Baked Arancini

These baked arancini are creamy rice balls filled with mozzarella and prosciutto. After all, who doesn't like the combination of cheese and ham?

They make the perfect snack and are traditionally served with a rich tomato sauce.

Normally fried, this baked version is easy to do in the oven and are deliciously moreish.

Bon appétit!  

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why you will love this dish
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🍽 Equipment
• 🔪 Instructions
• ⏲️ Cooking Time
• 🥗 Side Dishes
• 🥙 Substitutions
• 📖 Variations
• 🍣 Storage
• 🍱 Prepare in Advance
• More dishes using panko
• 📋 Recipe
• Brunch & Light Bites
• 💬 Comments

🤔FAQs

If you've never tried baked arancini, or the traditionally deep fried version, then you are definitely missing out.

These delicious morsels take some time to prepare from scratch, but they are definitely worth it. It's even better if you have some leftover risotto sitting in your fridge, as you can be tucking into these in no time.

Think of a crispy coating giving way to creamy soft rice and then getting a burst of melted cheese and ham.

So delicious.

❤️ Why you will love this dish

• Great for using leftover risotto.
• Family friendly.
• Baked, not fried.
• It's cheese and bacon!
• Make in advance.

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🥘 Ingredients

• Rice - often called risotto rice or arborio rice. It's an Italian short grain rice that becomes very creamy when it's cooked, due to the high starch content.
• Butter - salted or unsalted, but season carefully if you use salted butter.
• Oil - use vegetable oil orolive oil for frying.
• Seasoning - freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste.
• Shallots - these are mild and sweet. I prefer to use the long shallots rather than the round ones.
• Wine - a dry white eine like Pinot Grigio.
• Stock - vegetable stock
• Cheese - Parmesan cheese (ungrated) for the risotto and mozzarella ball for the filling.
• Lemon - frehsly squeezed lemon juice.
• Garlic - garlic clove.
• Ham - prosciutto, which is a dry cured ham with a huge amount of flavour.
• Flour - plain or all purpose flour for breading.
• Breadcrumbs - I am using panko breadcrumbs for their great crunch.
• measuring- a few strands will give the rice a golden colour, but this is totally optional.

The printable recipe card with full ingredient quantities and instructions can be found at the bottom of the article.

🍽 Equipment

• large oven tray
• saucepan
• sharp knife
• chopping board
• wooden spoon
• baking parchment
• ladle
• medium ice cream scoop - optional
• measuring jug

🔪 Instructions

Start by making the risotto.

Put the oil and butter in a large deep frying pan over a medium heat.

Add the shallots. Sprinkle with salt and cook over a medium heat until the shallots are totally soft and translucent.

Crush or finely chop the garlic and add to the pan.

Cook for 1 minute then stir in the rice, making sure that all the grains are coated in the oil.

If you are using wine add it now and continue to cook until the liquid has reduced by half.

Next pour in ⅔ of the hot stock and saffron and stir while it absorbs the liquid.

Add the remaining stock, if required, a ladelful at a time until the rice is cooked and creamy, stirring all the time. This will take about 25 minutes.

Add the grated Parmesan and lemon juice and stir through then season to taste.

Spread the risotto out onto a large oven tray and allow to cool to room temperature while you prepare the filling.

Cut a ball of mozzarella into 18 pieces and chop the proscuitto finely.

Line a clean baking sheet with baking parchment and use a medium ice cream scoop to gather the risotto together.

Make one scoop at a time into your hands and form a dent in the ball.

Gather a piece of mozzarella and some proscuitto and press into the middle.

Smooth the risotto around the filling and form into a ball shape before placing on the baking parchment.

Repeat until the rice has been used up. It should make 18 balls about golf ball size.

Put the arancini in the fridge to firm up for 30 minutes.

In the meantime place the

Put the flour, egg and panko into separate bowls for the breading stage.

Dip the rice balls in flour, then egg then roll in the panko breadcrumbs. Place on a non stick  baking sheet or lined sheet and spray with vegetable oil or other spray for extra colour and crispness.

⏲️ Cooking Time

Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F / 160 FAN / Gas 4.

Bake for 20 minutes until golden and heated through, turning over carefully after 10 minutes.

Serve warm from the oven with a tomato sauce.

These little morsels will be crisp on the outside and soft and cheesy on the inside. Perfect for sharing.

🥗 Side Dishes

Serve at a party or gathering with some of these ideas.

• Twice Cooked Chicken Wing Confit
• Tuna Stuffed Tomatoes
• Prawn Tartare
• Quiche Lorraine
• Smoked Salmon Tartines
• Salmon and Broccoli Quiche
• Game Terrine
• Chicken Liver Parfait
• Crab Pâté
• Savoury Cake
• Duck Terrine
• Chicken Salad Croissant

🥙 Substitutions

• Arborio rice - the rice does need to have plety of starch and the best substitute is sushi rice. Pudding or basmati rice would also work.
• Saffron - use half a teaspoon of turmeric unstead or leave it out.
• Panko - use natural dried breadcrumbs.
• Mozzarella - use cheddar or another cheese that melts easily.
• Proscuitto - use any well flavoured dry cured ham such as Serrano.

📖 Variations

Try some of these ideas for fillings.

• Sundried tomatoes
• Chopped olives
• Truffle
• Cooked chopped mushrooms
• Roasted peppers
• Chopped and fried Chorizo

🍣 Storage

• Refrigerator - store baked arancini for up to 3 days covered.
• Freezer - place into sealed containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator.
• Reheat - in the oven for 15 minutes until piping hot.

🍱 Prepare in Advance

• Prepare the arancini up to the baking stage and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

More dishes using panko

• Baked Breaded Garlic Mushrooms
• Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu
• Baked Halloumi Fries
• Roasted Courgettes Provençale
• Cod Cheeks in Panko

📋 Recipe

🍲 Food Safety

• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
• Wash hands after touching raw meat.
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
• Never leave cooking food unattended.
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
• Always have good ventilation when using gas.

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