Gooey, cheesy rice enclosed in golden crunchy crumb. Need I say anymore? The Italians are genius, GENIUS!
I received one of those “no brainer” questions a few weeks ago. It went like this:
“Nagi, would you be interested in attending a small lunch to sample and learn about Riccadonna sparkling wines? Massimo Mele will be cooking up an Italian feast!”
It took me about 2 seconds to hit Reply and send “YES!” straight away.
Oh, then I went back to check the date and make sure I was actually free – but really, I would have made it fit into my diary. 😉 I mean, who in their right mind would turn down a champagne lunch with Chef Massimo Mele cooking?? Even if you haven’t heard of him, with a name like Massimo, you can’t mistake his heritage!
At this lunch, Massimo cooked up a 4 course Italian Feast which was, unsurprisingly, phenomenal. A modern, fresh take on classic Italian ingredients, all paired with a different Riccadonna sparkling wine. And guess what? I got the RECIPE CARDS!! You can download a copy of them here. 🙂
In addition to dining on an incredible 4 course Italian feast, I got to learn more about Riccadonna sparkling wines. We had a different sparkling wine for each course, all delicious!
The fact is, when it comes to champagne, I am a bit of a snob. I love real French champagne but as luck would have it, I can’t actually afford a $70 bottle to indulge in every week. 🙁 So for every day purposes, I am quite careful about which champagnes and sparkling wines I purchase because unlike wine, you don’t always get what you pay for. The quality of champagne and sparkling wines you get for $15 varies quite a lot – in my personal, humble opinion.
Riccadonna Prosecco for me is a guaranteed hit every time. What I find unique about it is that the bubbles are so delicate, it is almost like drinking a wine but with the extra little fizziness. Also it’s really light, quite dry and not sweet – it’s refreshing actually. More refreshing than most wines, less fizzy than cheap champagnes. All round – great value for money which is what I’m all about! 😉
So in the spirit of sharing something a little special today that pairs so beautifully with Riccadonna Prosecco, I’m doing something a little different.
I LOVE deep fried food. I have a theory that anything can be made to taste great when it’s deep fried. But I rarely do it myself at home because of clean up and… well, my hips. 😂
HOWEVER…these Cheesy Italian Arancini Balls are WORTH the effort! Besides the fact that they are eye-rollingly delicious, they are so good for make ahead. I’m thinking about a party I’m catering for my mother for Christmas and was keen to test these out.
Also, I didn’t actually use as much oil as I expected to. I used a saucepan, I just feel safer. And because of the small size of these balls, they are easy to handle as opposed to, for example, fried chicken which you would struggle to fry in a saucepan!
How to re-use oil
The oil can be reused twice because the Arancini Balls aren’t heavily seasoned with spices, as opposed to heavily seasoned food like Southern Fried Chicken which taints the oil with flavour.
To re-use the oil, cool in pot, line mesh colander with a single layer of paper towel, strain oil. Store until required – personally would stick to savoury rather than sweet.
Try Stay-Crispy Honey Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork, Japanese Karaage, Mongolian Beef, Schnitzel or Southern Fried Chicken!
I was actually quite amazed at how well they reheated in the oven! They honestly tasted like they were cooked fresh, the shell was incredibly crisp, the round shape held up perfectly, and the inside was molten and delicious!
They can be served plain. I personally do not think a dipping sauce is required because they are loaded with cheesy flavour. However, I have also provided a quick marinara dipping sauce. Just don’t make the mistake I made, hmm…! Fishing out that Arancini Ball out was rather messy! 😉
Oh – do you need more convincing that these are worth making? Will this photo convince you? 😉
Before I sign off, one last thing. Most Arancini Ball recipe either require 30-40 minutes active stove time to make the risotto rice for these balls OR they are made with precooked ordinary rice which I personally feel does not have anywhere near the same creaminess.
So I use a compromise. I make BAKED risotto so you get the same creaminess, with far less effort. 🙂
Party season is coming up. Thanksgiving, Christmas…..
These are a MUST try! Honestly, I would not share these if I didn’t think they were worth the effort of (semi) deep frying. – Nagi x
PS Instructions for how to consume: sip of Riccadonna Prosecco, bite Arancini, sip Prosecco, bite Arancini….and continue repeating until the earlier of: no more Arancini balls left or bottle is emptied. 😉
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Cheesy Italian Arancini Rice Balls
Ingredients
Baked Risotto
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 small onion , finely diced (white, yellow, brown)
- 1 1/2 cups risotto rice (arborio)
- 1/2 cup white wine (or substitute with broth/stock or water)
- 3 1/2 cups chicken broth/stock
- 1 cup milk
Rice Mixture
- 1 egg
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 3/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese
- 2 1/2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley , or 1 1/2 tbsp dried parsley (Note 1)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Pepper
Coating
- 1/2 cup plain flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Black pepper
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
- Cooking oil (I used vegetable oil)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft.
- Add rice and stir until grains turn translucent. Add wine and turn up the heat to medium high. Cook until liquid is mostly absorbed/evaporated.
- Add chicken broth and milk. Stir, bring to simmer, cover, then transfer to oven. Baked, covered, for 30 to 40 minutes until all liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool. Add Rice Mixture Ingredients and mix to combine. Cover and transfer to refrigerator for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight.
Coating
- Mix flour, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl, eggs in another (lightly beaten) and panko in a third shallow bowl.
- Measure out a level (packed) ice cream scoop of rice mixture (about 2 1/2 tbsp) and roll into a ball. (Note 2)
- Roll in flour, then dredge in egg mixture, then coat in panko, pressing to coat. (Note 3) Repeat with remaining mixture.
Cook
- In a medium saucepan, pour in 1"/2.5cm depth of oil and heat over medium high heat.
- Toss in a breadcrumb and if it starts sizzling immediately, the oil is hot enough.
- Carefully transfer a few balls into the hot oil, using a spoon. Turn frequently so they cook golden evenly, and when they are a deep golden brown, remove onto a paper towel lined plate to drain.
- Repeat with remaining balls.
To Serve
- Serve with Marinara Sauce (optional) (Note 4) sprinkled with finely chopped fresh parsley if desired.
Recipe Notes:
No nutrition today. Because these are…you know. Fried. 😉
This post is sponsored by Riccadonna who hosted the lunch and asked if I would like to share what I thought about Riccadonna sparkling wine. As someone who has been sipping on Riccadonna for years, I was pretty darn thrilled to accept! N x
I made these with leftover baked lemon & herb risotto (also your recipe) and they were great. I used grated parmesan in place of the cheddar which I think was a better fit with the lemon flavour. I rolled and crumbed then froze them and after all that I served them as a starter for lunch with friends with some sautéed red peppers and arugula and they were a hit!
Hi, can I use Parmesan cheese instead of tasty cheese ?
I did this recipe and my husband loved it! Incredible taste and easy to do. I did it with gluten free flour and bread crumbs. Many thanks.
This will be for now on my to-go website for next recipes! 🙂
Fried arancini are amazing but usually when I have leftover risotto I make small patties of them instead of balls and bake them (drizzling some oil on them). Cheese required and ham optional but preferred (also depends on risotto flavor used). They are still surprisingly tasty and being that they are not fried, much less caloric and especially there’s much less hassle in making them!!
Another leftover risotto dish would be “risotto al salto”, which is tasty but a little tricky, so I usually go with baked arancini.
My first attempt at arrancini balls and yum! So cheesy. I had as a starter but I’m also going to try as a main- one time with a tomato based dipping sauce and once with a creamy mushroom sauce.
Just prepped these for tonight’s drinkies – my turn to host!! Used your baked lemon & herb risotto which I had saved leftovers and froze a couple of weeks ago. The taste test was amazing!!
Thanks Nagi x
Hi Nagi, this is yum but can you do a recipe for mushroom aracini balls?
Melissa I had them last night with sauteed mushrooms on the side but thought they would be delicious with a creamy mushroom sauce on the side.
Pop a request on my recipe request page Melissa 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi! I was just if you could speed up the cooling process by putting the rice in the freezer for a bit instead of the fridge over night?
Thanks so much, my husband and I are addicted to your site. It is the only recipe site that is consistently good. We have not had one failure or average meal in a year of using your site!! It is honestly amazing and our meals are soo delicious every night 😄
This is how I came into your website 2 years, Nagi. And never stopped relying on your recipes ever since. Now Every time we have a really good tasting dinner, my husband asks “ RecipeTineats”?😂 Thank you so much for growing confidence in me😊 Thanks to you I am not afraid of trying new recipes.
Hi Can you use this recipe for a risotto?
Hi Claudia, I have a few risotto recipes here:
https://www.recipetineats.com/mushroom-risotto/
https://www.recipetineats.com/creamy-lemon-herb-baked-risotto-recipe/
https://www.recipetineats.com/baked-pumpkin-risotto/
https://www.recipetineats.com/prawn-risotto-shrimp/
I have a few more – just type “risotto” into the search bar 🙂 N x
Making these right now, was wondering if I can freeze any left overs?
Sure can Margaret, to re-heat, thaw and then spray with a little oil and place in a hot oven for 5 minutes or so. N x
Had oven issues so cooked the recipe until I was ready to put it in the oven . Put it in a rice cooker instead and came out perfectly!
Absolutely amazing – the arancini tasted divine! Your instructions are so clear and precise and would encourage a novice to have confidence.
Could you make these in an air fryer?
Hi Claire, follow step 5 and you should have a similar result 🙂 N x
Yes!!! Thank you for an easy to follow recipe that tasted amazing! I was daunted by the task of making arancini but you made it achievable!
Can I use vegetarian broth? I am a vegatarian so want to be able to make it veggie
Yes definitely Indiana! N x
Hi! I’ve made these before. Amazing! Can they be frozen and cooked later?
This is my all time favourite Italian entree before a bowl of pasta. Never fails and the family loves them when they come over. Even our two year old daughter loves them .
Also Nagi my Balinese brother-in-law stuck here in Wollongong since March 😩 loves the satay chicken recipe I do thanks to you 😄Love cooking all your recipes.
Yes definitely Ineka! N x
A great successful recipe. This time I added 500 grms of very finely chopped mushrooms to the mixture as it was cooling down after oven bake. Gives an awesome flavour and I don’t even like mushrooms!! I also added a little square of blue cheese in the middle of each ball as I rolled them up. Superb.
I made these with left over risotto from dinner last night and WOW AMAZING!! I used my homemade pasta sauce in the bottom of the plate then rocket with the Arancini on top with Parmesan
Nagi, I made your baked pumpkin risotto lastnight (using arborio rice) & have leftovers – guessing that I can just use that & pick up at the ‘Coating’ stage?
Fingers x’d it doesn’t end up a crumbly mess!
Hah! Snap! Just read a comment below with the exact same question – sorry to double whammy you! Thanks 🙂