family thanksgiving dinner. How would you recommend getting out there so it’s still tasty? My family lives 2 hours away. I will be arriving around 1 and dinner is usually served around 4. Should I make the whole thing at home and reheat at my Aunt’s house or partially cook and fully assemble closer to dinner time?
ahhh that’s a really tough one debra. if you make it ahead of time and transport it, the rice will soak up most of the liquid. i wonder if there is anyway that you can do the squash and bacon at home, then make the actual rice at her house and stir everything in?
I’ve been looking for a new recipe involving butternut squash. You just made my day.
thank you amy!
Oh man, this would DEFINITELY help me get over the election blues!! When I was little my parents wouldn’t even tell EACH OTHER who they voted for – what?!?
Kristina does the Internets
haha so crazy! now we tell everyone EVERYTHING!
But actually, part of the reason we have this president- elect is partially because so many people did secretly vote for him. I know this isn’t a political blog, but people perhaps were embarrassed or afraid to say for whom they were voting. Just trying to work through it all myself… prayers for peace and balance!
I’m using it now and it’s awesome! I’ve signed up for my account and have been bringing in fat paychecks. For real, my first week I made $303 and the second week I doubled it and then it kinda snowballed to $120 a day.
Just follow the course>>>>>>>> http://www.CareerToday00.Tk
I wanted to make this but didn’t have butternut squash. I decided to roast cantaloupe and use that instead! It was delicious and added a sweetness to it that went well with the bacon!
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What a great recipe! I made it last night and will have the leftovers for lunch today.
When people ask me how I voted, I tell them, “By secret ballot.” I figure that was important enough to our founding fathers to establish that method of voting, then it’s important enough for me to respect it. :-D
Umm yess. Just made my shopping list and am making this tonight. Thanks for another stunner!
So not only is this recipe fantastic and hits ALL the flavor notes…. I also just really loved this post. Thank you for reminding me of Mathew M’s hot bod and for adding a new show to my must watch list. I haven’t even heard of This Is Us… oops!? Im loving the sound of whatever you did with leftovers. Never enough cheeeeeese.
up to I saw the paycheck which had said $8845 , I have faith that my friends brother woz like actualy erning money part-time on their apple labtop. . there aunt had bean doing this 4 only 7 months and resently took care of the morgage on there mini mansion and bought themselves a Lancia . view it now….
========www.jobprofit9.com
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Made this dish last night and it was SOOoooOOoooOOoo good! Although I traded out the butternut for delicata squash since I already had one. Also my first time making risotto and it was much easier than I expected! Thanks as always for sharing all your yummy, creative recipes with us! :)
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Made this for Thanksgiving this year and it was amazing!! Such a warming and comforting dish. Thanks, Jessica!