Ranch Pepperoni Pizza Risotto
Ranch risotto, topped like a pizza, with cheese, tomato sauce, and pepperoni, and baked until melty and delicious. The cheese forms a top crust for this amazing creamy and super herby risotto. A little bit of tomato sauce, pepperoni, and pickled jalapeno complete the perfect taste combination.
The inspiration for this recipe
What goes better together than pizza and ranch? That is what I asked myself when I was coming up with this ranch pepperoni pizza risotto. I had the idea for ranchsotto for a while but it wasn’t that interesting to me until I added the pizza angle. One idea was to stir in the pepperoni, then realized it would be best as a topping. I have never baked risotto with cheese on top like this and I do not know why because it was awesome!
Start the ranch risotto
Onions in the pan first with oil, then stir in the rice and some garlic. The rice is added during the sauté phase to slightly toast with with the onion.
Then add some vermouth or other white wine you have around. Now it’s time for the slow and steady process of stirring and adding chicken stock. Continue, adding about 1/2 cup of stock at a time until the rice is tender, about 30 minutes.
Add the ranch flavors to the risotto
When the rice is tender, it is time to ranch it up! The photo on the left here shows a thick risotto. Normally For risotto I believe it should be almost soupy. I kept it tight and dryer so that when I added the buttermilk it would become the right texture without me having to cook it more and being worried about the sauce splitting. Stir the cooked risotto into the buttermilk to temper the buttermilk first. This is another preventative measure against the sauce splitting.
Once the buttermilk is incorporated, stir in the parsley, dill, chives, and yogurt.
Top the ranch risotto like a pepperoni pizza
Sauce first, but I didn’t want to fully mix it in. Put it on top, and then swirl it into the top half of the risotto. Next add cheese, pepperoni, and jalapenos.
Broil for 5-10 minutes until it is golden brown and delicious!
Serving the ranch pepperoni pizza risotto
Let it cool a few minutes, then serve! Look at that cheesy goodness!
It’s all about the ranch goodness in this pepperoni pizza risotto! Super creamy risotto with tons of herbs, and the little bit of heat from the jalapenos is perfect.
Twists on this recipe
You could just add a little tomato sauce and pepperoni to the risotto if you wanted an easier version of this instead of the cheese broil step. You could also change toppings to what you like. Like sausage and mushroom, or peppers and onions. No matter what you do, just make sure to take the precautions to prevent it from splitting.
If you have never made risotto before, check out this guide.
I love making risotto. Check out my blue cheese risotto, gin and tonic risotto, or these tasty meatball risotto wraps!
Ranch Pepperoni Pizza Risotto
Ingredients
Ranchsotto
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 onion diced
- 3/4 cup arborio rice
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons vermouth
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup minced parsley
- 1/4 cup minced chives
- 1/4 cup minced dill
Pizza toppings
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce store bought or home made
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 pound pepperoni slices
- pickled jalapeno slices
Instructions
- Add the oil and onions to a heavy bottom, large, shallow, and oven safe pot over medium heat.
- Stir and cook 5 minutes to soften. Add in the rice and garlic and cook another 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Stir in the vermouth and deglaze the pan if needed. Stir 2 minutes, then add in 1 cup of the stock.
- Continue to stir and slowly cook, adding about 1/2 cup of stock when it gets dry. Cook about 30 minutes until the stock is gone and the rice is tender. If the stock is gone and the rice is not yet tender, you can continue with water until it is ready. You want it to be somewhat thick, dryer, and clumpy when it finishes because there is a bit more liquid going into it.
- Stir in the mayo. remove from heat.
- Add a few big scoops of the rice to the buttermilk and stir. Then add it, along with all the buttermilk, into the pot. This step is to temper the buttermilk so it does not split when adding it.
- Next stir in the herbs and yogurt.
- Preheat broiler to high
- Warm the tomato sauce in a pan or in the microwave.
- Drizzle the sauce onto the top of the risotto and use a spoon to swirl it in. Do not overmix. You want a swirl!
- Top with the cheese, then the pepperoni and jalapeno.
- Broil on high for about 5 minutes to melt the cheese and brown slightly.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving