Learn how to make perfect homemade arancini! My easy arancini recipe makes crispy, cheesy, golden-fried Italian rice balls filled with melty pockets of tangy goat cheese.
These little arancini balls always remind me of potato croquettes. They’re just as crunchy and cheesy, made with creamy risotto rice instead of potatoes.
Arancini (meaning “little oranges”) are Italian rice balls that are stuffed, breaded, and golden-fried until crispy outside and creamy and cheesy inside. They’re one of my favorite restaurant orders ever. And this homemade recipe is all but foolproof! All I need is a plate of these cheesy arancini, a bowl of caponata, and a Campari spritz, and I’m halfway to a Sicilian vacation. Who’s joining?!
All About This Italian Arancini Recipe
- Crispy outside, cheesy inside. The most important part of arancini is the crispy, golden crust that traps the creamy rice and cheesy filling inside. This recipe has it in spades!
- Beginner-friendly. I wanted this arancini recipe to be approachable to just about any home cook. Even if you’ve never deep-fried rice balls before, I cover all the steps in detail so these turn out perfect every time.
- Versatile. Eat arancini as an appetizer, as a meal, or as a snack. They’re delicious alone, dipped in marinara, or topped with any of your favorite sauces. I include some of my favorites later on.
- Make-ahead. Arancini is great for using leftover risotto, or you can prep your arancini the day before and chill them in the fridge before you fry them.
To Make Arancini, You’ll Need Risotto
Risotto is a classic Italian rice dish made with starchy arborio rice, and it doubles as the base for arancini recipes. All that starch is key to holding the rice balls together! I love making arancini whenever I have leftover risotto in the fridge. It’s also easy to make a fresh batch of homemade risotto using the ingredients below.
- Olive Oil – Or your choice of cooking oil, like avocado or unflavored coconut oil.
- Shallots – Substitute a mild white or yellow onion if needed.
- Garlic – Freshly minced, or you can substitute ½ teaspoon of garlic paste or garlic powder per fresh clove.
- Butter – I prefer to cook with unsalted butter and adjust the salt to taste, but salted butter works, too.
- Zucchini – This can be just about any vegetable add-in, but I love fresh summer zucchini in my arancini. Other good options are finely chopped bell peppers, asparagus, and green peas.
- Thyme – Fresh or dried, but I always find fresh thyme has a better flavor. You’ll need slightly less if you’re using dried herbs.
- Arborio Rice – Arborio is a medium-grain Italian rice that cooks up creamy and chewy. You’ll find it in most grocery stores and Italian delis.
- White Wine – Choose a dry white, like Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay, and make sure it’s one you’d like to drink (mostly for flavor, but also so you can have a glass while cooking!). If you’d prefer to cook without wine, you can substitute an equal amount of vegetable stock instead.
- Vegetable Broth – I recommend low sodium vegetable stock, or chicken broth will also work here. If you have homemade stock on hand, all the better.
- Parmesan Cheese and Goat Cheese – Grated parmesan is the finishing touch that makes the risotto rich and extra creamy. Be sure to grate it fresh from the block for best results. I also add goat cheese to the risotto in this recipe, to echo the tangy goat cheese filling in the arancini. You can skip it and simply add more Parmesan, though, if needed.
Arancini Ingredients
- Risotto – You can make it ahead and use leftovers, or follow the ingredients (above) and directions (later on) to prepare it the day of.
- Goat Cheese – For the cheesy filling. Feel free to swap goat cheese for mozzarella cubes or pearls, feta cheese, or even cheddar.
- Breading Ingredients – This is your egg wash, flour, and breadcrumbs that you’ll use to coat the rice balls. I use all-purpose flour and unseasoned breadcrumbs, but seasoned will work, too.
- Parmesan – I mix in additional grated parmesan, plus salt and pepper, to give the breading more flavor. This time, it can be pre-shredded Parm or freshly grated; it’s up to you.
- Oil – Choose a good vegetable oil with a high smoke point for deep-frying, like canola oil. Olive oil won’t work here as it tends to smoke and turn bitter in high heat.
The Best Rice for Arancini
Arborio rice is the best rice for making risotto for arancini. It has a high starch content that makes it extra creamy. Not to be confused with regular long-grain white rice, which isn’t as high in starch.
More Filling Ideas
- Meaty add-ins. Add chopped chorizo or cooked, crumbled bacon to the cheesy filling. You could also make these rice balls with bacon risotto.
- Ragu-filled. Classic arancini are filled with beef ragu.
- Mushrooms. Instead of zucchini, finely chop roasted Italian mushrooms or pan-fried oyster mushrooms to make mushroom arancini.
- Mozzarella. Instead of goat cheese, make melty mozzarella-filled arancini. Mozarella pearls are the perfect size!
Helpful Tips
- Cool the risotto. Make sure to leave enough time for the risotto to cool completely before you prepare your arancini. If it’s too hot, it’ll be difficult to handle, and the rice balls are less likely to hold their shape.
- Don’t overfill. I usually divide about ½ cup of goat cheese between 12 arancini. Be careful not to over-stuff the risotto balls; otherwise, they may burst open while frying.
- Chill the arancini before frying. If you’re worried about the arancini breaking apart in the hot oil, consider popping the breaded rice balls into the freezer for 10-15 minutes before you fry them. It can help the arancini hold their shape.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure! Nothing gets arancini quite as crispy as deep-frying, but if you’d prefer to bake these instead, I recommend baking them on a wire rack set over a baking sheet (line the pan for easier clean-up), at 350ºF for about 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them as the baking time might vary.
My top tip for keeping the arancini from falling apart is to cool the risotto completely before you shape the rice balls. Secondly, if you’ve finished breading the arancini but your oil isn’t hot enough, keep the balls in the fridge until the oil comes to temperature.
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To Make the Risotto
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Sauté the veggies. In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, season with salt, and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for 15 seconds or until fragrant. Add the butter. Once the butter has melted, add the zucchini. Sauté until tender and nicely browned, about 2 to 3 minutes.
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Toast the rice. Add the rice to the pan and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly to toast.
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Cook the rice. Add the white wine. Cook until mostly evaporated. Turn the heat to medium-low. Add ½ cup of the broth. Cook until the vegetable broth absorbs into the rice, stirring occasionally. Repeat until you are out of broth, and don’t forget to stir. If the rice is not fully cooked by the time you run out of vegetable broth, add a bit more broth or water, ½ cup at a time, until the rice is cooked through.
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Finish the rice. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the grated Parmesan and goat cheese.
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Cool. Allow the rice to cool to room temperature before continuing. If you are not ready to make the arancini right away, store the cooled rice in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
To Make the Arancini
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Form the arancini. Divide the rice mixture into 12 portions and form the remaining goat cheese into 12 balls. Use your hands to form a portion of the rice mixture into a flat circle in your palm. Add a goat cheese ball to the center of the circle. Close the rice mixture around the goat cheese and form it into a ball. Repeat with the remaining portions of the rice mixture and goat cheese.
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Bread the arancini. Add the egg to a small bowl and the flour to another. In a large, shallow bowl, whisk together the breadcrumbs, Parmigiano, salt, and pepper. Dip a goat cheese-stuffed rice ball into the flour bowl, coating it thoroughly. Dip the ball into the egg, coating it thoroughly. Allow any excess egg to drip off the ball into the bowl. Dip the ball into the breadcrumb mixture, coating thoroughly.
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Heat the oil. Pour 4 inches of vegetable oil into a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat over medium heat until a piece of bread added to the oil turns golden brown within 45 seconds. You could also use a thermometer and start frying the rice balls when the oil has reached a temperature of about 350˚F to 375˚F.
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Fry the arancini. Gently lower the rice balls into the oil and fry for 8-10 minutes. Turn the fried arancini out onto a plate lined with a paper towel.
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Serve. Serve the arancini warm with a fresh green salad.
Calories: 691kcal | Carbohydrates: 85g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 86mg | Sodium: 1289mg | Potassium: 625mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 988IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 318mg | Iron: 6mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make Arancini Balls (With Photos)
Sometimes I’ll have risotto that’s leftover, or made a day or two ahead and stored in the fridge. In this case, I skip straight to shaping and frying the arancini. Otherwise, these are the easy steps to prepare homemade risotto for this arancini recipe:
- Sauté the veggies. Get the diced shallots sautéeing in a heavy-bottomed skillet with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Once softened, add the minced garlic, then melt the butter. Add the zucchini and sauté until browned.
- Toast the rice. Stir your arborio rice into the pan, and keep stirring while it lightly toasts, just enough to bring out the flavor.
- Cook the rice. Now, pour in the white wine. Let that cook off, then turn down the heat.
- Add the stock a little at a time. I like to use a ladle or measuring cup to spoon the stock into the pot. Cook until most of the stock absorbs into the rice, then repeat, cooking and stirring until you’ve used up all the stock. You may need to add more if your rice is still a bit undercooked.
- Finish the risotto. Finally, stir in the parmesan and goat cheese off the heat. You’ll need to let your risotto cool to room temperature before shaping it into arancini. Or, refrigerate it for up to 2 days.
Shape and Fry the Arancini
- Shape the rice balls. Divide the risotto into 12 even-sized portions. Then, divide the goat cheese into balls for the filling. Using your hands, press one portion of risotto into a flat circle. Add a ball of goat cheese to the center of the circle, and seal the risotto around the cheese, rolling it into a ball. Repeat with the rest of the portions.
- Bread the arancini. Next, set up your breading station with beaten eggs in one bowl, flour in another, and breadcrumbs mixed with salt, pepper, and Parmesan in a third bowl. One at a time, dip the rice balls first into the flour, then the egg, and then the breadcrumbs to evenly coat.
- Fry. Heat the oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. You could also cook the arancini in your deep fryer if you have one. Carefully fry the arancini in the hot oil for 8-10 minutes. Once cooked, move them to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and cool before serving.
Test the Temperature of the Oil
My easy trick for testing if the oil is hot enough for frying is to add a small piece of bread to the pan. If it turns brown within 45 seconds, the oil is ready to go.
Storage Instructions
- Refrigerate. Store any leftover arancini balls in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
- Reheat. The best way to reheat arancini and keep them crispy is to use the oven. Make sure to preheat it to 350ºF, and warm the arancini until it’s hot all the way through again.
- Freeze. You can freeze these rice balls before or after frying. Pre-freeze them on a lined baking sheet, then transfer the balls to a freezer bag to freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw the arancini in the fridge before reheating or frying.
