Making arancini just got easier with this clever shortcut

This is no news to parents, but here it goes anyway: Kids just don’t know how good they have it.

Take Anna Gass. When she was growing up in New Jersey, she said, she didn’t appreciate her mother’s risotto. “I was so spoiled,” said Gass, who hosts “Instant Italian” on the FYI Network. “My mother was putting in all this great stuff, like porcini mushrooms, and I was like, ‘Yuck! Porcini mushrooms!’” Even more to the point, Gass realized that if she pushed the risotto around her plate rather than eat it, the odds increased that the next day her mother would turn the leftovers into one of her favorite dishes: arancini.

Who could blame her? What child — or adult, for that matter — can resist fried risotto balls enclosing melty cheese or a ragu?

To those of us who didn’t have Italian mothers making us risotto or arancini when we were growing up, Gass’s experience is positively enviable. And when she told me about it, I had to share the story of my own recent experience making arancini for my family. I had never attempted them before, but they had been such a hit with the teenager at Italian restaurants, I was confident they’d be met with delight — or at least the closest thing to delight that a too-cool-for-school 17-year-old can express.

Taking my cues from recipes in Gass’s 2019 book, “Heirloom Kitchen,” and Lucinda Scala Quinn’s new book, “Mother Sauce,” I first tried a Sicilian-style arancini, stuffing it with a meat sauce (using Beyond Meat to keep it vegetarian) and peas. What I loved most from their recipes is the initial step of making a stripped-down version of risotto rather than relying on having leftovers. (The upshot: If you use arborio or another risotto rice and cook it simply, even with just water, you still get that starchy creaminess you need for the balls to hold together.)

There’s really nothing particularly hard about making arancini, especially if you’re comfortable with a little frying. They take some time, though, especially in the chilling required to get those balls to keep their shape, but also in the forming and rolling in breadcrumbs. And unless you’re working with an industrial-size pot, the frying — as quick as it is — needs to happen in batches.

After making the meat-sauce-stuffed ones and dispatching them over several meals myself, I tried a simpler approach and stuffed them with mozzarella alone, making them closer to the Roman-style suppli al telefono (named for the “telephone wires” that the cheese pull looks like when you break into them). I put together a simple marinara sauce to go with them and called the guys to the kitchen.

The teenager stood at the kitchen island to eat in silence, walking over to the stove to dip one rice ball and then another right into the saucepan holding the marinara. The 50-year-old uttered a nonchalant, “Oh, arancini, that’s cool,” took one to the table — and ate a few more the next day. That was the extent of their reactions, reminding me yet again how much we family cooks need positive reinforcement to feed our motivation to keep at it. Give me a little credit: I made arancini, people!

When I talked to Quinn about her own arancini memories (many of them formed during trips to Sicily, where they are bar and street food), I had another revelation. She and Gass reminded me how versatile and flexible they are, taking to all manner of approaches depending on what you put in the risotto and what you stuff them with. The Roman-style suppli often include tomato in the risotto, while Gass studs her cheese-stuffed version with prosciutto.

Quinn took things further: What about tinting the rice with turmeric (instead of the traditional saffron) and stuffing it with dal or a chickpea curry for an Indian-style take? My mind immediately went to some of my other favorite cuisines: Could I try a Persian riff and make tahdig arancini with lentils, or maybe a Cuban approach playing on Moros y Cristianos (black beans and rice)?

Whichever way I go, clearly the next time I make them, I need to invite over guests who will respond with something more along the lines of, “Wow! Arancini!” Because that’s what these delectable rice balls — and anybody who scoops, stuffs, coats and fries them — deserve.

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Arancini (Fried Rice Balls With Cheese)

2 cups Arborio rice

5 cups water

1½ teaspoons fine salt, divided

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 cup breadcrumbs, seasoned or unseasoned

1 large egg

⅓ cup (about 1 ounce) finely grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

3 ounces low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella cheese, cut into 16 equal-size cubes

4 cups canola or other neutral oil

Marinara sauce, homemade or store-bought, for serving

In a large pot over medium-high heat, combine the rice, water and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat until the water is at a simmer, cover and cook until the water is absorbed and the rice is soft and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Keep an eye on the pot, and reduce the heat further if the water foams up. Stir in the butter, and transfer the rice to a large sheet pan or two small sheet pans, spreading it as thin as possible. Place the sheet pan(s) in the freezer until the rice is cold, 10 to 15 minutes. (If using leftover risotto from the refrigerator, skip this step.)

While the rice is cooling, set out a small bowl of water and pour the breadcrumbs into a separate large shallow bowl or pie plate.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, Parmesan and the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt until combined. Once the rice is cool, scrape it into the bowl with the egg mixture, and mix until thoroughly combined.

If you have a 2-inch ice cream scoop (a No. 24 disher with a 2-tablespoon capacity), wet your hands and use it to scoop an even 2 tablespoons of risotto into one of your hands. Press a cube of mozzarella onto the flat side of the scoop of risotto in your hand, scoop out another 2 tablespoons of risotto and join it with the first scoop like two halves of a globe. Alternatively, scoop out ¼ cup (scant 3¼ ounces) risotto and form it around a mozzarella cube. As you work, set the balls on the same sheet pan you used to cool the risotto. Repeat with the remaining risotto.

Transfer the balls to the freezer and chill for 15 minutes.

While the balls are chilling, in a large Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil until it registers 350°F on an instant-read thermometer. Adjust the heat to maintain the oil temperature. Set a wire rack over a large sheet pan, and place it near the pot.

Remove the risotto balls from the freezer. Working with one ball at a time, gently roll them in the breadcrumbs and return them to the sheet pan. Working in batches of four at a time, carefully slide the balls into the hot oil and cook until dark golden brown, about 3 minutes, turning them as necessary to cook evenly all around. Use a slotted spoon or spider to transfer the cooked arancini to the prepared wire rack to drain, and repeat with the remaining balls, letting the oil come back to temperature as needed between batches.

Let the arancini cool slightly, then sprinkle with more Parmesan and serve with the marinara sauce, for dipping.

Makes 8 servings (16 balls).

Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat frozen balls in a 300°F oven for 20 to 30 minutes.

Make ahead: The rice can be made and refrigerated for up to 4 days, or frozen for up to 3 months before you form the balls. (Defrost the rice first if frozen.)

Substitutions: For Arborio rice, use carnaroli or vialone nano rice. To make these vegan, use nondairy butter, a liquid egg replacement such as Just Egg, and nondairy mozzarella and Parmesan. To make it gluten-free, use gluten-free breadcrumbs.

Variations: You can make these in the air fryer, though they won’t be quite as dark, crispy or spherical. Generously spray the shaped rice balls with nonstick cooking spray all over. Cook on the air fry setting at 400°F for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly golden and dry on the surface.

Nutrition | Per serving (2 rice balls): 314 calories, 44 g carbohydrates, 37 mg cholesterol, 11 g fat, 1g fiber, 9 g protein, 3 g saturated fat, 555 mg sodium, 1g sugar

— Based on recipes in “Heirloom Kitchen” by Anna Francese Gass (Harper, 2019) and “Mother Sauce” by Lucinda Scala Quinn (Artisan, 2025)