Vegan Farro Risotto with Butternut Squash
This comforting vegan farro risotto comes together on the stovetop without hours of stirring! Made with butternut squash and optional white beans for extra protein, this satisfying farrotto is perfect for guests or a cozy night in! I love it with a quick homemade chile oil.
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I try not to play favourites with my recipes…it’s kind of like saying you have a favourite kid. Buuuuuut…if I’m being honest, this incredibly flavourful, satisfying vegan farro risotto is one of my favourite recipes I’ve ever created.
Like, if I opened a cafe I would put this on the menu because I know people would go crazy for it. This, and the Blood Orange, Beet and Pistachio Salad from my cookbook Good For Your Gut, 100%.
As a dietitian who is deeply into food, farro is one of those whole grains that doesn’t get enough plant love even though it’s been eaten around the Mediterranean for thousands of years…hence this take on risotto, also called farrotto.
If you aren’t gluten free, farro is an incredible whole grain to get into your rotation. It retains a satisfyingly chewy texture when cooked, whether you boil, steam or bake it so I find that it’s more filling than some other grains…which makes it fantastic for a vegan butternut squash risotto! You can add in a can of white beans for extra protein to make this a complete vegan dinner.
And if you’ve shied away from making risotto in the past, fear not: you do not have to spend an hour stirring on the stove. Instead, you’re just sauteing the onion and squash on the stovetop, adding the farro and letting it simmer away. Magically, it will have that silky texture without all the stirring but I like to add a splash of cashew cream to take it over the top. A vegan risotto with only 20 minutes of hands on time? Sign me up!
Whip it up for a cozy night on the couch, or make it for a dinner party, along with my vegan caesar salad and chocolate mousse. This is one of those recipes that will wow anyone who tries it and they will never guess it’s vegan!
How to make this vegan farro risotto with butternut squash
Making this nourishing vegan risotto is so much simpler than you might expect. 10 ingredients. Not a lot of chopping. But there are a couple of tricks to getting that restaurant worthy flavour!
Restaurant At Home Tip #1: dice the onion and squash nice and small (about ⅓ inch cubes) so they cook faster and have a finer texture. If you buy pre-cut squash to save time, just cut them smaller!
Restaurant at Home Tip #2: Instead of buying vegetable broth, make this with the recommended vegetarian “chicken” better than bouillon. It’s 100x more flavourful – loaded with umami – than boxed broth (and more affordable per serving!)
Restaurant at Home Tip #3: I like to serve this with a super simple homemade chile oil or just some dried chile flakes! That little bit of heat really sets off the natural sweetness of the squash super well.
More nourishing vegan dinners:
- Roasted Spaghetti Squash and Pesto Dinner
- 30 Minute Green Pasta Recipe
- 30 Minute Zucchini Orzo
- Vegan Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash
- Vegan Pizza Beans Skillet
Vegan Farro Risotto with Butternut Squash
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
- 3 cups diced butternut squash, about 1 ½ lb squash
- 1 cup farro
- 4 cups water, divided
- 4 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon Vegetarian Chicken, or omit and swap water for broth
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ cup cashew cream, or storebought vegan culinary cream
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 14 ounce can white beans, rinsed and drained, optional
For Serving
- homemade chile oil, or dried chile flakes
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook onion and squash, stirring occasionally until onion is soft and glossy, about 7-8 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper.
- Add farro, stirring constantly for one minute. Add ½ cup of water, stirring until mostly absorbed, about 2 minutes.
- Add remaining water, bouillon concentrate, thyme and garlic powder. Stir and bring to a boil on high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and let bubble away, stirring occasionally, until liquid is mostly absorbed, squash is fork tender and farro is tender yet chewy, about 30-35 minutes.
- If using beans, add them now in addition to the cashew cream and nutritional yeast, stir to heat through and serve with chile flakes or chile oil.
8 Comments on “Vegan Farro Risotto with Butternut Squash”
So good, flavours are perfect, beautiful warming dish
Oh I am so glad you like it, Tina!! I LOVE this recipe and feel like it doesn’t get enough attention.
This recipe is simply delicious and so much easier to make than risotto made with rice as it doesn’t require the constant stirring and adding of broth/stock. I did use sour cream in place of cashew cream and was reminded of how much I like farro because it is chewier than rice. My meat loving husband said it was good too and I didn’t even ask him for his feedback!
Farro is QUEEN!!! Thanks for letting me your substitution worked because I’m sure others will want to know it too!
This was delicious and filling. I added the nutritional yeast to my plate only because my husband and kiddo aren’t fans. They’re missing out. I didn’t think the farro was going to absorb all the liquid but it worked perfectly. I will definitely be making this again. Might add fresh spinach at the end next time.
It’s so true! You think: this isn’t gonna work…and then it does 🙂 Adding some greens will be delicious! Thank you for taking the time to leave a rating and review…it really helps 🙂
This looks sp good and going to try it. If needing it to be gluten free, would quinoa work as a substitute for farro or is there something else healthier that you can suggest?
Hi Mary Anne,
I think in terms of texture, I would stick to rice for the risotto! OR…you could do whole sorghum if you can find it. You could do brown rice for a similar cooking time or do traditional arborio rice and then just cook it less. It will probably be ready in half the time.