The Christmas cookie content is officially over, and it’s time for some healthy plant based recipes like this Winter Vegetable Risotto for the new year! I don’t know about you, but I definitely over indulged this Holiday season. I am so ready to get back to eating vegetable and nutrient dense recipes! I always find it hard to switch straight to salads after eating so many vegan treats during the Holidays, so eating comfort recipes like this winter vegetable vegan risotto are perfect! Don’t worry the salad recipes are definitely coming, we just have to warm up a little. If you’re interested in more healthy vegan comfort food, I have tons of recipes on my blog. Here are some of my favorite recipes to make:
What is Risotto:
Let me share a little story with you guys of how I went vegan (I promise to keep it short!). It was the summer of 2018, and I had just finished my freshman year of college. I was ready to get on a health kick, because #freshman15. However I had no idea what it meant to eat healthy at this point in my life. My favorite food before going vegan was greek yogurt, and I was eating it a lot because it’s marketed as healthy. Throughout the summer I was getting horrible stomach cramps and I couldn’t figure out why, until one day I decided to stop eating yogurt (lol this was HUGE). What do you know, the cramps stopped.
Soon after I went on a family vacation to Universal Studios. I had the butterbeer at Harry Potter World, and I felt so sick! The next day was rough, and it was on that trip that I went vegan! I was already a vegetarian, but I decided to just go with it and stop eating all animal products. We went to a restaurant and I ordered my first vegan meal: risotto! Needless to say risotto has a special memory tied to it, so it only made sense for it to be one of the first recipes that I veganized. And that’s the story of how this Winter Vegetable Risotto was born!
So what is risotto? Well, traditionally risotto is a rice dish that is cooked with broth and cream until it become creamy. When making this Winter Vegetable Risotto recipe I knew that I wanted to keep it simple and of course whole foods plant based. That’s where the nutritional yeast and tahini come in. This vegan risotto is not only creamy and delicious, but super nutritious!
How to make vegan creamy risotto:
How do you make this Winter Vegetable Risotto? I promise it’s so simple! A lot of risotto recipes online use expensive rices, and all kinds of boujee ingredients. However this healthy vegan risotto recipe uses 8 simple ingredients that are budget friendly, healthy, and delicious. The key to making this recipe work is using the tahini with water. When you mix tahini and water you get a super creamy sauce that makes for the perfect risotto.
Why make this Winter Vegetable Risotto;
If I haven’t convinced you to make this Winter Vegetable Risotto yet, allow me one final pitch. This creamy vegan risotto is healthy, budget- friendly, meal prep friendly, and super easy to make! I love making this risotto recipe in one pot and then storing my meal prep for days to come. Honestly this plant based risotto is probably one of my most meal prepped recipes, because it works so well! I seriously love this recipe so much, and I think you will too!
Ingredients for this Winter Vegetable Risotto:
- Brown rice
- Tahini
- Kale
- Mushrooms
- Butternut squash
- Nutritional yeast
- Onions
- Garlic
Winter Vegetable Risotto
Equipment
- 1 Pressure Cooker optional
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried brown rice
- 1 butternut squash
- 1 bunch kale
- 1 cup mushrooms
- 1 onion
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Instructions
- Begin by cooking your rice as usual. While rice is cooking, chop the butternut squash and place on a nonstick baking sheet and bake until golden, about 30 minutes.
- In a large pan add the chopped onions, garlic, and mushrooms together with a bit of water and cook.
- Add the rice, chopped kale, tahini, nutritional yeast, and 1/2- 1 cup of water. Stir until everything is combined and the kale has softened. Add the cooked butternut squash and mix until coated with the tahini sauce.
- Top with sesame seeds and enjoy!
i love how hearty and super tasty and pinned to make again~