Riso al Forno is comfort food at its best! This baked rice dish combines Arborio rice, peas, and cheese that’s baked in a meat sauce until golden and bubbly. And riso al forno is a great gluten free alternative to baked pastas!
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A baked rice dish that is better than pasta!
This baked rice dish is an homage to Sicilian flavors with the addition of peas and Scamorza cheese. As always, feel free to omit an ingredient or two, if, for example, you don’t like peas.
My grandma would make this often, each time a little differently. Sometimes she’d include eggplant, other times it would be made similarly to this version with ground beef and peas.
No matter how she’d make it, I always loved it just as much as I did pasta al forno, meatless baked ziti, and baked orzo.
And since riso al forno is made with rice and naturally gluten-free, it is a wonderful alternative for those who can’t have regular pasta.
We’ll usually serve this dish as the main course alongside a simple sauteed green, like broccoli rabe or garlic broccoli, and some toasty garlic bread.
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Ground beef. Ground chuck has a ton of flavor but you can use leaner ground beef if you like.
- Rice. Arborio rice is recommended.
- Anchovies. These add a ton of flavor without making the dish fishy
- Tomatoes. Whole plum and tomato paste are used for the sauce.
- Cheese. We used a blend of Pecorino Romano and Scarmorza cheese for our riso al forno. While Pecorino is easier to find, Scamorza can be more scarce. If you can’t find Scarmorza, smoked or regular mozzarella would be a great substitute.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make riso al forno
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Dice 1 medium onion and slice 5 cloves of garlic. Chop 1/4 cup of basil leaves (packed), and grate 3/4 cup of Pecorino Romano. Shred 2 cups of Scamorza cheese and set aside. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add 2 pounds of ground beef chuck and cook for about 7-10 minutes, or until well-browned, then move to a plate leaving 3-4 tablespoons of fat in the pan. Note: a meat masher works well to help break up the meat!
- Turn the heat down to medium and add the onion. Saute for 5-7 minutes or until soft.
- Add the garlic and 2 small anchovy fillets and cook until fragrant and the anchovy dissolves, about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Return the meat to the pan, add 3 ounces of tomato paste, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add 2 28-ounce cans of tomatoes (hand-crushed or blender-pulsed) and stir to incorporate. Once the sauce starts to bubble, reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook for at least 20 minutes uncovered. Be sure to stir occasionally to avoid any sticking. Taste test the sauce and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
- While the sauce simmers, parboil 2 1/2 cups of Arborio rice in salted water for 8 minutes. Drain the rice and rinse it under cold water to stop the cooking process. Preheat the oven to 375f and set the rack to the middle level. In a large bowl combine the rice with 2 cups of thawed frozen peas and the basil.
- Move 3 cups of sauce to a bowl for later, and add the remaining sauce to the rice and pea mixture. Add half the Pecorino Romano and half the Scarmorza and stir to incorporate.
- Coat a 9×13 baking dish with half of the reserved sauce and pour the rice mixture into the dish.
- Top with the remaining sauce and cheese.
- Bake the rice for 30-35 minutes or until tender. For extra color, turn on the broiler and cook for 1-2 minutes longer but watch carefully to prevent burning. Wait at least 10-15 minutes before eating to give the riso al forno time to settle. Enjoy!
Top tips
- Parboil the rice. Be sure to just partially cook the rice since it will continue to cook and become very tender after baking in the oven for 30-35 minutes.
- Sauce. You will use all the sauce for this recipe. If you are the type of person who likes to add extra sauce to baked pastas when they’re served, we recommend adding an additional 28-ounce can of tomatoes to the sauce. You’ll need to adjust the salt and pepper to taste, and the sauce will be thinner than the one we made here, but you’ll have the extra sauce you desire.
- Variations. If you prefer to make this vegetarian, you can omit the ground beef and anchovy and use a basic marinara sauce. Feel free to substitute the peas for other veggies like asparagus or eggplant.
- Settle down. As with lasagna, or baked penne with sausage, it’s important to let the riso al forno settle a bit before eating. 15 minutes or so does the trick.
More rice recipes
If you love rice as much as we do, check out these other awesome rice recipes.
Riso al Forno
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 5 cloves garlic sliced
- 2 anchovy fillets optional
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes optional
- 2 pounds (908g) ground chuck
- 3 ounces (85g) tomato paste
- 2 28-ounce cans plum tomatoes hand crushed or blender pulsed
- salt and pepper to taste
For the riso al forno
- 2 1/2 cups (500g) Arborio rice
- 2 cups (340g) frozen peas thawed
- 2 cups (226g) shredded scamorza
- 1/4 packed cup basil leaves chopped
- 3/4 cup (68g) grated Pecorino Romano
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Instructions
For the sauce
- Heat a large saucepan to medium-high heat with olive oil. Add the beef and cook until browned (about 7-10 minutes). Remove the meat to a plate, leaving 3-4 tablespoons of the fat in the pan.
- Turn the heat down to medium and add the onion. Saute until soft (5-7 minutes) then add the garlic and anchovy and cook for another 2 minutes more or until fragrant and the anchovy dissolves. Add the hot red pepper flakes and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Return the meat to the pan and add the tomato paste. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the plum tomatoes and mix in to incorporate. Once the sauce starts bubbling, turn the heat down to a very low simmer.
- Cook for at least 20 minutes uncovered at a low simmer, stirring occasionally to avoid any sticking. Taste-test the sauce and adjust salt and pepper if required.
Assembling the riso al forno
- While the sauce is simmering parboil the rice in salted water for 8 minutes. Drain the rice and rinse under cold water. Mix the rice with the peas.
- Preheat oven to 375f and set the racks near the middle level.
- In a very large bowl combine the rice and peas with the sauce, reserving 3 cups of sauce for later. Also, mix in the basil, half of the scamorza cheese, and half of the pecorino.
- Coat a 9×13" baking dish with half of the remaining sauce. Pour the rice into the dish and top with the remaining sauce and cheese.
- Bake the rice for 30-35 minutes or until tender. For extra color broil for 1-2 more minutes but watch carefully! Wait at least 10-15 minutes before eating so that the rice settles. Enjoy!
Notes
- Servings. Makes 8 moderate-sized or 4-6 large portions.
- Rice. Parboil the rice! The rice is just partially cooked and will be cooked until tender in the oven.
- Brown it. For extra color, broil for 1-2 minutes, but watch very carefully to avoid burning.
- Leftovers. Riso al forno can be saved in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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My husband and I really enjoyed this dish. I halved the recipe and it was plenty for two nights. I did make some substitutions as follows. I couldn’t find scamorza so I used fontina with a bit of aged cheddar. I also used Jasmine rice instead of arborio and it was delicious. Use what you have on hand and it’ll work out just fine. Thanks Jim!
Hi Christie, we’re so happy you and your husband enjoyed this one. Thanks for sharing your substitutions as that info will come in handy for others. We appreciate your comment!
Turned out tasty. Looks beautiful baked. But a warning….it’s time consuming and makes a ton. Hoping it freezes well.
Hi Lynn, thanks for the comment! We’re so happy you enjoyed the recipe and yes, it does freeze well!
Hi Jim,
We made this recipe for someone who needs gluten free. It was delicious. Absolutely superb. One question, can this be made the night before? Also, there is
N Italian dish called sartu(?) which coats the baking dish with bread crumbs. Would this work for this recipe?
As always, we thank you for sharing all these tastes of Italy.
Hi Joe, thanks for the comment and so happy you enjoyed. I’ve heard of sartu and it probably would work although I can’t provide exact instructions as I haven’t developed a recipe for it just yet. And yes, you can make this the night before. Hope you enjoy!
Hi,
Plan to make this for one of our holiday dinners (my Italian American family always enjoys Italian food for Christmas). When you say you can make it the night before, does that mean bake it completely then re-heat it for serving? What do you recommend for reheating; or should I only bake it partially the night before, then finish for serving? Thank you
Hi Traci, you can bake it completely, then reheat before serving.
Hi James.
I would like to make this tonight but I don’t have anchovies on hand. Is there something I can substitute for them? I have all the other ingredients, even the scamorza cheese. The recipe looks delicious.
Thank you.
Hi Danielle, you can omit the anchovies and it will still be great. Hope you enjoy!
Tara. I used ground chicken (all I had on hand) and it came out good
Hi Leah, thanks for the comment and so happy you enjoyed the recipe!
Looks great! I’d like to try this as an alternative to baked ziti, but as it’s just the two of us, can leftovers be portioned and frozen?
Hi Lisa, thanks for the comment. Yes, you can freeze the leftovers for sure!
If we wanted to add the eggplant to this recipe would we cube it or slice it? Would it have to be sautéd or added in raw?
When would we add it in?
Thank you
P.s. thank you for the gluten free recipe
Hi Maria, If you’re going to add eggplant, I’d recommend cubing it first, then either roasting it in the oven or sauteeing it in olive oil. You can refer to my baked eggplant pasta recipe or pasta alla norma to see how I prepared the eggplant for those. I’d add the cooked eggplant to the rice mixture right before putting in the pan to bake. This is a great gluten free recipe, so hope you enjoy!
Sunday is always pasta in my house, but switched it up today with rave reviews!
Will definitely make again with extra sauce for serving. Was afraid the extra 28 oz can would make the sauce not as thick as shown in the video. Also happy I found the scamorza. A total winner!! Thanks Jim and Tara.
Hi Kathryn, we’re so happy you enjoyed the riso al forno! Thanks for the comment; we really appreciate it!
Hi. This looks delicious! My husband can’t eat red meat because of digestive issues. Can ground pork be used? I’m sure it will cause the taste to change but enough to not try it with the ground pork?
Hi Linda, you can definitely use ground pork here instead of ground beef. Hope you enjoy!
Family could not stop eating it after almost 3 servings each!
Hi Julia, thanks for the great comment! We’re so happy you and the family enjoyed it so much!
I made this last night with a few minor substitutions based on things I had on hand. WHAT A WINNER! Also, as someone who is actively looking to reduce my gluten intake for health reasons, this is a recipe that satisfies ALL my Italian Food comfort desires without sacrificing flavor OR texture! I love your videos and recipes. Thank you for doing what you do!
Hi Melissa, thanks for the comment! We’re so happy you enjoyed this one and agree that if you’re looking for a gluten free alternative to baked pasta, this is the best!
Just made this tonight! The full recipe yielded 10 solid servings for my family. Lots of leftovers are now in single-serving containers in the freezer and they’re sure to become the envy lunch at the office 😀. So delicious! One question. Do you have other recipes that will help me use up the extra anchovy fillets from the can?
Hi Sandy, thanks for the comment and so happy you enjoyed the recipe! Jim uses anchovies in many recipes. Here are a few to try: pasta al tonno, linguine with canned clams, penne puttanesca, and stuffed eggplant. All are here on the website.
Forgot to rate it.
This is delicious, definitely a case of the result being greater than the sum of its parts (meat sauce, rice, and cheese.) is scamortza supposed to be smoked? If so I got a weak one with no smoke flavor. I have to do most of the cooking at family gatherings and I have a gluten free niece. This solves that problem for a couple meals. Thanks Jim.
Hi Thomas, thanks for the comment and great to hear you enjoyed. Scamorza can be smoked, but doesn’t have to be. For the recipe pictured here on the website we used regular, but in the video we used smoked. It’s great both ways!
I sorta fallowed this recipe, had 1 lbs ground beef 2 Italian sausages in the freezer, I had rice from making dog food, I made today so it was cooked, the last 2 quarts of plum tomatoes from last year , I had some red and yellow peppers and half a box mushrooms that needed to be used, no fresh basil, used dry , my sister and I canned plum tomatoes and tomato juice, did 10 quarts of whole plum tomatoes and 28 quarts of tomato juice, I left a whole bunch of basil at her house and I’m not driving 40 miles to get it. The tomato paste and anchovies and peas and red pepper flakes and garlic and onion was the same, used mozzarella and grated Parmesan, because that was what was in the refrigerator, so it was close, I hope and it was great, sometimes you have to go with what you got , I normally fallow a recipe exactly the first time I make it, but hey thank you, I make quite a few of your recipes and they always are great
Hi Henry, thanks for the comment and so happy you enjoyed!
This looks delicious! It also looks freaking HUGE! Can you cut in half? What size dish would you use if you did?
Hi John, you can definitely halve the recipe if you’d like. If so, we recommend using a smaller casserole or pie dish. Also, this does freeze well so if you’d like to make the entire recipe and freeze half, you can get another meal or two out of it.
Just did a half recipe in an 8” x 8” baking dish, came out perfect. And it’s still huge!
Excellent recipe! I made a half size portion. The only deviation was anchovy paste vs whole anchovies. Another no fail S&F recipe. Thank you Jim and Tara.
Hi Gary, we’re so happy you enjoyed the riso al forno and really appreciate your comment and rating!
Love how easy this all comes together. Would smoked scamorza work as a substitute for regular scamorza? My deli doesn’t sell the regular stuff.
Hi Ricky, yes, smoked scamorza is excellent in this dish. In fact, that’s the type Jim used for the Riso al Forno video!
This dish looks great!! Can’t wait to try it. I bet there is a way to make this with leftover cooked rice, too. And you got a 10/10. Congrats!!!
Hi Matthew, thanks for the comment and hope you enjoy!
The recipe sounds wonderful but what is Scarmoza cheese. I have not seen it here in California. What can be substituted? I want to make this dish for my next family gathering.
Hi Frannie, see my section on cheese under “top tips”. Here we note that if you can’t find scamorza you can substitute with smoked or regular mozzarella. Hope you enjoy!
I think you could also substitute provolone (regular or smoked) or fontina for the scamorza.