SPINACH AND CREAM CHEESE RISOTTO The risotto with spinach and cream cheese is creamy and flavorful, perfect for convincing even the youngest or those who turn their noses up at anything “green” to eat vegetables. My daughters are not crazy about risottos, but this time I must say they really enjoyed it because this risotto is creamy and incredibly tasty, and the spinach, which doesn’t have an overly strong flavor, is deliciously accompanied by the cream cheese. But now follow me into the kitchen, I’ll explain how to prepare the spinach and cream cheese risotto!
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter, and Spring
- Energy 457.15 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 65.83 (g) of which sugars 0.40 (g)
- Proteins 12.25 (g)
- Fat 13.22 (g) of which saturated 2.77 (g)of which unsaturated 1.32 (g)
- Fibers 2.21 (g)
- Sodium 350.34 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 120 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for spinach and cream cheese risotto for 4 people
- 11.3 oz Carnaroli rice
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Half onion (grated)
- Half cup white wine
- 7.05 oz spinach, cooked, boiled (or 4 frozen spinach cubes)
- 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 4 tablespoons cream cheese
- to taste salt
- to taste water
Useful tools for preparing spinach and cream cheese risotto
- 1 Immersion Blender
- 1 Pot
Preparation of spinach and cream cheese risotto
The first step is to cook the spinach: if you are using fresh spinach, wash them well and then dip them in lightly salted boiling water, drain, and squeeze them well. If you are using frozen spinach, just heat them in a saucepan until they are completely soft and cooked, adjust the salt and set aside.
In a pot, heat the oil and grated onion, as soon as it starts to fry, add the rice and start toasting it. A secret to know when the rice is perfectly toasted is to listen to it, when stirring it should make an almost metallic sound, at this point, we can proceed to the next step.
Add the white wine and continue stirring over high heat, as soon as the wine has evaporated add the spinach that we previously blended into a cream, stir again and finally add enough water to cover the rice by about 0.39 inches.
I recommend not adding too much water at once, otherwise you risk adding too much and ending up with a watery risotto, add a little at a time during cooking, this way you’ll have a creamy risotto.
Adjust the salt, when the rice’s cooking time has passed (usually about 16 minutes), first add the grated cheese, stir, then turn off the heat and add the cream cheese and stir until it melts and creates a delicious cream!
Frequently Asked Questions
In this section, you will find answers to the most frequently asked questions about preparing spinach and cream cheese risotto. If you don’t find what you’re looking for here, feel free to write to me!
What can I substitute for cream cheese?
You can substitute it with robiola, crescenza, or stracchino.
How can I store leftover risotto?
In the fridge, well covered, for a maximum of two days. After resting, it will firm up and we can make delicious arancini.
