What could be better than having delicious leftovers in the fridge that you can eat the next day? And what if it’s risotto that you need to reheat and make creamy again as if you’ve just ordered it from the restaurant?
Everyone knows what risotto is made of. Risotto is rice combined with rich flavors like broths, aromatic herbs, and vegetables. It’s a rich and creamy dish that is made creamier and smoother with parmesan cheese, butter, and caramelized onions.
All these tempting ingredients in a single dish; so you must know how to reheat risotto at home. If you have a well-equipped kitchen, you won’t need to start up the stove to reheat risotto. Your microwave oven will have a pre-programmed setting to reheat a dish like risotto.
If you don’t, let this informative article guide you through every method of reheating risotto the right way.
How to Reheat Risotto – 4 Easy, Quick Ways
That’s right – you can reheat risotto in not just 1 or 2, but 4 different ways. Whether you use the stovetop more than a microwave, or you use an oven for all your cooking, these tips you can follow easily with basic kitchen utensils and some amazing common pantry ingredients like butter and parmesan cheese.
1. Steamer Basket
Reheating risotto in a steamer basket is easy but requires a little bit more effort than say reheating it in a microwave. But the steam heats up the risotto really well so it’s definitely worth the extra effort.
Here’s what you do to reheat risotto in a steamer basket.
While it’s better to have a stainless steel steam basket with a lid, you can also use a colander at home. Use a heatproof and sturdy plate as a lid and wear oven mitts to avoid burning your hand once the colander and plate get hot.
Add the water to a pot and place it on the stove to get it to the ideal boiling temperature. Make sure the colander or steam basket you use doesn’t have big holes because the risotto will fall into the water as it starts to expand while warming up.
If that is the case, you can use a thin baking sheet, and keep the risotto on top of the sheet inside the steamer basket or colander. Then stab small holes around the edges and a few in the middle to allow the steam to enter without the rice falling down.
Cover the basket with a lid and reduce the heat once the water is boiling hot. Since you’ve placed a sheet underneath, you can add some butter or broth to add a creamy texture after the risotto starts to warm up evenly.
2. Sauce Pan
Another stovetop method to reheat risotto is with a saucepan. Add some water or broth with butter or wine (if you like) to the saucepan. Let it warm up first, your kitchen should smell really good at this point, then add the cold risotto and let it simmer. You can keep adding water 1/4 cup at a time until the risotto looks creamy and hot.
3. Microwave
All you need for reheating risotto in a microwave is a microwave-friendly glass bowl. Put the risotto in the bowl and quickly reheat the risotto for 4-5 minutes using the microwave setting. Some microwave appliances offer a special reheating function to evenly reheat and warm up cold, leftover food.
Once you know the risotto is warm enough, you can add some butter to maintain its creamy and rich texture. This also makes sure the risotto doesn’t dry up too quickly during reheating at a higher temperature.
4. Oven
Better than a microwave to reheat risotto is an oven. You can use different ingredients like broth, parmesan cheese, eggs, butter, etc. to reheat risotto. I think of this as re-cooking risotto to make it taste exactly like it’s being freshly served in a restaurant.
What you need is a bowl and a plate to get started. Keep the risotto in one bowl. While the risotto shifts to room temperature, grate parmesan cheese into the risotto and combine well without flattening the risotto rice.
To add some texture to the dish, you can also mix some breadcrumbs, butter, and broth. Some people even add an egg or two to improve the flavor and texture of risotto.
Once all the ingredients are combined well, transfer the risotto to a baking plate. And place it in the oven and bake the risotto for 10 to 15 minutes at a slightly lower temperature.
Yes, this method is more time-consuming than the previous ones but the results are so good you wouldn’t mind the wait.
Can You Freeze Cooked Risotto?
This is one thing you absolutely SHOULD NOT do.
Freezing risotto won’t spoil the texture and flavor of the dish. But thawing it will. Instead of creamy, you’ll find that thawed risotto tastes dry, lumpy, and sticky. The temperature changes during thawing and then reheating will ruin the richness of the risotto. So it’s best to refrigerator risotto and you can do so for up to 4 days for reheating.
Final Thoughts
Honestly though, reheating risotto is one of the most versatile and simplest things ever. You don’t have to settle for dry, chunky risotto the next time you have leftovers. Just keep the risotto in the refrigerator and reheat it the next day using these simple, stress-free reheating methods.
Every time I find some cooking hack, it blows my mind because it makes cooking not only fun but super easy. I can turn leftover risotto into fritters or baked cheesy rice balls in a matter of minutes. Or add some of my favorite flavors or herbs to spruce up the texture and flavor of risotto so it tastes nothing like leftover risotto!