Risotto with Asparagus & Peas
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Learn to make restaurant-quality risotto with this simple recipe—creamy, cheesy, and packed with fresh spring flavor.
Photo by Johnny Miller (Clarkson Potter, 2021)
Comforting to eat—and just as comforting to make (all that stirring is like mindful meditation!)—risotto is a northern Italian rice dish cooked gently until it reaches a creamy consistency. Most people think of it as a restaurant-style dish, but this risotto recipe is easy to make at home with very few ingredients. The only thing to keep in mind is that it requires frequent stirring, so you need to stay close to the stove for 25 minutes while it cooks.
This recipe highlights seasonal vegetables, but there’s plenty of room for improvisation. Don’t love asparagus? Swap in zucchini or mushrooms. Cooking vegetarian? Use vegetable broth instead of chicken. Want to dress it up? Stir in some fresh herbs at the end. You really can’t go wrong as long as you stick to the basic formula.
Serve this risotto as a meatless main with an arugula salad or as a side to something simple, like pan-seared salmon, scallops, or grilled chicken breasts.
“Outstanding. I made the recipe exactly as written and my family declared it ‘restaurant quality.’”
What You’ll Need To Make Risotto with Asparagus & Peas
- Low-sodium chicken broth – The cooking liquid for the risotto, absorbed gradually to create a creamy consistency. Using low-sodium broth is important, as it reduces while cooking and can become too salty if not controlled.
- Unsalted butter – Adds richness and flavor. Some is used for sautéing the aromatics, while the rest is stirred in at the end for a silky finish.
- Asparagus & frozen peas – Add color, freshness, and a subtle sweetness. The asparagus provides a slight crunch, while the peas bring a delicate, tender bite.
- Onion & garlic – A classic flavor base for risotto, adding depth and aromatic richness as they soften and cook.
- Arborio rice – The foundation of all risotto recipes. This short-grained, high-starch Italian rice creates a creamy, slightly chewy texture when cooked. You can find it in the rice section of most supermarkets.
- Dry white wine – Adds depth and subtle acidity to balance the richness. If you prefer not to use wine, substitute with more broth and finish with a squeeze of lemon for brightness.
- Parmigiano-Reggiano – Adds a savory, nutty flavor and helps create the risotto’s signature creaminess.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Risotto Recipe: Step-by Step Instructions
The first step to cooking risotto is to bring your broth to a simmer. It’s important that the broth is hot before you add it to the rice, as cold broth will cool the pan down and slow the cooking process.
While the broth warms up, melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven—it’s important to use a big enough pot since the rice will expand as it cooks. Add the asparagus and sauté for a few minutes until it’s tender-crisp, then toss in the peas and cook for another minute, just until they’re defrosted.
Transfer the veggies to a plate and set them aside—you’ll stir them back in at the very end. Cooking them separately keeps them bright and tender, so they don’t turn mushy in the risotto.
In the same pot over medium-low heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and add the onions. Cook, stirring often, until they’re soft and translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute, just until fragrant—be careful not to let it brown.
Stir the Arborio rice into the onions and garlic, cooking and stirring constantly for about 3 minutes until the grains look glossy and slightly translucent around the edges. Toasting the rice in butter at this stage deepens the flavor and helps the grains hold their shape, so they don’t turn mushy as they cook.
Add the wine and cook until completely absorbed, about 1 minute.
Ladle about 1 cup of the simmering broth into the rice.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding the broth, one cup at a time, stirring every few minutes to keep the rice from sticking. Let each addition absorb before adding the next. After about 25 minutes, the rice should be al dente—tender but still with a slight bite. No need to stir constantly, just keep an eye on it and give it a good stir every few minutes.
Add the reserved veggies, grated Parmesan, and remaining tablespoon of butter to the risotto.
Give it a stir, then taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. If the risotto seems too thick, loosen it up with a splash of milk. Spoon into bowls, sprinkle with extra cheese, and serve warm.
Got Leftover Risotto? Make Risotto Cakes!
If you have leftover risotto, do yourself a favor and make risotto cakes—they might just be even better than the risotto itself! No recipe needed: just mix the cold risotto with a generous handful of shredded cheese that melts well, like fontina, Cheddar, Gruyère, or mozzarella. Scoop about 1/3 cup at a time and shape into patties about 3 inches wide and 3/4 inch thick. Coat them in panko, then fry in olive oil over medium heat until golden and crisp, about 3 minutes per side.
More Rice and Risotto Recipes You May Like
Spring Risotto with Asparagus & Peas
This easy risotto recipe brings together the best of spring—tender-crisp asparagus, sweet peas, and plenty of creamy, cheesy goodness.
Ingredients
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 bunch asparagus, preferably thin, trimmed and cut into 1-in pieces
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1½ cups Arborio rice
- ½ cup dry white wine
- ½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
Instructions
- In a medium pot, bring the broth to a simmer.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot or Dutch oven, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-low heat. Add the asparagus, salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the asparagus is tender-crisp, 2 to 4 minutes, depending on the thickness of the asparagus. Add the peas and continue cooking until the peas are defrosted, about 1 minute. Transfer the vegetables to a plate and set aside.
- In the same pot over medium-low heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Do not brown. Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, until glossy and translucent around the edges, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook until completely absorbed, about 1 minute. Ladle about 1 cup of the simmering broth into the rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until absorbed. Continue adding the broth, 1 cup at a time and stirring frequently until it is absorbed, until the rice is al dente and creamy, about 25 minutes. (Be careful not to get distracted while the rice is cooking; while it doesn’t require a lot of skill, it does require you to keep a close eye on it to prevent sticking.)
- Stir in the reserved vegetables, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and remaining tablespoon of butter into the risotto. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary. If the risotto is too thick, thin it with a bit of milk. Spoon the risotto into bowls and serve. Pass the Parmigiano-Reggiano at the table.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Calories: 277
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 37 g
- Sugar: 2 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 10 g
- Sodium: 245 mg
- Cholesterol: 20 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Love it.
Background story – I’m a “legend in my own mind” when it comes to making Italian food, but risotto is one that has always eluded me for the last 5 decades. This time I was a success. Thank you!
Another part is that I look forward to your emails. I review the recipes that I want to cook and save them in my recipe app Paprika. It allows me to scale your recipes and capture my own variations. One challenge of this approach is that the directions have part of the recipe embedded in the text (e.g. here the ingredients list calls for 4 Tbs of butter). Since there’s only two of us, I scaled the recipe by half, but forgot to change the directions on butter additions by half. No problem I just left out the last butter addition.
I also added a small ladle (~2 oz) of stock at a time, and it didn’t take long to absorb. Maybe this helped me to do it “right” for the first time. As well as quite small asparagus. I had run out of frozen peas so it was just asparagus soup.
On a scale of 5 stars this was a 10. My wife even said she thought it tasted “very very good.” So maybe there’s a chance I’ll get to my 51st anniversary this Memorial Day!
Thank you!
🙂 Glad both you and your wife enjoyed it — happy early anniversary!
Spring in a pot! Lovely, fresh flavors and easy to make. I added scallion whites with the onion & garlic, and stirred in the scallion greens and some flat-leaf parsley along with the asparagus and peas. A generous squeeze of lemon really makes it sparkle.
My family really enjoyed this recipe. It is simple, soothing, and tasty. My father in law had seconds for dessert! I did swap in some goat Gouda in place of the Parmesan and it worked well. I believe it would be delicious with Parmesan too, I worked with what I had on hand. Will make again.
Made this tonight. Loved it. Halved the recipe for 2 people and it turned out just great!
I skipped salt & pepper and instead used fresh basil, oregano & thyme. Thanks for sharing this simple and great tasting recipe!
Hi Jenn,
I made this and it was really good , this is my first time I made risotto and the out come is excellent. Im just wondering if I can substitute brown wild rice for this? For healthier versions or any suggestions.
Thanks
Rose 🌹
Hi Rose, Glad you enjoyed this! Arborio rice is the traditional option for risotto because it’s high in starch and gives that creamy texture when cooked. I’ve never tried risotto with other kinds of rice so it’s hard to say – I’m sorry! If you do experiment with other options, I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Delicious! thank you for the tip for using up what was left over. I made patties, adding Gruyère cheese and we had them with home made coleslaw and a salad. Really enjoyed them!
always check this site when i have a recipe in mind. i halved it because there’s just two of us and it was perfect.
What can I say another great recipe I make often! So good and great comfort food. Well worth the work of stirring. Every time I make this for company they all want the recipe! Thank you Jen ❤️
Love this recipe, I have made it as is and also improvised with different veggies I needed to use up—mushrooms worked great!!!
Question—I was wondering if I could double the recipe? How/would cooking change? Didn’t know if I could increase the added broth amount and wait for that to absorb or should I keep adding a cup at a time and it would take longer? Wanted to make a bigger batch at once and send some to the in-laws for dinner.
Thank you!!!
Hi Kate, so glad you like this! If you’re doubling this, I think you could get away with adding 1-1/2 cups of broth at a time and waiting for it to absorb each time before adding more as the recipe specifies. It will take a little bit longer but should work nicely as long as you keep an eye on it. Hope your in-laws enjoy!