Creamy Caprese Risotto

Creamy Caprese Risotto is a simple risotto recipe made with creamy arborio rice, juicy tomatoes, pesto, and mozzarella cheese. All of the flavors cook together in a flavorful broth made with garlic, chicken broth, and white wine. It is then finished with as much pecorino or parmesan cheese as your heart desires and a touch of fresh basil! It is an absolute perfect summertime dish.

Tomato and Mozzarella Risotto

Ever since I made my garlic shrimp risotto recipe a couple of years ago, I have been a risotto making machine. Everyone always talks about how difficult risotto is to make, but I truthfully do not believe that. I actually feel like it is pretty forgiving and easy to make. Sure, you need to give it a good stir every few minutes, but you can handle that. I believe in you!

I love risotto so much that since my initial recipe, I have also made a zucchini risotto, sausage risotto, butternut squash and goat cheese risotto, and now this deliciously simple creamy tomato risotto recipe.

This creamy caprese risotto recipe uses a blend of arborio rice, roma tomatoes, fresh cherry tomatoes, pesto, chicken broth, mozzarella cheese, salt, garlic, onion, parmesan cheese, and white wine. I love adding a splash of wine in my risotto. It really brightens up the flavor.

I only really started cooking with wine in the past two years and I remember when I first did it, I was just so amazed at how much more “restaurant quality” my recipes became. Honestly, just a couple of splashes of wine in a stew or risotto completely elevates the flavor.

What is Risotto?

Risotto is an Italian rice dish combining a short grain rice with liquids and slowly cooking it until creamy. The type of rice that is used is “Arborio”. Also, because it is a type of rice, it is naturally gluten free.

Is Risotto difficult to make?

Risotto definitely needs more stirring than making regular rice, but the stirring is not constant and it is cooked in under 30 minutes. I think Risotto is pretty easy to make, it just requires a bit of attention.

Risotto is one of those dishes that I was always scared to make because it is known to be “temperamental”. The thing is though, I don’t actually think it is. I feel like all it needs is a few extra stirs and it always ends up turning delicious. 

The only thing that may be “extra” about risotto is that you need to buy a specific type of rice. Risotto uses Arborio Rice. Most people don’t keep Arborio rice in their pantry, so you may have to plan this recipe in advanced. This recipe may not be considered a “quick” weeknight meal, but I do believe it is easy to make. Especially on a night when you have a bit more time or on a Sunday afternoon.

What do you need to make Creamy Caprese Risotto?

• Arborio Rice – This is the only type of rice I recommend using to make risotto.
• Onion/Garlic – I use normally about a half of a yellow onion for every cup of rice I use. I also use about 4-5 cloves of garlic depending on my mood. You could also substitute shallots in here.
• Roma/Grape Tomatoes – This recipe uses two different type of tomatoes. I cut up roma tomatoes to saute with the rice in the beginning and then I add whole grape tomatoes into the recipe at the mid point of the recipe. I like the contrast of tomatoes cooking into the rice and also some whole tomatoes that burst into your mouth as you eat them.
• Butter – you can easily swap this out and use olive oil, but butter is so delicious so why would you?
• White Wine – don’t skip this step. The alcohol cooks out so no worries about getting drunk.
• Chicken Broth – add the necessary liquid for the rice to cook but also adds in salty flavor.
• Mozzarella Cheese – I love to buy the small balls of fresh mozzarella or the mozzarella pearls and then just drop them into the risotto at the end of the cooking process. They get so melty and it is so delicious!
• Parmesan/Pecorino Cheese – Both are delicious options for this recipe
• Pesto – A delicious savory addition to this recipe. I almost always use store bought pesto unless I have a homemade batch at the end of the summer.
• Fresh Basil – So necessary to make this “Caprese” version.

How to make Creamy Caprese Risotto

INGREDIENTS 

• 1 cup Arborio Rice
• 1/2 Yellow Onion Finely diced
• 4 cloves Garlic minced
• 2 Roma Tomatoes chopped
• 10 oz Grape Tomatoes
• 3 tbsp Pesto
• 1 tbsp Butter
• 1/4 cup White Wine sauvignon blanc
• 4 cups Chicken Broth
• 1 cup Parmesan Cheese shredded
• 6 oz Mozzarella Pearls Ciliegine
• 5 leaves Basil
• 1/4 tsp Sea Salt plus more to taste
• Balsamic Glaze optional

INSTRUCTIONS FOR CREAMY CAPRESE RISOTTO

• Add butter to a large saute pan over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the diced onion and cook for 7 minutes before adding the garlic. Stir and cook until the onion becomes translucent.
• Add the rice, 1/4 tsp sea salt, and diced roma tomatoes to the pan. Stir to mix it with the onions and garlic. Add the wine and two cups of the broth and cook on medium heat until liquid is almost evaporated. Give this a good stir every couple of minutes.
• Once the liquid is almost gone, add in your grape tomatoes and 1.5 tbsp of pesto, and another cup of broth. You should always wait until the broth has cooked into the rice before you add an additional cup of broth. You should see that the dish is becoming very creamy. Give it a good stir every few minutes.
• After you add your 4th cup of broth, add in your mozzarella cheese. 
• Once the fourth cup of broth has evaporated, the risotto should be fully cooked. The risotto should be soft and creamy, but not watery. If you think the risotto is hard, add a little water (1/4 cup), stir, and cook it for an additional 5 minutes or until it has cooked into the rice.
• Remove it from the heat and stir in the parmesan cheese and fresh basil. Then, taste it and add a little salt or pepper to taste. I like to save some of the cheese to use as a topping when I plate the recipe.
• Before serving I add in a little bit more pesto, parmesan cheese, and top with a balsamic glaze.