Spring Risotto with Garlic Butter Shrimp

It’s time to celebrate Spring with all of those in season vegetables! Asparagus, spring peas, fresh herbs – the list goes on and this Spring Risotto is full of them all! To top it off, I added some garlic shrimp sauteed in butter and it’s just a delight for your tastebuds. You have to make this recipe for yourself and let me know what you think!

For more shrimp recipes, try this Shrimp Remoulade and Shrimp Boil!

This Spring Risotto is such a great way to enjoy all of the fresh vegetables that the season has to offer. It’s both a comfort food but still so bright in flavor.

With ingredients like white wine, lemon zest, garlic, parmesan, and shallots, you really can’t go wrong with this asparagus risotto recipe.

You do not have to wait to go to the restaurant to make your own risotto, I’ve broken down how to make your own risotto at home.

This dish makes for a great dinner, is even better the next day as leftovers, and is also a great all-around dish to keep handy whenever you want a dinner that feels fancy but doesn’t require complicated ingredients.

Key Ingredients

(full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card)

• Arborio Rice: this is the star of the show. I recommend using Lundberg White Arborio Rice because it’s high quality, rich, creamy, and perfect for this risotto recipe. I’ve been making risotto for years with their arborio rice, it’s the only brand that I use!
• Asparagus and Peas: the spring veggies I used to make this a true “Spring” Risotto. You can use frozen peas or fresh, both work! I do recommend using fresh asparagus as they yield less water.
• Fresh Rosemary, Thyme, Seasonings: these give the risotto beautiful aromatic herby flavors
• Shallots and Garlic: more aromatics, what’s a recipe without garlic?!
• White Wine: I used a dry chardonnay, it gives such great flavor to the risotto and is a key ingredient. It adds a slightly acidic flavor. Save leftovers and make my squid ink pasta recipe!
• Parmesan Cheese: for added creamy texture and a bit of a nutty flavor!
• Lemons: both the zest and the lemon juice are used for this recipe. It brightens all of the flavors and brings everything together.
• Shrimp: I used jumbo shrimp for this recipe but feel free to use what you have on hand!
• Chicken Broth: if you’d like to use veggie or beef broth, feel free to get creative! I used chicken broth because I love the flavors and how it compliments the white wine.

how to make spring risotto

Add chicken broth to a sauce pan and simmer on low. In a separate pan, warm olive oil and butter over medium heat. Sauté garlic, shallots, asparagus, and peas together in the olive oil and butter mixture. Set aside on a plate.

Then add fresh herbs – rosemary and thyme and more garlic to the skillet and saute until fragrant. Add the arborio rice and toast until the rice becomes translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Then add white wine and cook until the wine has been absorbed into the rice.

Continue to stir rice and add chicken broth one cup at a time. Stir frequently so that the rice does not burn. Once all of the broth is added, grate in Parmesan and lemon zest. Squeeze in lemon juice and stir. Then add asparagus and peas back into the risotto with the garlic and shallots. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir together and set aside.

now make the garlic butter shrimp

Add seasonings, salt, and pepper to the shrimp and toss to coat. Sprinkle olive oil and butter in a pan and add shrimp. Cook for about 5 minutes, until shrimp is pink on both sides.

Place garlic butter shrimp on top of the spring risotto and serve. Optional – top with additional herbs and fresh burrata. You can also add additional lemon zest on top should you like! I love a little extra lemon for a nice zing and bright flavor. Then Bon Appetit!

what is the trick to making good risotto?

There are quite a few tricks to making risotto. It’s a fairly easy dish to make, but also an easy dish to mess up too.

• My first recommendation is to use warm broth (not boiling). When you use cold broth/stock, it lowers the temperature of the dish and makes the risotto mushy as opposed to al dente.
• Stir risotto almost constantly. You should be standing by the stove while making risotto, it’s not the kind of dish where you set it and forget it. Luckily, it only takes about 25 minutes to make. The end result is also worth it too.
• Add cheese once the risotto is finished cooking. If you add it too early it’ll melt and clump together.
• I recommend using a large deep skillet or dutch oven for the risotto. This prevents the pan from overflowing.

is risotto rice or pasta?

Risotto is not made with pasta. Risotto is an Italian dish made with arborio rice which is creamy medium grain rice. Arborio rice has high starch content which gives it that creamy consistency when cooking risotto. I really like using Lundberg Farms Arborio Rice because it’s sustainable, non-GMO, and naturally gluten free!

It’s pretty easy to confuse arborio rice as pasta, kind of how like orzo is pasta but looks like rice. For a while I confused the two, so you’re not alone if you were wondering about this!

a few tips

• For the best flavor, use quality and fresh ingredients!
• If you are sensitive/watching your salt intake, use low sodium broth to help cut down on the sodium.
• Switch up the protein and use chicken or even steak. You can keep the same seasonings, just be sure to cook your protein until it’s cooked thoroughly.
• To make this dish vegetarian, use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth and leave out the shrimp completely.

more delicious recipes!

• Asparagus and Prosciutto Puff Pastry Bundles
• Herb Brown Butter Scallops with Champagne Risotto
• Roasted Mushroom and Pepperoni Pizza
• Cheesy Olive Pizza with Mushrooms and Burrata
• Pesto Carbonara with Crispy Prosciutto
• Simple Parmesan Risotto
• Cajun Chicken and Rice

This blog post and recipe for Spring Risotto with Garlic Butter Shrimp was made in partnership with Lundberg Family Farms! I received compensation in exchange for this work. My opinions on their products are genuine. Thanks for your continued support!