This creamy vegan tomato risotto is bursting with sweet and savory flavors from juicy roasted tomatoes, caramelized onions and a touch of thyme!
Last week I talked about how my zucchini plants are doing surprisingly well. Well equally surprising is the fact that my tomato plants are not doing to well. I usually can count on trusty old tomatoes, but this year for some reason they're looking really sad. It's still early, so hopefully they'll perk up!
In any event, I plan to post lots of tomato recipes this summer, whether or not the tomatoes come from my own garden.
For this tomato risotto recipe I used some nice looking store-bought on-the-vine tomatoes, but I also tested it out with canned ones, just in case you want to make this outside tomato season or just want an easier version of the recipe.
The fresh tomato version of the recipe calls for roasting the tomatoes. It's a bit more work, but the extra flavor you get makes it so worthwhile!
Halve your tomatoes, rub them with some olive oil, and pop them in the oven. They're done when the skins become wrinkly and maybe form some blisters. Let them cool, remove the skin and seeds, and chop them up.
While the tomatoes roast you'll caramelize the onions. This can take a while, but it's mostly hands-off cooking. Once the onions are soft and brown, add the tomatoes, some wine and thyme. Simmer for a few, and then add the rice.
The trick with risotto is to just add a little bit of broth at a time and stir frequently. This is what enables the rice to get nice and creamy.
For extra creaminess I added some coconut milk when the rice was almost done cooking.
Tips for Making Delicious Tomato Risotto
- Save time the day of serving by caramelizing the onions and roasting the tomatoes up to two days in advance. Or just use canned tomatoes!
- If you're using fresh tomatoes for this, make sure they're nice and ripe and really good quality. If you make this during the winter or live somewhere where good tomatoes are tough to find you might just want to go with canned.
- This recipe takes some time, but it's really not a lot of work, I promise! It's a great one to make over the weekend while you're working on another project in the kitchen.
- After I made this I thought it might have been nice to double the caramelized onions and use the extra for topping. Will somebody try that and let me know how it goes? :)
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Caramelized Onion & Tomato Risotto
This creamy vegan tomato risotto is bursting with sweet and savory flavors from juicy roasted tomatoes, caramelized onions and a touch of thyme.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
- 1 pound yellow onions thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon organic granulated sugar
- 2 pounds on the vine tomatoes halved (or a 15 ounce can of tomatoes)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried)
- 1 ½ cups Arborio rice
- 3-4 cups vegetable broth, warmed
- ½ cup full-fat coconut milk
- Salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
Instructions
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Coat the bottom of a large pot with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and place over medium-low heat.
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Add the onion and toss a few times to coat the onions with oil.
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After 20 or 30 minutes the onions should begin to soften up and darken (if not, turn up the heat just a smidge). Stir in the sugar at this point.
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Continue to cook until the onions are very soft and brown, about 30 minutes more, stirring occasionally.
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While the onions caramelize, prepare the tomatoes (unless using canned). Preheat the oven to 400°.
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Rub the tomato halves with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and arrange them in an oven safe skillet or roasting pan.
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Roast the tomatoes until the skins become wrinkly and blistered, about 25 minutes.
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Remove the tomatoes from the oven and allow them to cool for a bit.
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When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, remove the seeds and peels, then coarsely chop the tomatoes. Retain any juices that form in the pan while they roast.
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When the onions are caramelized, turn the heat up to medium and add the garlic. Sauté for about 1 minute, until very fragrant.
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Stir in the wine, tomatoes, tomato paste and thyme. Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil.
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Lower the heat and allow the mixture to cook for about 5 minutes, until the liquid reduces by about a third.
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Stir the rice into the pot. Allow the mixture to simmer, stirring frequently, until most of the remaining liquid has been absorbed by the rice.
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Begin adding the broth, about ½ cup at a time, and allowing the mixture to simmer until most of the liquid as been absorbed before making the next addition. Stir the mixture frequently during this process and continue until you've added between 3 and 4 cups of broth and the rice is tender, for about 20 minutes.
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Stir in the coconut milk and allow the mixture to simmer for 2 or 3 minutes more, until the sauce is thick and creamy.
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Remove the pot from heat and season with salt and pepper.
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Divide onto plates and serve.
Hi . Could you use Barley? I like have diabetes and I am meant to avoid Arbilo ric, because it is high GI. Thanks I liv is he recip you share
I've never made barley risotto, so I'm not sure! Sorry! I'd love to hear how it turns out if you try it.
Please, can you think of a substitute for the full fat coconut milk? Cashews? Almond milk? Thank you so much.
Anything unsweetened and unflavored will work - the risotto just might not be quite as rich. I think cashew would be your best bet!
I'm using soy cream instead of the coconut milk (just in the case of this rather Mediterranean style recipe), and it works pretty well.
I think that's a great idea! I have a hard time finding soy cream in my area, so that's why I usually stick with coconut milk. Trader Joe's used to have a soy coffee creamer that worked in recipes like this, but I haven't seen it lately.
dying to try this recipe but is there a substitute for the wine? if not, will it be fine if i just leave it out??
You can leave it out, and just use some extra broth if needed. :)
This recipe was amazing. I am 12 years old and I made it for my family. It definitely took a little while, but it was so rich and creamy! I would highly recommend it with a side of garlic toast!!
Yay!! I'm so happy you and your family enjoyed it! I love to try new recipes and cook for my family when I was 12 too. :) Garlic toast would be awesome with this! Thanks so much Grace!
Hi! I was just wondering what a good substitute would be for the thyme? Thank you.
You could substitute all kinds of herbs here - oregano, sage or even some fresh basil would be nice! If you go with basil I'd suggest adding it at the very end. Enjoy!
If you sub the tomatoes for canned, what type should they be...fire roasted? Or plain diced?
Thanks
I used plain, but I bet fire roasted would be delicious as well!
Very good vegan risotto! thanks
I'm glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks so much!
What can I sub for the coconut milk? I am allergic.
You could substitute another variety of unsweetened non-dairy milk. I think cashew would be great in this dish, but almond or soy should work just fine as well!
Loved this recipe!!! It was time consuming and I was praying it would turn out. And it did! I think it was one of the best things I’ve made. Thanks for sharing it!
Awesome!! I'm glad it was worth the effort and you enjoyed it! Thanks Lexi!
I make this risotto at least once a month, and my non-vegan family raves over it! Seriously so good, as always!
Can you convert this recipe for the Instant Pot?
I'll add it to my Instant Pot list! :)
I don’t have a dry white wine , could I substitute dry white wine for sherry wine ?
I think a dry sherry would work, but I'd probably reduce the amount by about half.
just made this for Valentine's day dinner and it was absolutely delicious! doubled the caramelized onions so we could add more to the top and highly recommend it.
It says to cook the onions for 20-30 minutes, then another 30 minutes. Cooking onions for 1 hour over med-high heat seems absurd. Is this a mistake or is this really how long they are cooked for?
It's actually medium-low. Cooking them on medium high for that long would probably be a bad idea. :) It takes that long for them to caramelize. Since all stoves are different, I do recommend keeping an eye on them and adjusting the temperature as needed, but medium-low should be the right level for most.
Can I make this a day ahead and reheat?
Absolutely!
Amazing!!!! Loved this recipe so much!
This is so tasty! I'm glad to have found a delicious vegan risotto recipe that doesn't call for vegan cheese. Thanks!