These crispy, breaded cheesy risotto balls are a dream come true and take less than an hour to make. Elevate this classic southern Italian dish with some pesto and mozzarella for a life-changing twist on arancini.
A fun fact about me is that I used to live in Boston, MA years ago – and if you know anything about Boston it’s that it is a historically rich city. The North End in particular has a fascinating history as the city’s oldest residential community.
Also called “Little Italy,” the North End in Boston peaked in Italian immigrants in the early 1900s with literally 99.9% of the neighborhood’s total population being Italian. Since then, businesses in the area have maintained a stronghold of Italian heritage – including the food.
You see, the North End is where I fell in love with authentic Italian cuisine and came to appreciate its dense, filling foods. Not only is everything served with a generous helping of cheese, but wine is pretty much required with every meal.
And I don’t know about you, but wine with every meal sounds like a lifestyle I wouldn’t say no to…
Jokes aside, when I lived in Boston I discovered how simple Italian dishes are but how wholesome, nourishing ingredients make a big difference in your cooking.
Food is a sensory experience and the Italians embrace it in every way from the smells to the flavors to the music playing in the restaurants and so much more!
What are arancini?
Arancini (which is actually plural) are the epitome of southern Italian street food. They are these small risotto balls that are stuffed with mozzarella, dredged in breadcrumbs, and deep-fried. Sounds like heaven, right?
It’s a mixture of comforting, rich flavors, and the best textures in one bite. My favorite thing to do is dip them in marinara or pesto!
Because there’s almost no way to go wrong with a cheesy, deep-fried rice ball, I wanted to elevate classic arancini by adding mozzarella and pesto to the middle of the arancini before breading and frying it. (I know, I’m a genius.)
My Pesto Mozzarella Arancini are the perfect appetizer for any party, event, or even late-night snack! I consider arancini to be “adult mozzarella sticks.”
These crispy, deep-fried Italian balls of rice are magnificent with the ooey-gooey mozzarella cheese filling. However, I will warn you, if you’re sensitive to carbs or even cheese, you may want to look away because these arancini balls are what dreams are made of!
Of course, if you know anything about arancini, you’re probably wondering how this recipe could possibly only take less than an hour and I have two words for you: Instant Pot.
Making your risotto in the Instant Pot keeps the cook time to under 7 minutes and is the biggest game changer or hack for this recipe! You don’t need to baby the risotto by adding the warm broth and stirring all night long. (Trust me, if you need to know anything about risotto, it is that it’s one the most laboring meals of all time!)
Kitchen Hacks for this Recipe
Even though I’m saving you time so you’re not sitting by the stove and stirring for hours, I have to keep it real with you. I don’t recommend using the grated parmesan cheese that comes in a plastic jar for this recipe.
As easy as it would be to sprinkle some of that in here, it is a heavily manipulated version of cheese. You’ll notice that it doesn’t melt down or cook like regular cheese, so it will completely change the flavors and textures of your recipe (especially this one!) in the worst way.
Instead, go the extra mile and buy a block of parmesan and grate it! If you’re truly lazy, you can find freshly grated parmesan at the deli and cheese section of select grocery stores or ask them to do it for you.
If you’re looking to make these ahead of time, you can bread and even fry them the day before serving. Then, on the day of, just take them out of the fridge about 30 minutes prior and pop them in a preheated air fryer at 350ºF for 5-7 mins.
Lastly, if you want to opt for an eggless Pesto Mozzarella Arancini, skip the egg mixture and simply make a batter of all-purpose flour – 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup water – and use that in place of the egg mixture.
If you must know something about me, I’m pretty much a huge sucker for anything fried or cheesy, but come on who isn’t? These cheesy arancini (rice balls) are the perfect appetizers for any party, event or even just because. Arancini is known as “adult mozzarella sticks”, but these crispy, deep fried Italian balls of rice are oozing with the ooey-gooey mozzarella cheese filling.
Ingredients
Scale
3&½cupsvegetable broth
1/2 cup pesto
2cupspanko bread crumbsJapanese breadcrumbs
1cuparborio rice
1cupfinely grated parmesan
1cuplow moisture mozzarella cut into little cubes
½cupflour
½cupdry white wineany white cooking wine
¼cupheavy cream
1medonionchopped
5cupsoilfor frying
4garlic cloves minced
2eggs
4tbspbutterdivided
1tspsaltto taste
1tspblack pepperto taste
Instructions
In a medium pot over medium to low heat, bring the vegetable stock to a simmer.
Next in a large pot, heat the butter and add the finely chopped onion. Once onion is translucent (4-5 mins, add the garlic and cook. Stirring constantly, until softened but not brown. Stir in the rice and season with salt. Stirring often until the grains turn translucent around the edges about 3 mins.
Add the wine and cook, stirring often until the pan is almost dry about 2 mins. Slowly ladle in 1 cup warm stock, bring to a simmer and cook. Stir often until the liquid is absorbed. This takes about 5-7 mins.
Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of broth stirring yet again. You will start to see the rice is almost fully cooked because the liquid is mostly absorbed. (9-11) mins.
Once its cooked, remove from the heat and stir in the parmesan,cream,pepper and butter. Season the risotto with more salt if needed. Spread the risotto in an even layer on parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Chill at least for 30 mins or up to 4 hrs. Cover the risotto with plastic wrap after 1 hr so its doesn’t develop skin.
Once risotto has cooled, scoop about 2 tbsp risotto into your hands and form into a patty about 2 1/2 in diameter (it doesn’t have to be perfect!) Place 1-2 pieces of mozzarella in the center and a small dollop of pesto. Pinch and shape the risotto so it completely covers the cheese. Roll into 2″ ball, repeat with remaining risotto and mozzarella.
Prep your breading station. Lightly beat the eggs in a shallow bowl, place flour and panko bread crumbs into separate shallow bowls also. Season all 3 bowls with salt and pepper.
Working one at a time,dredge balls in flour, shaking off excess drip back into bowl. Coat with panko, pressing gently to adhere. Transfer balls to a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill for them for 10 mins while your oil heats up.
Once your oil is heated, carefully lower half of the rice balls into the oil an fry until deeply golden brown, 6-8 mins. Repeat with remaining rice balls and serve warm with dipping sauce.
Notes
If you’re able to make the risotto a few hours or even the day before, this will work in your favor as it can be refrigerated so that it sticks together more easily.
I used Rao’s marinara sauce and heated it up in a sauce pan, added pinch of sugar, Italian seasoning and some red crushed pepper. You can use your favorite store bought sauce or even make your own.
Don’t worry to much when your rice balls are not perfectly round, once they are chilled, they firm up and are easy to mold on last time before you fry them.
I added dried oregano and parsley to my panko bread crumbs to give it a extra flavor boost. Don’t be scared to season the the breadcrumbs, it will hold the flavor during the frying process.
Just an East/West coast girl living the southern life. I love sharing all my tested and perfected recipes here, along with some travel guides and a little bit of my lifestyle
