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Slow Cooker Cauliflower Pea Risotto

Slow Cooker Cauliflower Pea Risotto

This easy way to make risotto is totally hands-off. The cheesy, creamy rice dish cooks only 1 hour in the slow cooker. Cauliflower, sweet peas and Parmesan cheese make this a favorite comfort food – and our most-requested birthday dinner!

This recipe was originally published here in 2012 – and has become one of our most popular – especially in springtime. Back in 2012, cauliflower rice was a totally new thing! (Check out what I wrote below.) This post has been updated with new photos, and the recipe was retested to give you the most streamlined, delicious results. Please try it!

Easy, hands-off recipe: Creamy, cheesy, cauliflower rice. SLOW COOKER CAULIFLOWER PEA RISOTTO | @TspCurry - For more #healthy spring recipes: TeaspoonOfSpice.com

I recently found this most interesting recipe for slow cooker Cauliflower Risotto. The chef’s idea was to chop two heads of cauliflower into “risotto-like” pieces and then cook them so the final dish resembles cheesy risotto with peas. Very creative.

I wanted to recreate the dish with the addition of arborio rice. It’s tricky to adapt slow cooker risotto recipes to accommodate cauliflower which has a longer cooking time.

Of course, the beauty of cooking risotto in the slow cooker is that there’s no need to stand over a pot stirring for 30 minutes as the rice grains slowly absorb cooking liquid which is added slowly cup after cup.

Easy, hands-off recipe: Creamy, cheesy, cauliflower rice. SLOW COOKER CAULIFLOWER PEA RISOTTO | @TspCurry - For more #healthy spring recipes: TeaspoonOfSpice.com

In the end, my recipe was deemed creamy and delicious by all my kids (who even ate the cauliflower even though I lost patience trying to cut them to resemble risotto grains.) In fact, we would have eaten the entire Crock Pot, had I not insisted upon leftovers (enough to photograph the next day!)  Creamy, cheesy, cauliflower risotto. SLOW COOKER CAULIFLOWER PEA RISOTTO via @TspCurry #HealthySpringRecipe Click To Tweet

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Easy, hands-off recipe: Creamy, cheesy, cauliflower rice. SLOW COOKER CAULIFLOWER PEA RISOTTO | @TspCurry - For more #healthy spring recipes: TeaspoonOfSpice.com

Slow Cooker Cauliflower Pea Risotto


  • Author: Serena Ball
  • Yield: 4-6 servings 1x

Description

This easy way to make Slow Cooker Cauliflower Pea Risotto is totally hands-off. No stirring – and cooks only 1 hour in the slow cooker. Cauliflower, sweet peas and cheese make this our favorite comfort food – and the most-requested birthday dinner dish at my house!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1/3 cup dry white wine
  • 1/2 large head cauliflower, roughly chopped into small pieces
  • 1 cup arborio rice
  • 3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, warmed
  • 1 cup frozen peas, set on the counter to thaw during last 30 min of cooking time
  • 1/2 cup (2 oz) freshly grated white Cheddar cheese (or Parmesan), divided
  • Optional: 4-6 fried or poached eggs

Instructions

  1. Turn slow cooker on to High.
  2. Melt butter in 12-inch non-stick skillet. Add onions and saute until translucent, about 5-6 minutes.
  3. Move onions to outside edges of the pan; add rice and cook 3 minutes without stirring to toast rice.
  4. Move rice to outside edges of the pan; add cauliflower and cook 3 minutes without stirring to brown cauliflower.
  5. Add wine and cook about 1 1/2 minutes until wine is reduced by half.
  6. Pour mixture into slow cooker.
  7. Add warm broth and cover. Cook on HIGH for 1 hour. OR Cook on LOW for 2 hours. During last 10 minutes of cooking time, remove lid and stir in peas and 1/4 cup cheese.
  8. Serve with remaining 1/4 cup cheese and a poached/fried egg if desired.

Easy, hands-off recipe: Creamy, cheesy, cauliflower rice. SLOW COOKER CAULIFLOWER PEA RISOTTO | @TspCurry - For more #healthy spring recipes: TeaspoonOfSpice.com

Which spring vegetables do you like in your risotto: Asparagus, artichokes, peas? Ever tried risotto in the slow cooker?

Easy, hands-off recipe: Creamy, cheesy, cauliflower rice. SLOW COOKER CAULIFLOWER PEA RISOTTO | @TspCurry - For more #healthy spring recipes: TeaspoonOfSpice.com

Lauren Grant | Zestful Kitchen

Tuesday 28th of February 2017

Love the addition of cauliflower, great idea. I bet it adds so much flavor and texture!

Shannon @ KISS in the Kitchen

Monday 27th of February 2017

This recipe looks so fresh and springy! I'm always looking for new slow cooker recipes and this one definitely looks like I should try it out!

B

Saturday 4th of February 2017

Try having your print settings so that they do not include ads.....cant stand belly fat ads.

Serena Ball

Monday 6th of February 2017

We did! No more ads on recipes!

Anny

Friday 17th of October 2014

Mmmm! The best meal! I saw the similar recipe in Redmond cook book (it was with my Redmond 4502 multickooer) and I was pretty surprised - everything was fast and my friends were not waiting for tasty dinner! Now I'm sure - multicooker is the most beneficial item on the kitchen.

Healthy Holiday Recipes: Thanksgiving Edition - The Scrubbed In Blog | Nurse.com

Thursday 28th of August 2014

[…] Cauliflower Pea Risotto: What working nurse has time to make risotto? One with a crockpot. This Slow Cooker Cauliflower Pea Risotto looks creamy and […]

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