Bolognese Risotto
If you like the bol but not the spag, then this Bolognese Risotto will be right up your street. The combination of these two Italian classics is sooooo tasty. Not only is it slimming friendly, it’s a properly satisfying meal for the whole family!
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NutritionPer Serving
- Calories333
- Carbs46g
- Protein21g
- Fat4.5g
- Saturates1.7g
- Sugars14g
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For the full list of ingredients and comprehensive instructions, please see the recipe card below. Before you scroll, there’s important stuff in the blurb!
If you like the bol, but not the spag then this Bolognese Risotto will be right up your street! Not only is it slimming friendly and perfect if you’re counting calories or following a plan like Weight Watchers, but it’s also a properly satisfying meal for the whole family!
This Bolognese Risotto has all the classic Italian flavours that you’d expect, but with the creaminess of a rich risotto.
You can add whatever veg you like to this recipe, so if you’re not too keen on something then just replace it with whatever you prefer. You could also top this Bolognese Risotto with a little parmesan to bring out the Italian flavours – just remember to adjust the calories or Points accordingly!
What diets is this Bolognese Risotto suitable for?
This Bolognese Risotto recipe is suitable for dairy free diets.
It can be made gluten free as long as you swap out the following ingredients for gluten free versions;
- Beef stock
Please make sure to double or triple check all of your ingredients if you’re cooking for people with allergies.
Do you need any special ingredients to make Bolognese Risotto?
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‘Great bolognese with a creamy risotto, beautiful.’
This post contains affiliate links: what this means
You really don’t need anything special to make this Bolognese Risotto, but you do need a large frying pan like this one from Amazon!
How many calories are in this Bolognese Risotto?
There are 333 calories per portion in this Bolognese Risotto, which means it falls into our Everyday Light category.
This Bolognese Risotto is perfect if you’re following a calorie controlled diet, and fits well with any one of the major diet plans such as Weight Watchers.
As a guide, an average man needs around 2,500kcal (10,500kJ) a day to maintain a healthy body weight. For an average woman, that figure is around 2,000kcal (8,400kJ) a day. Obviously, if your goal is to lose weight then you might want to adjust these slightly! You can read more about these recommendations on the NHS website.
Step 1
Chop the onion, garlic, carrot and courgette into small dice. Spray a large frying pan with low calorie cooking spray and cook for 2 minutes on a moderate heat to soften slightly.
Step 2
Add the minced beef to the frying pan and brown – this will take around 5 minutes.
Step 3
Once the mince has browned, add the arborio risotto rice. Combine fully with the veg and meat.
Step 4
Add the tomato passata, tomato puree and herbs and combine fully. Season to taste – you may need a little pinch of sweetener if it tastes particularly sharp.
Step 5
Gradually add the beef stock to the frying pan – 250mls at a time is usually enough. Stir frequently and continue to add more stock as it reduces in the frying pan, until you have 250mls remaining. This will take around 15 minutes.
Step 6
When the rice is almost cooked and you have around 250mls of beef stock left, slice the mushrooms and add to the risotto. Stir to make sure they are covered and add the remaining stock. Cook for a further 5-6 minutes until the rice is cooked but still has a little bite.
Step 7
Serve immediately with some parmesan to your taste!
What could I serve with this Bolognese Risotto?
This super filling Bolognese Risotto really is a meal in itself, but would also go really well with the following starter, accompaniment and dessert:
How do you know when Bolognese Risotto is cooked?
You should cook this Bolognese Risotto for around 25 minutes or until the rice is cooked but still has a little bite.
Standard advice here in the UK is to cook food until it has reached 70°C and stayed at that temperature for 2 minutes. This is to keep your family safe.
How long can you keep Bolognese Risotto in the fridge?
Once you’ve put it out, ideally you should eat it within an hour.
If you allow any leftovers to cool, make sure to refrigerate in a container with a lid and chill. You can keep leftovers of Bolognese Risotto in the fridge for a day.
As we all know you can get food poisoning from eating reheated rice, but it’s not actually the reheating that can cause issues, it is, in fact, the way that the rice has been stored beforehand where the problem begins.
Rice can contain spores that are resistant to heat and can survive the cooking process.
If cooked rice is left standing at room temperature these spores can grow into bacteria. At this point, the bacteria can be destroyed by reheating the rice thoroughly.
You should remember to do the following if you’re going to keep leftover rice:
- Cool the rice as quickly as possible (ideally within one hour) then put it in the fridge immediately. You can split larger portions up into smaller batches to cool quicker.
- Reheat and use any leftover rice (stored in the fridge) within one day.
- When you reheat any rice, always check it is steaming hot all the way through.
- Don’t reheat cooked rice more than once.
Can I freeze Bolognese Risotto?
Yes you can! This recipe can be frozen, but please remember to do the following;
- Freeze it as soon as it is cold enough.
- Use a container or bag that is suitable for freezing.
Don’t forget to add a label with what it is, and on what date you put it in the freezer!
As when keeping rice in the fridge, make sure to do the following if you plan to freeze it:
- Cool the rice as quickly as possible (ideally within one hour) then freeze it immediately. You can split larger portions up into smaller batches to cool quicker.
- Freeze as soon as the rice is cold.
- When you reheat any rice, always check it is steaming hot all the way through.
- Don’t reheat cooked rice more than once.
How do I reheat Bolognese Risotto?
From chilled: Place in a microwave proof container with loosely fitting lid and heat for 4-7 minutes until piping hot.
From frozen: Allow to defrost, and heat covered in the microwave for 3-5 minutes then stir. Cook for a further 5-7 minutes until piping hot.
For more information about reheating rice please take a look at the NHS website.
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Bolognese Risotto
If you like the bol but not the spag, then this Bolognese Risotto will be right up your street. The combination of these two Italian classics is sooooo tasty. Not only is it slimming friendly, it's a properly satisfying meal for the whole family!
-
Prep Time
5 MINS
-
Cook Time
25 MINS
- KCals 333
- Carbs 46G
Instructions
- Chop the onion, garlic, carrot and courgette into small dice. Spray a pan with low calorie cooking spray and cook for 2 minutes on a moderate heat to soften slightly.
- Add the minced beef to the frying pan and brown - this will take around 5 minutes.
- Once the mince has browned, add the arborio risotto rice. Combine fully with the veg and meat.
- Add the tomato passata, tomato puree and herbs and combine fully. Season to taste - you may need a little pinch of sweetener if it tastes particularly sharp.
- Gradually add the beef stock to the frying pan - 250mls at a time is usually enough. Stir frequently and continue to add more stock as it reduces in the frying pan, until you have 250mls remaining. This will take around 15 minutes.
- When the rice is almost cooked and you have around 250mls of beef stock left, slice the mushrooms and add to the risotto. Stir to make sure they are covered and add the remaining stock. Cook for a further 5-6 minutes until the rice is cooked but still has a little bite.
- Serve immediately with some parmesan to your taste!
Looking for Slimming World Syns or Weight Watchers (WW) Points?
With ever-changing plans and point calculations, we have made the decision to remove WW Points from the website - referring to your individual plan or advice from your consultant is always going to give the most accurate results.
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34 comments
See what others have to say
EmmaTuesday 1st February 2022
These values served 2 of us! We also reduced the stock to 750ml which was plenty.
LisaThursday 3rd February 2022
Thanks for the feedback, Emma
HelenFriday 14th January 2022
Is it definitely right that the dried herbs are in tbsp not tsp?
I know I can obviously adjust to our taste but I want to make it as per the recipe first time. It just seems like it will be very herby!
HollyMonday 17th January 2022
Hey Helen, yes the measurements are correct. As you have said if it’s not quite to your taste you can always reduced the amount used. Hope that helps!
KirstyMonday 3rd January 2022
Hi, as a family we don’t like mushrooms so if I leave them out, do I still need to add the leftover stock before serving or could I serve at that point?
HollyTuesday 4th January 2022
Hi Kirsty, follow the recipe method steps as they are but just omit the mushrooms if you aren’t using them. Hope that helps!
RachelSaturday 17th April 2021
Hello
Really like this recipe, can it be adapted to cook in the instant pot?
Thanks
Rachel
HollyWednesday 21st April 2021
Hey Rachel, we haven’t tried this recipe in an Instant Pot but we have an article HERE for converting recipes for the Instant Pot. It has some really helpful tips and includes a time conversion chart. Hope that helps!
RachaelWednesday 24th March 2021
Hi,
What pan is best to use for this?
I used a frying pan but when adding the stock it totally overflowed, meaning I was having to add only 100ml max of stock at a time and that whole process took almost an hour!
Thanks
Rachael
SharonMonday 29th March 2021
Hi Rachael, we used a large frying pan for this recipe. A large deep frying pan would be ideal, rather than a shallow one. Do hope this helps and hope you enjoyed the recipe.
ClaireTuesday 23rd March 2021
Hi, just checking that it is definitely 1 litre of stock as I made this tonight and it was very wet? Your picture about looks like a Pyrex pint jug. Thanks
HollyWednesday 31st March 2021
Hi Claire, yes this recipe used 1 Litre of stock the jug in the photo is a 1L pyrex jug, hope that helps!
Kerrke GrayThursday 27th August 2020
Could you use turkey mince in place of beef mince?
SharonThursday 27th August 2020
Hi Kerrie,
We haven’t tried this recipe with turkey mince but it should work well. Let us know how you get on if you try it.Thanks for getting in touch with your question.
Miss Sarah KThursday 6th August 2020
does this really serve 4? 250g mince and 150g of risotto doesn’t seem enough
LisaFriday 7th August 2020
Hi Sarah.
We’ve added loads of filling veg to the risotto, which bulks out the recipe while keeping the calories low. We thought this was enough to feed 4, but if you want to make more you can adjust the servings on the left hand side of the recipe card at the end of the web page to automatically adjust the ingredients. You’ll have to recalculate the nutritional values if they are important to you. Hope this helps.
HarryWednesday 1st July 2020
This is fantastic. So much food per portion and if you are counting calories it really fills you up. Great stuff!
HollyWednesday 1st July 2020
Hey Harry, so glad you enjoyed the Bolognese Risotto!
CazTuesday 12th May 2020
I’ve made this many times – I’ve also adapted it – I add extra veg etc and it’s a winner every dinner it’s served
Sharon FitzpatrickWednesday 13th May 2020
Hi Caz, we’re so pleased to hear this and interested to hear you’ve adapted this to suit your tastes too. Thanks for letting us know.
Clare SheridanSaturday 9th May 2020
Could you make this in the slow cooker??
Holly LevellTuesday 19th May 2020
Hi Clare, the Bolognese Risotto takes 25 minutes to cook so I’d say best to cook it in the pan. However it can be reheated so you could make ahead of time and heat from chilled by placing in a microwave proof container with loosely fitting lid and heat for 4-7 minutes until piping hot. Hope that helps!
Sandra watsonThursday 5th March 2020
Could I swap the rice for orzo?
LisaFriday 22nd May 2020
Hi Sandra. The method for cooking risotto rice and orzo are quite different and as we haven’t tried it ourselves we can’t really recommend it. We do have this fab recipe for Bolognese Bake on our website, which you might like. https://pinchofnom.com/recipes/pasta-bolognese-bake/
Sophie Branch-hollisFriday 7th February 2020
Will be making this again. It is an absolute hit.
Sharon FitzpatrickFriday 8th May 2020
Hi Sophie, so pleased to hear this and for taking the time to let us know. Enjoy making it again!
GillianWednesday 22nd January 2020
Amazing dish – cheap, easy to prepare and everyone in the house loved it! Will be adding to the list of family regulars.
Sharon FitzpatrickFriday 8th May 2020
Hi Gillian, we’re so pleased to hear that you thought this dish was amazing and that it will become one of your regular meals. Thanks for taking the time to tell us!
DianneSaturday 12th January 2019
Love that the recipient quantities can be amended for 2 people. Not tried any yet but will be soon.
JoanneSunday 15th July 2018
Made a Bolognse tonight but it was too hot to eat pasta. Would I be able to make this with pre made Bolognese???
AndreeaMonday 25th June 2018
Italian food is very good and that looks very tasty.
AmberWednesday 13th June 2018
Would this be okay to make a couple of meals out of and reheat the next day? Will the risotto keep its consistency? Hoping to be able to make this for a few lunches next week! Thank you 🙂
Mark ThompsonWednesday 30th May 2018
I take it this recipe is for two people not 6 as stated in the recipe. Gonna give this a whirl tonight. Looks tasty.
Thanks
Fiona WinningTuesday 29th May 2018
Absolutely delicious and so cheap and easy to make. My husband loved it too! Another great recipe to add to Pinch of Nom collection.
Thank you ????
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