Sausage, Tomato, and Roasted Garlic Parmesan Risotto

4.69 from 16 votes

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Combine your love of Italian meat sauce and risotto with this Sausage, Tomato, and Roasted Garlic Parmesan Risotto recipe! A creamy, tomato flavored rice with cheese, roasted garlic, and Italian sausage.

Roasted garlic and tomato paste let this risotto shine! Perfect with spicy Italian sausage, chicken, or shrimp. Great as a hearty side dish or full meal. Vegetarian friendly. Comfort food. | Three Olives Branch | Sausage, Tomato, and Roasted Garlic Parmesan Risotto | www.threeolivesbranch.com

Why You Will Love This Recipe

Risotto is one of my all-time favorite foods!  When I find risotto on a menu, I know I have to get it.  

You can bring the joys of risotto home with this Sausage, Tomato, and Roasted Garlic Parmesan Risotto.  

Roasted garlic and tomato paste let this risotto shine! Perfect with spicy Italian sausage, chicken, or shrimp. Great as a hearty side dish or full meal. Vegetarian friendly. Comfort food. | Three Olives Branch | Sausage, Tomato, and Roasted Garlic Parmesan Risotto | www.threeolivesbranch.com

Ingredients

These are the ingredients you need for this sausage risotto recipe:

  • Arborio Rice
  • Italian Sausage
  • Tomato Paste
  • Roasted Garlic
  • Garlic Powder
  • Butter
  • Red Onion
  • Parmesan Cheese
  • White Wine
  • Chicken Stock
  • Salt
  • Black Pepper

Equipment

This is the equipment you need to make the recipe:

  • Measuring Cups
  • Measuring Spoons
  • Cutting Board
  • Knife
  • Large Pot
  • Small Pot
  • Cooking Spoon
Roasted garlic and tomato paste let this risotto shine! Perfect with spicy Italian sausage, chicken, or shrimp. Great as a hearty side dish or full meal. Vegetarian friendly. Comfort food. | Three Olives Branch | Sausage, Tomato, and Roasted Garlic Parmesan Risotto | www.threeolivesbranch.com

Instruction Overview

First melt some butter and cook the onion.

Then toast the rice in it to get a little browning.

Add the wine and cook until reduced but not all gone.

Slowly add a little stock at a time, while constantly stirring. When it is almost absorbed, add a little more stock and repeat.

Some people say that they do not notice a difference if they stir or not, and just let the rice sit there and cook in all of the liquid at once.  But I DO notice a difference.

The stirring and gradually adding of the liquid definitely makes the risotto creamier.

Grab a glass of wine or a friend and hang out with your risotto for a bit, stirring as it cooks. 

Yes, you can go back and forth to the pot stirring every few minutes, but the best ever risotto I made was when I was constantly stirring.

Once you get the texture you want, add the remaining butter along with the cheese, roasted garlic, and tomato paste.

Season to taste as desired.

Serve warm and top with the slices sausage! Or mix it in!

Modifications and Substitutions

You could also swap the sausage for chicken!

Pecorino Romano is always a great swap for Parmesan.

Roasted garlic and tomato paste let this risotto shine! Perfect with spicy Italian sausage, chicken, or shrimp. Great as a hearty side dish or full meal. Vegetarian friendly. Comfort food. | Three Olives Branch | Sausage, Tomato, and Roasted Garlic Parmesan Risotto | www.threeolivesbranch.com

Kim’s Tips

The quality of Parmesan in this Sausage, Tomato, and Roasted Garlic Parmesan Risotto is extremely important.  

The cheese is a primary flavor and so you want to use ingredients that taste good as it will just make the dish better.  If you use the pre-ground, cheese in a can stuff, it will not taste as good.  You get out of it what you put into it!

Making risotto was always somewhat intimidating to me.  I would hear about how difficult it is to cook. Lots of stirring and the gradual adding of liquid sounded complicated so I avoided it for a long time.  

But it is really not that difficult, it just takes a little time and attention with the stirring.  

Just get comfortable, grab a glass of wine, and settle in for some one-on-one personal time with your risotto.  You can do it, too!  It is definitely worth the effort and this Sausage, Tomato, and Roasted Garlic Parmesan Risotto will likely become a family favorite!

FAQs

What is the secret to a good risotto?

Stirring!
You will hear a lot of answers to this question, but the best risotto I have ever made was when I was constantly stirring.
The more you stir, the more creamy starches you make to get that texture you want.

What makes risotto so creamy?

The creamy taste comes from starches released by the rice when you stir.

Do you use stock or broth for risotto?

Honestly either one is fine!

Should you stir risotto as it cooks?

Yes! This is important to get the creamy rice texture!

Roasted garlic and tomato paste let this risotto shine! Perfect with spicy Italian sausage, chicken, or shrimp. Great as a hearty side dish or full meal. Vegetarian friendly. Comfort food. | Three Olives Branch | Sausage, Tomato, and Roasted Garlic Parmesan Risotto | www.threeolivesbranch.com

Want more risotto?  Try out our Roasted Leek and Brie RisottoBalsamic Caprese Risotto or Roasted Asparagus and Sweet Corn Risotto.

Tomato and Roasted Garlic Parmesan Risotto

4.69 from 16 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Gluten Free, Pork
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 4 servings

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Roast your garlic if it is not done already (see note).
  • Place the stock in a pot and heat over medium low. You want the stock to be warm when adding it to the risotto so that the temperature change does not affect the rice.
  • In a large pot over medium heat, melt 3 Tbsp of the butter. When melted, add the red onion. Cook until the onion is translucent but not yet browning, approximately 3-5 minutes.
  • Add the rice and garlic powder. Stir. Continue cooking to slightly toast the rice until it is just starting to show a little brown color, approximately 3-5 minutes.
  • Add the white wine to the pot. Cook until the rice is almost dry, where most of the wine has been absorbed.
  • Start cooking your Italian sausage while your risotto is going. Heat a medium saute pan over medium heat. When hot, add the sausage. Cook until browned, approximately 5-7 minutes. Flip and cook until the other side is browned and the sausage is cooked through, approximately 5 minutes more. Set aside.
  • Add 1/2 cup of stock to the rice. Stir continuously until most of the stock has been absorbed. Repeat this process one cup of stock at a time until the rice is cooked thoroughly. You want the rice to have just a little bit of bite left so that it is not completely mushy. Depending on your rice, you may need more or less stock for the right consistency so start tasting the rice after 4 cups have been added.
  • When your rice is cooked through, remove the pot from the heat. Add the rest of the butter, the Parmesan cheese, roasted garlic, and tomato paste. Stir to combine.
  • Taste the risotto and season with salt and pepper as desired. Serve with Italian sausage or other meat of choice if desired.

Notes

Learn how to make roasted garlic here!
One head of roasted garlic is enough, but if you are a garlic lover like me, go for two!
Any white wine is fine, just make sure it is something you enjoy drinking as the flavors will concentrate into your food.

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By on November 9th, 2016

About Kim

Kim has grown up with a passion for cooking good food! You can find her in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes, making dog treats, and eating Italian food!

More posts by this author.

27 thoughts on “Sausage, Tomato, and Roasted Garlic Parmesan Risotto”

  1. Those pouches are brilliant. I cook for only two of us, so then I’m always playing games with the rest of the can, preserving it – and so I really don’t use tomato paste as often as I’d like to! (I tried the fancy gourmet store tube – but it cost so much I hardly dared use it! Not much help there… ) I have to keep an eye out for them here.

    Oh, yeah, your risotto looks good, too… LOL

    Reply
    • Hi Anne,
      I was in the exact same boat! Loving these pouches, they are right with all of the other Hunt’s tomato products. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

      Reply
  2. 5 stars
    So delicious! We didn’t have white wine so I substituted red wine for white. I also cut up the sausage after cooking.

    Reply
  3. Just made this tonight. Huge, huge success! I use a 3/4 cup ladle and set a date night with me and my risotto on medium low. The goal is to get the sauce absorbed into the rice and keep it as one mass (think green slime) and make sure that the wet gloop turns to gloss before you add in the next ladle-full.

    I honestly do not know if it would be possible to make this dish better. It is perfect. The mild sausages I grilled were the perfect compliment. The creamy rice, the tangy tomato and the rich salty cheese–topped with the zest of the brown garlic and a shake (or two) of lively parsley made this dish the envy of any other risotto recipe. THANK YOU!

    Reply
    • Thank you so much, Donna!

      I am SO glad you liked it and you have completely made my day 🙂 Your date night in the kitchen with the risotto sounds perfect!

      Reply
  4. 5 stars
    LOVED this! Could make it without the sausage and it would still be hearty enough for a full meal. Not as great leftover, but that’s okay because it’s so delicious the first night you probably won’t have leftovers anyway!

    Reply
  5. 5 stars
    Great Risotto recipe!!!! Made it the other night with great reviews from everybody and there wasn’t a teaspoon leftover! 🙂

    Reply
  6. 5 stars
    Tried making in the Instant Pot—was definitely easier yet equally tasty compared to the stovetop method! Sautéed the onion for a minute with butter, toasted the rice for ~3 minutes with butter + oil; broth to rice ratio of around 2:1, pressure cook for 5 minutes and then quick release.

    Reply

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