Creamy Smoked Salmon Risotto

An upscale risotto that can be easily created by you at home? Yes, we're talking about our one and only Smoked Salmon Risotto With Lemon, Spinach and Creme Fraiche! Decadently creamy, with just the right balance of salty and subtly smoky flavours from the salmon, this is a filling, but elegant dinner for any fish and risotto lovers! 

Smoked Salmon and Spinach is a well-known combination that works well very much like in this Salmon and Spinach Pasta! Don't like smoked salmon, but love pan-seared salmon fillets? Try our Salmon Risotto With Peashoots or Salmon and Pea Risotto instead!

Jump to:

• Ingredients and Substitutes
• What Is The Secret To Creamy Salmon Risotto?
• Step-By-Step Method
• Recipe FAQs
• What Goes Well With Smoked Salmon Risotto?
• Reader Review
• Storage
• Other Risotto Recipes To Try 
• Other Recipes Using Smoked Salmon 
• Creamy Smoked Salmon Risotto

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost for you! Thank you!

Ingredients and Substitutes

8 ingredients (plus optional cheese) for this salmon risotto recipe: 

• brown onion: can be substituted with red onion or shallots. 
• fresh garlic clove: can be substituted with shop-bought garlic paste. 
• risotto rice: we typically use Carnaroli or Arborio rice. 
• lemon: choose fresh juicy unwaxed lemons, as we will use both juice and zest. 
• vegetable stock: can be replaced with seafood stock/broth if you wish. Chicken broth/ chicken stock will also work. We simply used a stock cube dissolved in a pan of water. 
• spinach: or peas, asparagus or samphire (try it with samphire, if you can!) 
• creme fraiche: can be replaced with sour cream or even a spoonful of cream cheese. 
• parmesan: optional, as many people do not enjoy cheese with fish (not us 🙂 ). 
• smoked salmon: cold or hot smoked salmon will work!

Find the ingredient quantieties, detailed instructions and nutritional information in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. 

Variations and Additional Ingredients

Whilst spinach is a great choice to complement the smoked salmon in this rice dish, there are a few other green vegetables that work equally well (one of them we think works even better, but it's not very widely used). Try this risotto with:

• Green peas, like petit pois or garden peas. 
• Asparagus or asparagus tips. You can make our Risotto Verde (Pea & Asparagus Risotto) and add some chopped salmon to it! It's delicious!
• Aaand - if you can, try this risotto with samphire! Salty green samphire goes so incredibly well with the smoked salmon, making it an ultimate seaside risotto! Honestly, it's the best! 

Fancy a little something extra? Try adding some fresh dill or other fresh herbs to this risotto.

Can You Really Make Risotto Without Wine? 

Absolutely! Whilst wine improved the depth of flavour of your risottos, this Smoked Salmon Risotto tastes great without it! But if you have one of the two ingredients below, add it to the recipe to give it a little lift, and recreate some of the flavours of the wine without the price tag attached:

• Add 2 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice to your rice after toasting, before adding the stock. 
• Add 1 tablespoon of white wine or cider vinegar to your stock. 

If you insist on using wine, choose a dry white wine, like pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc. 

What Is The Secret To Creamy Salmon Risotto?

We think there are FOUR main secrets to a good risotto. And the secrets lie with the rice and the stock!

• Rice for Risotto: Risotto rice needs to be short, starchy and able to withstand long cooking time. Some of the widely available varieties are Arborio and Carnaroli rice (and out of the two, we use Carnaroli for best results). Both types of short-grain rice are perfect for slow long cooking process, letting the rice infuse with all the flavours of stock without losing their shape.
• Toast the Rice: toasting the rice in a pan before adding any stock is an important step in any risotto preparation. The process seals the surface of the rice, helping it preserve its shape and retain the typical al dente texture that gives the final dish a slight chew. 
• Keep the Stock Hot: Put your stock in a pan and keep it on low heat. This ensures an even cooking temperature. If your stock cools down, it will prolong the cooking time and your rice may become soggy in the process.
• Add Stock Little By Little: Not adding all the stock at the same time allows the rice to release its starch at a slow rate, making the risotto creamy. Another advantage of adding the stock gradually is being able to control how much of the stock is actually needed before the rice is cooked.

Step-By-Step Method

1. Heat 2 tbsps of olive oil in a large skillet or a large saucepan. Add the onion and saute on low heat for 5 minutes until softened.

2. Add the risotto rice and garlic, increase it to medium heat, stir and continue cooking for another minute until the rice turns slightly translucent.

3. Pour in the juice of half a lemon and stir the rice quickly.

4. Keep the stock hot on a low simmer. 

5. One ladle at a time, start adding the stock and stir until all the stock is absorbed. Stir continuously over medium-low heat. Constant stirring helps the rice release its starch, making risotto creamy. Add another ladle of stock and keep on cooking until you have no stock left or until your rice is almost cooked and your risotto has creamy texture. This should take about 20-30 minutes.  

6. When the rice is cooked al dente, stir in the spinach. Turn the heat off and cover the pan with a lid and leave the risotto for 5 minutes for the spinach to wilt.

7. Shred half of the salmon into small pieces, and stir into the rice alongside the creme fraiche and parmesan. Taste and season with black pepper.

8. Divide risotto between bowls. Arrange the rest of the salmon on top of your creamy risotto and garnish with lemon zest and extra parmesan cheese. 

Recipe FAQs

Storage

Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge after the risotto has cooled to room temperature. Consume within two days. Ideally, you want to store your risotto before you add salmon to it. That way, you can quickly reheat your risotto in a microwave or in a pan with a splash of water, and add the salmon later. 

We do not recommend freezing the Smoked Salmon and Lemon Risotto unless you freeze it before adding the salmon. 

Another great way to use leftover risotto is to make arancini balls! 

Other Risotto Recipes To Try 

• Smoked Haddock and Pea Risotto
• Prawn and Fennel Risotto
• Squid Ink Seafood Risotto
• Creamy Apple Risotto With Bacon
• Spinach & Mushroom Risotto (Vegan)
• Sweet Chilli and Bell Pepper Risotto (Vegetarian)
• Prawn and Chorizo Risotto

Other Recipes Using Smoked Salmon 

If you do enjoy a bit of smoked salmon for one of the luxurious meals of the day, maybe we can tempt you to try some of our favourite smoked salmon recipes: 

• Smoked Salmon Poke Bowl (Quick & Easy Recipe)
• Smoked Salmon Pizza With Crème Fraîche (or Sour Cream)
• Smoked Salmon Canapes (on Sweet Corn Blinis)
• Smoked Salmon & Spinach Pasta
• Smoked Salmon Mezzaluna Pasta with Lemon Dill Butter
• Smoked Salmon And Spinach Eggs In Ramekins (Eggs en Cocotte)