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!

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.

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

Slow Cooker Cauliflower Pea Risotto

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

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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!

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Ingredients

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• 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

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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.

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