Parmesan Squash Rice Risotto with Asparagus & Green Peas

Inspiralized Rice: Parmesan Squash Rice Risotto with Asparagus & Green Peas (Gluten Free)

Are you sitting down? Yes? Great, now let me introduce…. Inspiralized Rice! I didn’t think it...

Parmesan Squash Rice Risotto with Asparagus & Green Peas

Are you sitting down? Yes? Great, now let me introduce…. Inspiralized Rice!

I didn’t think it was possible, but one spiralized recipe gone terribly wrong, and I discovered that spiralized noodles can be made into rice-like bits” that mimic the real thing. You’re going to want to Pin, Tweet, Instagram, and post this up on Facebook – everyone should know about Inspiralized Rice! It’s that good.

Parmesan Squash Rice Risotto with Asparagus & Green Peas

It all started off on a windy, chilly morning during the latter end of a snowstorm named Hercules. My boyfriend, Lu, was working from home in an effort to avoid the miserable commute into New York City trudging through the snow (he’s clearly grown soft since his years attending college in Massachusetts).

Parmesan Squash Rice Risotto with Asparagus & Green Peas

Taking advantage of Lu being home to taste test, I decided to recipe experiment with some ideas I had on a list. This list included boiling butternut squash noodles. Two minutes into boiling some freshly spiralized butternut squash, the noodles started to break apart into little pieces as I tried to transfer them to a bowl.

Parmesan Squash Rice Risotto with Asparagus & Green Peas

Instead of accepting this as a recipe fail (of which I have many!) a light bulb went on: these little bits of butternut squash look just like rice.

Parmesan Squash Rice Risotto with Asparagus & Green Peas

Some onions, garlic and vegetable broth later, there I had it: rice made of spiralized butternut squash! If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll notice that I posted up two pictures – one of a risotto and one of a Spanish rice. Lu ate about four helpings!

If you don’t have a spiralizer yet, get one now – you’re going to want to make these rice recipes. The taste is luxuriously savory and the consistency is shockingly similar to that of normal rice. Best part? No wheat! No gluten! No heavy carbs or calories.

Parmesan Squash Rice Risotto with Asparagus & Green Peas

You won’t believe what other spiralized vegetables can be made into rice! I guess you’ll just have to tune in to Inspiralized to find out. Oh, and send some more snow storms towards Jersey City so I can have more snow days with my favorite taste tester.

Parmesan Squash Rice Risotto with Asparagus & Green Peas

Oh, and if you need help spiralizing butternut squash, check out my video:

Inspiralized Rice: Parmesan Squash Rice Risotto with Asparagus & Green Peas (Gluten Free)

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 1 butternut squash peeled, Blade C
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • cooking spray
  • 6-8 stalks of asparagus cut into thirds
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/4 cup diced red onion or white
  • 1 cup + 2 tbsp vegetable broth
  • 1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
  • 1/4 cup cooked green peas

Instructions

  • Place your butternut squash noodles (in batches) into a food processor and pulse until most of the big strands are chopped into “bits” similar to rice. Don’t process too much or else the bits will be too small. Once done, set aside the butternut squash noodle rice into a bowl.
  • Place a large skillet over medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Add in the asparagus, lightly spray with cooking spray and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until asparagus turns bright green and is soft when forked. Set aside.
  • While the asparagus is cooking, place another large skillet over medium-low heat and add in the olive oil. Once the oil heats, add in the garlic, cook for 30 seconds and then add in the onion. Cook until the onion starts to soften.
  • Add in 2 tbsp of the vegetable broth and let reduce. Then, add in the squash rice, season with salt and pepper and stir. Add in 1/2 cup of vegetable broth and let reduce. Once reduced, add in another 1/2 cup of vegetable broth and let reduce. At this point, taste test the risotto. If the squash rice needs to cook more, add another 1/2 cup of broth. If it’s cooked enough, add in the Parmesan cheese, stir to combine and let cook for 30 seconds or until cheese melts fully into the squash rice.
  • Add the asparagus and peas to the skillet with the risotto and stir to combine. Pour into bowls and enjoy!

Parmesan Squash Rice Risotto with Asparagus & Green Peas

Parmesan Squash Rice Risotto with Asparagus & Green Peas

Parmesan Squash Rice Risotto with Asparagus & Green Peas

Parmesan Squash Rice Risotto with Asparagus & Green Peas

Parmesan Squash Rice Risotto with Asparagus & Green Peas 

with love, Ali

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comments

  • I know this kind of defeats the purpose of the spiralizer, but do you think I could put butternut squash cubes through the grating attachment on my food processor and achieve the same shape? I only ask because I have leftover butternut squash cubed in my fridge, but I want to try this recipe.
    • Unfortunately, it would not - BUT, it would still be yummy (just not the same consistency!) Give it a try and let me know how it works out - @ me on Twitter, hashtag me on Instagram, post it on my Facebook page or send me an email!
      • I was hoping it would turn out like cauliflower rice. I'll give it a try and let you know. Thanks for the recipe and advice.
  • Love your blog! I just got a spiralizer and am dying to try this one! One question -- is there anything I could substitute the asparagus for? I just don't like the taste of them. Thanks :)
    • Green string beans work well in terms of consistency - otherwise, try any green veggie!
  • Excellent! thanks for the tip.
  • Thank you so much for your recipes! I just made this and posted on IG (tagged ya)! I can't believe how simple it was, but so much flavor! Yum!! I didn't have asparagus/peas, so I used broccoli & corn. Mmmm!!
  • Great innovation. Have you thought about spiralized bowls? If mixed with egg and baked on cupcake tins upside down, wouldn't a nice tostada-like bowl be the result?
  • Made this tonight but added bacon and mushrooms and left out the peas. I also added a scoop of plain Greek yogurt in the end to make it creamy. This has got to be the best invention I have ever found, I can't get over how delicious this was!! I didn't let my fiancé have seconds so I had left overs for lunch tomorrow :)
  • If I don't own a food processor, is there another way to get the squash into "bit" size pieces? Manually? I have a vitamix blender, but I'm afraid they would get pulverized in there...
    • The Vitamix would definitely pulverize! You could just lay the noodles out on a cutting board and try to chop as best as you could into finer pieces! Hope that helps :)
    • I used a cheese grater and it turned out great! Took a bit of work and time to shred up the whole squash, but it had nearly the same texture as the pictures.
      • I'm so glad you were able to do that - time for you to get a spiralizer and save time!
  • I was inspired by your recipe but didn't have butternut squash so I used carrots I had in the fridge already, added 1 cup of brown rice (and more liquid!) and used Pecorino Romano! So yummy... thanks for the great recipes
  • This was a HIT. Really delicious, I'm having to hold myself back from raiding the fridge for the leftovers. Thank you Ali!
  • Can this be made ahead of time and reheated for lunches throughout the week? I love spiralizing but most dishes seem like they need to be made right before serving.
  • Hi Ali- Can I make this ahead of time and the reheat it at the house I am going to for Thanksgiving? If yes, reheat in microwave or on stovetop?
  • My favorite inspiralized rice is the turnip rice in your stuffed acorn squash recipe. I made it accidentally with a rutabaga instead of a turnip, and I actually prefer it that way. AWESOME! Now I'm going to try this one. PS. Its so cute that you want to be snowed in with your new hubby. Awwwww.
  • Hi Ali - how much garlic for this recipe? I don't see it in the ingredient list. Thanks!
  • Hi, The instructions portion of the recipe references garlic, but I don't see it listed in the ingredients? How much garlic? Thank you!