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One of my favorite things about fall (well, in addition to basically everything else about fall) is that pumpkin recipes become totally acceptable. I’ve been working through a can of pumpkin puree over the past few days and decided that instead of making something sweet today, I’d take a stab a a low carb vegan pumpkin risotto recipe. After all, sometimes you just want to make a vegan keto rice dish.
I had pretty high hopes for this low carb risotto, but it really exceeded my expectations! I’m definitely going to make this for Thanksgiving this year, and probably a bunch more times before that. Vegetarian keto recipes are hard to come by, especially fall specific vegan keto recipes, so this is getting a gold star for sure.
Notes on Making Low Carb Vegan Pumpkin “Cheddar” Risotto
- I called this a low carb vegan pumpin “cheddar” risotto because the nutritional yeast and paprika flavors give this a really rich, smooth, cheesy flavor. If you wanted to, you could try sprinkling some vegan cheese substitute on top, but it honestly doesn’t need it.
- You could also use canned butternut squash for this, but that’s where the substitutions end.
- For the liquid, you could use any of the following: unsweetened dairy free milk, unsweetened dairy free cream, dry white wine, water, vegetable broth. Obviously, the macros will change based on what you go with.
- I used vegetable broth for the liquid, so the nutrition for this recipe are calculated based on that.
- I strongly recommend letting the cauliflower simmer in the liquid for a little bit before even adding in the pumpkin, to make sure it gets soft enough
- For this recipe, I used 1/4 cup of sliced leek, but half a small onion or a shallot would also impart lovely flavors. You can use also tsp of onion powder instead, if you really don’t want to deal with an actual onion.
Low Carb Vegan Pumpkin Risotto
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup sliced leek
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp paprika
- 12 ounces about 3 cups of riced cauliflower
- 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin or butternut squash
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 cup of veggie broth or dry wine, or nondairy milk
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley optional
Instructions
- In a fairly large saucepan on medium heat, add the olive oil, leek, paprika, salt and pepper.
- Let the leek soften (cook until it's pretty translucent), stirring occasionally. .
- Add in cauliflower, and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Pour in the veggie broth and place the lid on the saucepan, and let this cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally so as not to have the cauliflower stick.
- Stir in the pumpkin puree and nutritional yeast.
- Taste the mixture (carefully!) - add more salt/pepper if necessary. If the cauliflower is still a bit hard, cook until it is softer, and more like rice.
- Remove the mixture from heat and garnish with parsley.
- Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Hi! I made this with some substitutions (I didn’t have everything, so I used what I had), and it was awesome!! I substituted thyme for the paprika, and 150g of goat cheese for the cheddar and it was excellent! Highly recommended!! Thank you for the recipe 🙂
Thanks for the comment! Your substitutions sound amazing, and I’m going to have to try them myself!! 😀
Can’t wait to try this!!! Thank you! Glad to know I’m not the only vegetarian keto-er out there!
What if I can’t find dry vegetable broth?
Hi Margot, thanks for pointing this out! It was originally going to say veggie broth or dry white wine, and it looks like my brain just smushed them together! Fixed now. 🙂
thanks! i’m making it tonight! and thanks for all these recipes it’s such a helpful (and delicious) resource!!
Thanks for the kind words! I love making recipes and am so glad they’re helpful!!
Oh, and I hope you enjoy this tonight! 🙂
I just made this for lunch and it’s soooo good! Now I need to find a leek soup recipe!
I’m so glad you like it, Caroline!
And ask, and you shall receive 😀
https://meatfreeketo.com/low-carb-potato-leek-soup/
It seems like there’s not enough veggie broth. It barely moistens it. Is the amount correct? Note that I doubled the recipe.
Hi Janet! Oh, no! This is the amount I always use, but moisture levels can vary depending on whether or not the cauliflower rice was covered, and how long it cooks for. The softer the “rice” gets, the more moisture it releases. So, if the rice isn’t cooked as long, it won’t release as much moisture.
I’ve never doubled the recipe before, either, so I’m not sure if that was in fact the culprit! I can make a double batch next time to see if I can troubleshoot it. 🙂
Thank you. I guess I should’ve let it cook longer. I was afraid it would turn to mush.
No problem! I should make a note about this in the recipe – it has definitely happened to me with cauli-rice before, too!
I didn’t read this properly and made it as a main dish. What would you normally pair this with as a side dish?
Hi Becca, you could definitely eat it as a main dish if you wanted! I just tend to put it next to whatever I’m eating, whether that’s air-fried tofu, or a homemade veggie burger. I’ve also eaten it as a main dish and added a bunch of seeds on top for more protein. 🙂