Pear Risotto {Super Creamy & Easy To Make}

This pear risotto combines taste of sweet pears, tangy gorgonzola and tops everything with crunchy walnuts to make the most delicious, creamy risotto.

You’ll love how this simple yet elegant weekday recipe can be served for special occasions.

Imagine slightly ‘al dente’ rice paired with sweet juicy pears and coated with a cream of slightly piquant gorgonzola cheese that simply melts in your mouth.

Enjoy it as is or top with crunchy walnuts to add more texture and even more flavor to this delicious pear risotto.

If you’ve never made pear risotto, you’ll find the answers to all your questions below, including recipe variation and best substitutes.

Pear Risotto Ingredients & Variations

Pear is a protagonist of the whole dish. Williams pears work great but you can use any variety that you have available. It’s important to choose ripe pears. They shouldn’t be hard but shouldn’t be mush either. Peal, core and dice pears just before use.

Gorgonzola Cheese is another core ingredient of pear risotto. It’s bite balanced out the sweetness of the pears. For this reason I prefer to use spicy gorgonzola cheese variety, cut in small cubes (about 1.5. Ounce spicy gorgonzola cheese per serving). 

However you can also use sweet gorgonzola cheese if you prefer a milder taste. It will also make risotto extra creamy and velvety and you can even add a little bit more in terms of quantity (about 2 ounces per serving). If using sweet gorgonzola cheese feel free to skip butter or add half dose.

Parmesan Cheese  –  this classic risotto ingredient is quite optional in this recipe but adding just a couple of tablespoons adds a slight acidity which balances the spiciness and the sweetness of the previous two ingredients, especially if you’ve opted to using spicy gorgonzola. Feel free to skip Parmesan cheese entirely if you use sweet gorgonzola variety.

Only as a matter of personal preference you can top pear risotto with more Parmesan cheese after serving but this is completely optional since it’s already super creamy and is loaded with cheese.

Onions – a base ingredients for all risotto recipes. White or yellow onions all work great. You can also use shallots that have a milder taste with a hint of garlic.

If you have any other questions about ingredients or substitutes just leave a comment below.

How To Make Pear Risotto Step-By-Step

Start by heating up the broth and bring it to simmer. Set heat on low to keep it warm.

In a large pan placed over medium heat add a generous splash of extra virgin olive oil and finely chopped onions. Sautee onions for a few minutes until translucent. 

Add risotto rice and stir well to coat all the grains with oil and onion mix.

Toast the rice for a minute stirring continuously.

Add white wine to “deglaze” the pan and let simmer until wine has evaporated (about 2 minute).

Not it’s time to start adding the hot broth.  Add one laddle at a time and stir. Wait for the rice to absorb almost all the broth before adding more.

Continue adding the broth a laddle at a time and stirring frequently until absorbed.

Once rice is almost ready (it should be still ‘al dente’) add diced pear.

Stir well and continue cooking until rice is done.

Lastly, add diced gorgonzola cheese and butter.

Stir well until it has melted and coated all the rice and risotto has a nice creamy texture.

Let risotto rest in the pan for a few minutes.

Right before serving add grated Parmesan cheese, mix well and serve.

Top with chopped walnuts.

You can also top individual serving with more Parmesan cheese to taste (optional).

Full Recipe

Do you like sweet and tangy pairing like spear and blue cheese?

You might also like: Grape Risotto With Crispy Prosciutto & Gorgonzola

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Buon Appetito!