Imagine tender, slow-cooked beef mingling with creamy Arborio rice in this delightful Italian Beef Risotto. Each savory spoonful offers comforting warmth, making it an ideal and satisfying choice for a cozy Fall or Winter meal.

But don’t be fooled, this dish is good ANY time of year and while it takes a bit longer than some meals to cook, a lot of it is just the slow cooking process which makes it so silky and creamy.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Simple recipe with easy to source ingredients.
While it’s a little time consuming, the finished dish is absolutely worth it, hearty, comforting and oh so flavorful.
It makes a lot and it’s easily doubled or tripled to feed a larger crowd.

This recipe if our go-to for comforting, filling and delicious! If you’ve never had it before, definitely try it soon!

Beef Risotto FAQ

What is Risotto?

A traditional Risotto is a northern Italian rice dish. It is typically cooking arborio rice with a broth until it reaches a creamy consistency, and it doesn’t matter the type of broth. However, many risotto recipes add white wine, butter, onion and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. This is one of the most common ways of preparing rice in Italy.

Can you Make Beef Risotto with any rice?

The answer is yes. Any rice will do. It is most common to make it with arborio rice which is known for it’s plump, short- to medium-grains, with a high-starch content, creating the creaminess that Risotto is known for. But using a regular rice or even a minute rice can work in a pinch. Cooking times would be greatly reduced.

Recipe Summary

I’ve always loved Risotto, but way back didn’t completely understand the difference between a Risotto and any other type of rice dish.

I had been making this dish with regular rice but following all of the other steps for years. I didn’t realize that the first time I had it, it was actually with an Arborio rice.

So I just used the wrong rice (I do this a lot actually, discover that I’m making something with a real name plus an ingredient, or minus an ingredient – haha).

Once I started using Arborio rice I couldn’t stop making this dish. Our family already loved it, but the rich creaminess the Arborio rice added was insanely delicious!

Ingredients for Risotto

Arborio Rice – brand doesn’t matter, but regular rice won’t cut it – it won’t be a risotto at that point. However if all you have is regular rice, you could still use that.
beef – quality beef is always better, but even the cheaper cuts work great here.
unsalted butter – if all you have is salted butter that’s fine to substitute, however I would reduce the amount of added salt later.
onion – fresh is best but if you just want it for flavor, you can substitute with onion powder. Avoid onion salt.
garlic – same here – fresh is always best, but we do buy minced refrigerated garlic and that works too. You can adjust this to suit your taste.
herbs – basil, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, thyme or you can just simply use an Italian Herb Seasoning Mix.
dry white wine – it doesn’t really matter what kind, but I would make sure it’s definitely a dry white wine. We do occasionally omit the white wine and just substitute more beef broth or even water.
beef broth – if you want to cut back on the salt, use a sodium free broth. It should still be full of LOADS of flavor, but without the salt.
Salt & freshly ground pepper – this is to taste, but I do recommend adding a little.

Please note: Making changes to any recipe as written can result in a recipe failure.
Any substitutions or variations listed are simple or tried and true changes that we think will work in this recipe.
Results are not guaranteed.

storage tips & leftovers

We often have leftovers because we make a lot at one time. But because its difficult to freeze, these tips might help.

Cool it down: Let the risotto cool off completely before you put it away. This helps stop bacteria from growing.
The Container you use is key: Use a sealed container to keep the risotto in. This will help it stay fresh and stop it from picking up smells from other stuff in your fridge. A plastic lidded container with a tight seal is the best option. We use this food storage container set and have had GREAT results!
Fridge time: Risotto with meat in it, like Italian beef, is best eaten within 3 days. After that, it might not taste as good, and it could even be unsafe to eat.
Don’t freeze: Freezing risotto is not a good idea. The rice can get hard and the whole thing can end up grainy. It’s much better to just keep it in the fridge. If you want to freeze just the sauce and beef so you can make more, double that portion of the recipe. Before adding the rice in the recipe, separate that half into a freezable portion without the rice. Store this in a plastic freezer safe container or plastic bag. Heat on the stove when ready to serve and then add the rice as noted in the recipe.
Reheating: When you’re ready to eat the risotto again, put it in a pan with a little bit of broth or water. Heat it up over low heat, stirring every so often, until it’s warmed through. You can also microwave it, but it might not be as good.

Important Note: Always use your best judgment. If the risotto smells bad or looks weird, don’t eat it, even if it’s only been a couple of days.

What to Serve with Risotto

While there are lots of different recipes that go well with this Italian Risotto, the following pair beautifully with the rice dish.

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Recipe for Italian Beef Risotto

PLEASE NOTE:

While we have provided a jump to recipe button, please note that by skipping the copy, you are missing useful information on ingredients and techniques, substitutions, frequently asked questions with responses, tips and a lot more information that might be useful for troubleshooting or making the recipe.

Italian Beef Risotto

Nicole Cook

This Italian Beef Risotto is one of our go-to recipes when we are looking for comfort food. Hearty, flavorful and slow cooked to perfection.

4.49 from 52 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 20

Course Main Dish

Cuisine American

Servings servings

Calories 717 kcal

Ingredients

2 ½ cups Arborio Rice or any other Risotto rice
1 ½ pounds beef we used stew meat
¼ cups unsalted butter
1 medium onion chopped
1 clove garlic minced
1 Tablespoons basil
1 Tablespoons marjoram
1 Tablespoons oregano
1 Tablespoons rosemary
1 Tablespoons thyme
1 cups dry white wine
6 cups beef broth
Salt & freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Season your meat, cut it up and then brown slowly over medium heat in a large skilket. Once browned, remove the meat from the skillet and set aside.
In that skillet, melt the butter and add the chopped onion. When it turns a golden color, add the wine to the skillet and allow it to cook until it evaporates.
As soon as its evaporated, add the pieces of beef, with garlic, all Italian herbs and onions to the skillet. Use a little olive oil to kinda loosen everything and cook it up.
Add the beef broth. Add the rice. Cover and simmer for about an hour or more. Stir OFTEN!
When the rice reaches the al dente stage remove it from the stove and sprinkle pepper over the top.
You can also sprinkle Parmesan cheese in too, but its not necessary. It’s delicious either way! Serve immediately.