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A deliciously moreish Creamy Tomato Risotto topped with crispy garlic breadcrumbs – made with mainly store cupboard ingredients. It’s tender and creamy, with a slightly tomato-ey tang and just the right amount of sauciness to make it utterly moreish!
“This recipe is delicious and so easy to make. We had all of the ingredients in which was a bonus. The crispy breadcrumbs on the top make a very tasty addition.”
The sauce base for this Creamy Tomato Risotto (my new favourite btw) is mostly made up of tinned tomatoes. Every bite of that tender rice is infused with rich tomato-iness, all finished off at the end with cream, parmesan and black pepper.
And then of course we’re topping it off with crispy garlic crumbs – because you know how much I love my toppings (hello recipes with a million toppings such as my spicy Parsnip and Sweet Potato Soup, upgraded Avocado on Toast and veggie Spicy Bean Tacos).
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card below***
First make your tomato based stock. Place a tin of chopped tomatoes in a large jug with vegetable stock and tomato puree. Stir and heat through (in the microwave or in a pan) until hot.
Soften a chopped onion and garlic in a pan with a little oil, then the rice and wine.
Wait for the wine to almost fully absorb, then add the tomato stock really slowly, a ladle at a time.
Finish the risotto with cream, parmesan, lemon juice and salt & pepper.
For the breadcrumb topping, melt butter in a frying pan, add salt, garlic, and panko breadcrumbs and brown, stirring often. Turn off the heat and stir in parsley, lemon zest and parmesan.
Top the risotto with the breadcrumbs to serve.
Recipe Tips
If you’re cooking this as a vegetarian recipe, use an Italian-style vegetarian hard cheese instead of Parmesan (which isn’t a vegetarian cheese).
If you have any leftovers make these Crispy Tomato Arancini balls.
Do you cover risotto while cooking?
For this recipe you don’t need to cover the risotto whilst cooking.
Can I make risotto in the oven?
Yes, preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
Start the risotto in an oven-proof pan on the hob/stovetop. Add all of the tomato-stock-mixture in at once, then stir and place a tight fitting lid on top. Place in the oven and cook for 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and stir in the cream, cheese, lemon juice, salt and pepper before serving.
The addition of the crunchy crumbs on top are so addictive, you may find yourself eating spoonfuls of the stuff before it even gets to the risotto. I find they also add a bit of variety so each mouthful is a little different.
🍽️ What to serve it with
You can serve this as a main dish by itself, or you could serve it as a side dish with:
A deliciously moreish Creamy Tomato Risotto topped with crispy garlic breadcrumbs – made with mainly store cupboard ingredients.
Prep Time:10 minutesmins
Cook Time:30 minutesmins
Total Time:40 minutesmins
Servings: 3people
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
Risotto:
400g(14 oz) tin chopped tomatoes
240ml(1 cup) vegetable stock
2tbsptomato pureepaste for US
1tbspolive oil
1small onionpeeled and finely chopped
1clovegarlicpeeled and minced
150g(3/4 cup) Arborio rice
80ml(1/3 cup) white wineoptional, replace with stock if you’d prefer
3tbspdouble (heavy) cream
4tbspgrated parmesan cheeseor vegetarian Italian-style hard cheese if you want it vegetarian
1 tbspfresh lemon juice
good pinchsalt and black pepper
Crispy Garlic Crumbs:
1tbspbutter
¼tspMaldon saltor just a good pinch of normal salt
2clovesgarlicpeeled and minced
4tbsp(30 g) panko breadcrumbs
1tspchopped parsley
zest of half a lemon
3tbsp(20g) parmesanor vegetarian Italian-style hard cheese if you want it vegetarian
Instructions
First, make your tomato-based stock. Place the tin of chopped tomatoes into a large jug. Add in the vegetable stock and tomato puree and stir. Heat this stock in a small pan or in the microwave until almost boiling, then turn off the heat.
400 g (14 oz) tin chopped tomatoes, 240 ml (1 cup) vegetable stock, 2 tbsp tomato puree
Heat oil in a large pan, add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes until the onion starts to go translucent, add in the garlic, stir and cook for a further minute.
1 tbsp olive oil, 1 clove garlic, 1 small onion
Add in the rice and stir until the oil has coated the rice. Add in the wine and stir.
150 g (3/4 cup) Arborio rice, 80 ml (1/3 cup) white wine
Wait for the wine to almost fully absorb (stirring regularly) and then add the tomato stock a ladle at a time, ensuring each ladle has almost fully absorbed before adding the next. Ensure you stir regularly.
After about 15-20 minutes you should have used up all of the stock. Have a taste of the rice. It should be softer, but still have a bit of a bite to it (it will soften up further when you add the cream). If the rice is still too hard, you can add in a ladle or so of water. Turn the heat down to very low.
Next, make your crispy garlic crumbs. Heat the butter in a small frying pan until it starts to foam slightly.
1 tbsp butter
Add the salt and the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds.
1/4 tsp Maldon salt, 2 cloves garlic
Add in the breadcrumbs and stir to ensure the butter covers all of the breadcrumbs. Allow to cook until the breadcrumbs start to brown a little, stirring often. Keep a close eye on them as they burn very easily. When ready, turn off the heat and add in the parsley, lemon zest, and parmesan.
4 tbsp (30 g) panko breadcrumbs, 1 tsp chopped parsley, zest of half a lemon, 3 tbsp (20g) parmesan
Now go back to your risotto. Add in the cream, parmesan, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Give everything a good stir, whilst on the heat, and then serve topped with the crispy breadcrumbs.
3 tbsp double (heavy) cream, 4 tbsp grated parmesan cheese, 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, good pinch salt and black pepper
Video
Notes
Can I make it ahead?
Risotto does taste best when serving right away, however you can make it ahead if you like. Make the risotto, then cool, cover and refrigerate. Reheat in a pan over a low heat. Add in a good splash of stock to loosen it up when reheating.The garlic crumbs can be made ahead too. Once cooked, then cool, cover and refrigerate. You can bring them to room temperature before sprinkling on top of the risotto, or you can reheat them for 30 seconds or so in a hot pan.
Can I freeze it?
I prefer risotto made and eaten right away, but you can freeze it if you have leftovers. Quickly cool, then cover and freeze any leftovers (keeping the risotto and crispy crumbs separate). Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat the risotto in a pan over a low heat. Add in a good splash of stock to loosen it up when reheating.The garlic crumbs can be defrosted in the refrigerator, then reheat them for 30 seconds or so in a hot pan to crisp them back up again before sprinkling on top of the risotto.
Can I make it gluten free?
Yes, use gluten free stock and make sure your tomato puree/paste is gluten free (it often is, but it’s best to check). Make breadcrumbs from gluten free bread by grating or whizzing them up in a food processor (or use gluten free panko).
Can I make it vegetarian?
Yes, simply replace the parmesan with vegetarian parmesan (or vegetarian Italian-style hard cheese).Nutritional information is per serving.
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Hi, I’m Nicky, bestselling author, award-winning recipe creator and food photographer. I love to cook comforting, delicious and easy recipes and share them with you.
Very tasty Risotto quick and easy to make.
I tried it with the Crispy Garlic Crumbs and it was nice but now prefer to fry some smoked bacon until it is crispy and sprinkle this on top instead of the Garlic Crumbs and serve with newly baked Garlic Bread.
Either way it’s a quick and tasty meal using everyday ingredients, a winner for me!
Replaced the 3 tbsp double (heavy) cream for Mascarpone cheese and also added a real tomato and it was delicious and super creamy! Thank you for the idea!
I love risotto. It is one of my favorite meals. This recipe is a winner. My only problem with it? It doesn’t make enough! Next time I’ll have to double it. I also didn’t taste the risotto before taking it off the stove, so it was a little firmer than most other risottos I’ve made, but that’s my fault. I’ll just add more broth next time.
We have made this twice now, each time coming out perfect, although we make ours in our instant pot. We blended the tomato ‘stock’ in our blender, then tipped it into our instant pot, fried the onions with garlic powder (we had no fresh) then tipped that into the pot, added the rice, and put it on high pressure for 15 mins.
We gave it a 10 minute natural release then quick released. Gave it a good stir (perfect risotto so far.. rice is cooked perfectly)
Then we followed your last step in your instructions, then served.
My daughter has Dyspraxia so food tastes different to her, she is notoriously difficult to please. but she adored this meal! we have needed to double the recipe in our last batch so we could freeze some for her. (we upped the cooking time by 2 minutes, came out perfect)
This meal tastes amazing and will be is now on our menu rotation.
This is a fantastic recipe but the topping makes it
Very tasty Risotto quick and easy to make.
I tried it with the Crispy Garlic Crumbs and it was nice but now prefer to fry some smoked bacon until it is crispy and sprinkle this on top instead of the Garlic Crumbs and serve with newly baked Garlic Bread.
Either way it’s a quick and tasty meal using everyday ingredients, a winner for me!
Thank you for an excellent recipe!
Replaced the 3 tbsp double (heavy) cream for Mascarpone cheese and also added a real tomato and it was delicious and super creamy! Thank you for the idea!
Hi Alice,
Loving the addition of mascarpone, so glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks
Chris & Nicky
I love risotto. It is one of my favorite meals. This recipe is a winner. My only problem with it? It doesn’t make enough! Next time I’ll have to double it. I also didn’t taste the risotto before taking it off the stove, so it was a little firmer than most other risottos I’ve made, but that’s my fault. I’ll just add more broth next time.
Thanks Amanda,
Glad you enjoyed the recipe
Chris & Nicky
Hi Nicky,
Thank you so much for posting this delicious recipe! I’m literally stuffing my face with the results as I type.
I doubled the ingredients so I would have lots of leftovers. I’m so glad I did!
Thanks Again!
What a gorgeous risotto recipe, love the intense tomato flavour.
We have made this twice now, each time coming out perfect, although we make ours in our instant pot. We blended the tomato ‘stock’ in our blender, then tipped it into our instant pot, fried the onions with garlic powder (we had no fresh) then tipped that into the pot, added the rice, and put it on high pressure for 15 mins.
We gave it a 10 minute natural release then quick released. Gave it a good stir (perfect risotto so far.. rice is cooked perfectly)
Then we followed your last step in your instructions, then served.
My daughter has Dyspraxia so food tastes different to her, she is notoriously difficult to please. but she adored this meal! we have needed to double the recipe in our last batch so we could freeze some for her. (we upped the cooking time by 2 minutes, came out perfect)
This meal tastes amazing and will be is now on our menu rotation.
This looks so so flavorful!!
Thanks Ami, it really is. Definitely my favourite risotto recipe now!
I have never made Risotto. It looks like the perfect dish for a cool fall day.
Hope you give it a go Julie, it’s a great risotto 🙂