Baked Leftover Risotto Cheesy Rice Balls (Arancini)
I have long been a lover of arancini, but I hate deep-frying foods. Not even just because of the health factors, I just really hate waste, and I feel like too much oil is wasted when foods are deep fried. So I decided to make arancini different from what I have had it before - I baked it. And guess what, it tastes better.
Servings: 12 balls
Calories: 105kcal
Ingredients
- 2 cups leftover risotto (try this one)
- 100 g mozzarella cut into 1cm cubes
- 1 cup home-made wholewheat breadcrumbs or panko breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- teaspoon ½ sea salt
- pinch black pepper
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- 2 eggs beaten
Instructions
- Preheat to oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Make up your breadcrumb mixture by mixing the breadcrumbs with the oregano, parsley, smoked paprika, salt and pepper
- Set up a little 'dipping station'. Have 3 medium bowls, fill one bowl with the whole wheat flour, one bowl with the beaten eggs and the remaining bowl with the breadcrumb mixture
- Take one heaped tablespoon of risotto, and roll it into a ball. Take one piece of the cubed mozzarella and push it into the rice ball. Fix it back into a round shape and continue with the rest of the risotto
- Take each ball, roll in the flour, shake off excess, roll in the egg, and then in the breadcrumb mixture. Place on the pre-prepared baking tray, and continue will all the rice balls
- Bake for about 10-15 minutes, when the breadcrumbs are nice and crunchy on the outside, and the cheese is all melted and gooey on the inside
- Serve with some marinara and enjoy. To freeze see notes below.
Video
Notes
To freeze and reheat:
- make the arancini up and bake them
- allow to cool completely before popping onto a flat plate or tray and popping into the freezer until completely frozen
- once frozen, transfer to a ziploc bag (remembering to push out most of the air)
- to reheat: remove from the freezer and allow to thaw. pop in the microwave or reheat in the oven at 350F (180C)
Nutrition
Calories: 105kcal | Carbohydrates: 17.8g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 1.8g | Saturated Fat: 0.6g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 142mg | Fiber: 0.9g | Sugar: 0.6g