Creamy Zucchini & Pork Sausage Risotto
with Sun-Dried Tomato Topping & Parmesan
- Milk
Sure, whipping up risotto requires a little extra attention (and stirring), but the results are beyond worth it. Luckily, our chefs have made nailing it easier—and tastier—than ever. This version is chock full of savory pork sausage, tender zucchini, and of course lots of Parmesan. But what sets this one apart is a finishing touch of dollops of a tangy, umami-packed sun-dried tomato topping that beautifully offsets the richness. We know, we know: We had you at “risotto.”
Ingredients
1 ounce
Sun-Dried Tomato Paste
1 unit
Zucchini
2 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
4 ounce
Cream Sauce Base
(Contains: Milk)
3 tablespoon
Parmesan Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
¾ cup
Arborio Rice
9 ounce
Italian Pork Sausage
Not included in your delivery
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• In a medium pot, bring 5 cups water to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer (for 4 servings, use a large pot and 8 cups water). (You’ll use the simmering water in Step 5.) • Wash and dry produce. • Trim and quarter zucchini lengthwise; cut crosswise into ½-inch-thick pieces.
• Remove sausage* from casing if necessary; discard casing. Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook, breaking up meat into pieces, until browned and almost cooked through, 2-4 minutes. • Add zucchini; cook, stirring constantly, until zucchini is tender and sausage is cooked through, 2-4 minutes more. • Turn off heat; using a slotted spoon, transfer sausage and zucchini to a paper-towel-lined plate. Reserve pan.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together sun-dried tomato paste, 1 TBSP hot water (2 TBSP for 4 servings), and a pinch of salt. TIP: You can use hot water from the tap or the simmering water from Step 1.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in pan used for sausage over medium heat. Add rice and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add stock concentrates and 1 cup simmering water to pan with rice. Cook, stirring, until liquid has mostly absorbed. • Repeat with remaining simmering water— adding ½ cup at a time and stirring until liquid has absorbed—until rice is al dente and mixture is creamy, 25-30 minutes. TIP: Depending on the size of your pan, you may need a little more or a little less liquid. • Reduce heat to medium low. Stir in cream sauce base and half the Parmesan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until risotto thickens and cream sauce is incorporated, 2-4 minutes.
• Remove risotto from heat and stir in sausage and zucchini. Taste and season with salt and pepper if desired.
• Divide risotto between shallow bowls. Dollop with sun-dried tomato topping and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Serve.
Pork Sausage is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 160°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Sep 2026- Flavor: The creamy, savory risotto is a crowd-pleaser, though some found it mild on its own — the sun-dried tomato topping and sausage add the most flavor. A few felt the pork sausage overpowered the dish; swapping in chicken or Italian sausage worked well for them.
- Ease of prep: Risotto requires patience and near-constant stirring for 25–30 minutes, and many found the total cook time closer to 45–60 minutes rather than the stated 35. That said, most agreed the effort was worth it.
- Suggestions: Stir the sun-dried tomato paste into the risotto rather than dolloping it on top for more even flavor throughout. Add garlic, Italian seasoning, basil, or a splash of white wine to deepen the flavor 🍲. Use only half the cream sauce base if you prefer a lighter texture, and go easy on salt since the stock concentrate and sausage already add plenty. Cut back on sausage quantity if you find it overpowering, and add more zucchini or other vegetables to balance the richness.
- Leftovers: The risotto makes great leftovers for lunch the next day, and the recipe yields generous portions — some found it fed three to four people even when made as a two-serving recipe.
Reviews from our home cooks
The instructions were left out of my box, so I used the online instructions which did not tell me at which step to include the chicken sausage. So I left it out of the recipe. Additionally, adding the sun-dried tomatoes at the same time as the rice into the pan causes you to rehydrate your sun-dried tomatoes through the process. This releases a lot of the sugars into your risotto, making it unusually sweet. And then sun-dried tomatoes and the roasted tomatoes bear little difference from one another. I think it would be better to put the sun-dried tomatoes in just prior to adding the cream sauce. Then you have an interesting zing of the sun-dried tomatoes contrasting with the savory flavors, rather than the whole dish being too sweet and permeated with their flavor.
This was epic! Learning a new skill of risotto and the flavor was delicious. We added Italian seasoning to the risotto and it enhanced the flavor a lot. Added whole cherry tomatoes to the zucchini cooking and that added to the tomato flavor as well. Loved this so very much!!!
Excellent with chicken sausage. However, the cooking steps were for vegetarian risotto and didn't specify what to do with the chicken sausage.
We loved this meal, but we both wished we had more dollops of sun dried tomato sauce to put atop of our creamy zucchini and pork sausage risotto. We both think we would have liked almost double the amount that was included in the bag.
The risotto recipes are usually good and this one is healthier, not so reliant on extra cream cheese, butter, etc. I wouldn't call it health food, but it is a healthier comfort food than some similar dishes I've had from HF.
Absolutely amazing meal and directions. First time cooking risotto and it was so soft and creamy.
I love risotto, the meal was very tasty. The recipe made more than two servings, so I ate the rest for lunch the next day.
The risotto is worth the patience. Sun-dried tomato is a flavorful addition.
It takes a little patience to make risotto, but it was well worth the time and stirring.
The risotto had far too much water according to the recipe, the texture suffered significantly for it. Overall it was very bland. The sausage can only add so much flavor on its own. The stock did not add enough flavor, the cream sauce was flavorless, zucchini itself has a weak flavor and there wasn't enough cheese to impart flavor there. Adding in the sundried tomato paste at the end just felt like a sloppy way to cover things up.
