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Turn fresh garden zucchini into crispy fried Arancini with Zucchini and Goat Cheese, just like Nonna makes! A family favorite recipe and the perfect summertime snack.
Summer is still with us and the zucchini keeps coming! After using as much as I could in favorites like zucchini parmesan and zucchini brownies, I knew it was time to call in a professional. Enter: my Italian neighbor.
With my latest haul of fresh zucchini slowly taking over my kitchen counters, “Nonna” (as she likes to be called) came to the rescue with her classic arancini recipe. I love arancini, so to say I was thrilled to finally have a tutorial is an understatement. Biting into these arancini is like taking a bite out of crispy, creamy appetizer heaven.
Why You’ll Love This Arancini Recipe
- Crispy and creamy. The exterior of each rice ball is perfectly golden and crisp, while the insides are filled with tender rice and creamy, melty cheese. It’s so good!
- Elegant. Usually you can only find arancini at fancy Italian restaurants. That is, unless you know how to make them at home. Lucky us, now we do.
- Goes with many other dishes. You can serve arancini with everything from pasta and pizza to quiches and tarts. The options are endless! I’ve shared some ideas below.
What Are Arancini?
Arancini are a classic Sicilian appetizer. They’re made from risotto rice balls that are stuffed, rolled in a breadcrumb coating, then fried until crispy. Nonna’s recipe includes fresh zucchini from the garden and a filling of rich and tangy goat’s cheese.
What does the Italian word arancini mean?
The direct translation of arancini is “little oranges” – fitting, don’t you think? These small fried balls do look a lot like small golden oranges. Especially when the risotto is made the traditional way, with saffron, to give the balls a bright orange color. Arancini pronunciation? Ah-rahn-CHEE-nee.
Even though this recipe leaves out the saffron, sometimes I’ll serve arancini topped with basil leaves. Then they really look like little freshly picked oranges!
Recipe Ingredients
These authentic zucchini and goat cheese arancini are a celebration of seasonal ingredients. Below is an overview of what you’ll need. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for specific amounts.
- Zucchini – Choose medium zucchinis or a comparable amount of small ones. Larger zucchinis are best used for baking.
- Shallots – You can also use a yellow onion if that is easier to find.
- Arborio Rice – Arborio rice is the traditional rice used when making risotto since it’s highly absorbent without becoming mushy. Other risotto-quality, high-starch, short-grain rice like Carnaroli, or Vialone Nano will also work.
- White wine – As any Italian will tell you, risotto calls for a dry, crisp white wine. Choose a nice pinot grigio, unoaked chardonnay, or sauvignon blanc for flavoring the rice.
- Vegetable broth – Instead of water, risotto rice is cooked in stock to really amp up the flavor. I recommend using a low-sodium broth or stock so that you can adjust the saltiness to taste.
- Butter and parmesan cheese – Be sure to use freshly grated parmesan from a block, and not the pre-grated kind.
- Goat cheese – Fresh goat cheese for filling the rice balls.
- Egg – A single whisked egg helps the breadcrumbs coat the arancini.
- Flour and breadcrumbs – This recipe uses plain, unseasoned breadcrumbs and jazzes them up with freshly grated Parmigiano cheese. You’ll also need to roll your arancini in a light layer of all-purpose flour first before coating them in the egg and breadcrumbs.
- Salt and pepper
- Fresh thyme – Just the leaves.
- Oil – For frying. I recommend using vegetable oil since we are frying and it has a high smoke point.
How to Make Arancini with Zucchini and Goat Cheese
Once all of our ingredients were chopped, diced, and ready to go, Nonna walked me through the recipe. Those are Nonna’s hands in the photos! This is an easy family recipe for Italian rice balls filled with tender veggies and tangy goat’s cheese, fried golden in a pan with oil.
Making arancini from scratch is surprisingly easy. Here’s how to do it:
Make the Risotto
- Sauté the veggies. Cook the shallots in olive oil warmed over medium-high heat. Season with salt, and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add the butter. Once the butter has melted, add the zucchini. Sauté until nicely browned.
- Toast the rice. Add the rice to the pan and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly to toast.
- Cook the risotto. Add the white wine. Cook until mostly evaporated. Turn the heat to medium-low. Add ½ cup of the stock. Cook until the stock absorbs into the rice, stirring occasionally. Repeat until you are out of stock. If the rice is not fully cooked by the time you run out of stock, add a bit more stock or water, ½ cup at a time, until the rice is cooked through.
- Finish the rice. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the grated parmesan and goat cheese.
- Cool. Allow the rice to cool to room temperature before continuing.
Shape the Arancini
- 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.
- 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 of the ball into the bowl. Dip the ball into the breadcrumb mixture, coating thoroughly.
Frying the Arancini
To fry your arancini, get out a good-sized, heavy-based saucepan and fill it about halfway with oil. You’ll need to preheat the oil – a good way to tell when it’s ready is to slowly drop a piece of bread into the hot oil. If the bread turns brown within 45 seconds, the oil is hot enough to cook your arancini.
Working in batches, carefully lower the arancini balls into the hot oil. Don’t drop them in from high over the pan, as this can cause the hot oil to splash! After about 8-10 minutes in the pan, your arancini should be a glorious, crispy golden brown. Remove the arancini from the oil using a slotted metal spoon, and transfer them to a tray lined with paper towels to drain.
Once they’re ready, serve your arancini warm, with a side salad. See below for even more serving suggestions!
Tips & Variation Ideas
Here are some extra tips for making the best arancini:
- Pay attention while frying. Very important! For safety purposes, hot oil calls for your undivided attention. Make sure to not leave the hot oil unattended, and keep children and pets out of the kitchen while you’re working.
- Do not crowd the pan when frying. The arancini should have about an inch between them. Fry in batches if you must.
- What size should these be? Arancini are classically on the larger size, however antipasti versions can be smaller. For 12 arancini, I suggest portioning out the rice in this recipe equally, to shape it into balls about the size of a small tangerine. They are meant to resemble little oranges, after all!
- Use leftover risotto. Arancini is one of the best ways to use up second-day risotto! If you already have a batch already made from last night’s dinner, feel free to stir in the sautéed zucchini, thyme, and onions and use this as the rice mixture for this arancini recipe.
- If you don’t want to deep fry. Pour 2 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. Gently lower the rice balls into the oil and fry for 4 minutes. Flip and fry for another 4 minutes.
How Do You Eat Arancini?
So many ways! If you ask Nonna, these zucchini arancini paired with a fresh green salad is peak Italian summertime fare.
However, you can really serve them with any Italian dish of your choosing. Some tasty options are Chicken Sorrentino, Gigi Hadid pasta, or bucatini with meat sauce.
For a casual al fresco dinner on the patio, serve a batch of arancini alongside fried green tomatoes, a light spinach mushroom quiche or tomato galette made with ripe garden tomatoes.
Arancini can also be served as an appetizer with some sauce for dipping. Homemade pasta sauce is perfect to either serve in a bowl next to these arancini or drizzle over top.
Can You Eat Arancini Cold?
Arancini are best enjoyed warm when the cheese in the center is melty, and the flavors and textures are at their prime. You can technically eat them cold, but it just isn’t the same.
How to Store and Reheat Extras
If you happen to end up with arancini leftover, simply store the rice balls airtight in the fridge until the following day. I highly recommend reheating arancini in the oven, as this gets the outside re-crisped while they warm through. Microwaving arancini can lead to the balls exploding open.
To reheat, lay your arancini out on a baking sheet and place them into the oven at 350ºF for about 15 minutes.
Some arancini recipes will say that you can freeze them. However, Nonna insists that freezing the rice will make it mushy, and I have to agree! Luckily, we never have any problem polishing off a full dozen arancini in this family.
More Zucchini Recipes to Try
- Sfougato (Crustless Zucchini Quiche)
- Buttermilk Zucchini Cornbread
- Zucchini Corn Griddle Cakes
- Apple Carrot Zucchini Bread
Arancini with Zucchini and Goat Cheese
Ingredients
To Make the Risotto
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 shallots, finely diced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 medium zucchini, finely diced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 cup Arborio rice
- ¼ cup white wine
- 2 ¾ cups vegetable broth
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup fresh goat cheese
To Make the Arancini
- ½ cup fresh goat cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Vegetable oil, for frying
Instructions
To make the risotto
- 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 until fragrant. Add the butter. Once the butter has melted, add the zucchini. Sauté until nicely browned.
- Toast the rice. Add the rice to the pan and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly to toast.
- Cook the rice. Add the white wine. Cook until mostly evaporated. Turn the heat to medium-low. Add ½ cup of the stock. Cook until the stock absorbs into the rice, stirring occasionally. Repeat until you are out of stock. If the rice is not fully cooked by the time you run out of stock, add a bit more stock or water, ½ cup at a time, until the rice is cooked through.
- Finish the rice. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the grated parmesan and goat cheese.
- 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
- 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.
- 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 of the ball into the bowl. Dip the ball into the breadcrumb mixture, coating thoroughly.
- Fry the Arancini. 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. Gently lower the rice balls into the oil and fry for 8-10 minutes. Turn the arancini out onto a plate lined with a paper towel.
- Serve. Serve warm with a fresh green salad.