Baked Pesto Zucchini Arancini (Rice Balls) + rice recipes

Crunchy on the outside, with a pocket of melty cheese in the middle, these tasty rice balls will be a huge hit at your next party! I baked these arancini instead of frying, so they are healthier and easier to make and clean up, but still have that satisfying crunchy coating. You can serve these rice balls with your favorite pasta sauce for dipping or simply enjoy them on their own.

Do you ever have leftover rice?

This is the perfect use for any leftover rice you may have in your fridge. I made these rice balls because I had some leftover rice after feeding my son one evening. If his sister doesn’t eat with him, there’s always half a batch of rice left that I hate to waste, so I throw it into a container and stash it in the fridge and hope that I will think of something yummy to make before it fades from memory. I’m totally happy to report that THIS half batch of rice went to very good use.

Have you heard of arancini? I’ve only recently discovered them myself. Arancini are risotto balls stuffed with some sort of deliciousness. I made mine vegetarian and used a cheese filling, since I was taking them to a party hosted by my vegetarian friend. She is always so gracious and says there’s no need to bring vegetarian food, but I like to bring something she and her husband can enjoy as well. My yoga friends gobbled the whole tray up in a flash.

Arancini is Sicilian street food (which are also commonly made in Italy as well). The rice balls are typically about the size of an orange and, infact, the Italian world arancia means “orange”. My arancini are quite smaller than that … they are bite sized. I stuffed them with cheese, as I’ve seen them made that way in a few restaurants here and I love the ooey gooey melty cheese in the middle.

I was curious about the history of arancini, so I did a little searching. I really loved this bit of aracini history from Italian Food Lovers:

“Italian rice balls or arancini are commonly made in Sicily. Arancini are prepared throughout the island, where they are are packed, stuffed and fried differently in different areas. In the west, in fact, they usually called “arancine” (female form) and usually have a spherical shape, similar to that of a small orange, while in the east are called “arancini” (male form) and have a conical shape.

These small differences, however, do not affect the taste of this succulent treat. The classic recipe calls for a meat sauce as the filling, but now there are several variants that include fillings of all types, including fish, vegetables or cheese sauces.

As mentioned, the story of these particular preparations is quite old and dates back to around the tenth century during the Arab domination of the island. At the time, there was a custom of placing a large plate filled with saffron rice enriched with meat and vegetables in the center of a banquet table. Guests were encouraged to help themselves by taking a handful of rice. Originally, therefore, the Sicilian rice ball was nothing but a ball of rice accompanied by some seasonings.

Later, the court of Frederick II came up with the idea of breading and frying the rice balls so that the emperor could carry them with him while hunting. The balls were easily transportable, non-perishable and tasty. Arancini were probably created to meet the need of those looking to consume a meal in a hurry because they are busy with other things, just as it happens today with street food. Rice balls have remained popular in Sicily where it is easy to find people of all ages who are about to bite into one of these delicious rustic snacks.”

Arancini don’t typically include zucchini in the rice mixture, but hey, if you’ve got a glut of zucchini, why not throw some in? I used a full 4 cups of zucchini in this recipe, which made me happy … and I love how it lightened up the taste.  Another cool thing about this recipe is that you can pre-make the rice filling and then, at (or just before) party time, form the rice mixture around a chunks cheese, roll in the crunchy coating and bake them up fresh for everyone to enjoy. I totally did that at my friend’s house. I just told her I needed a baking sheet and the use of her oven and assembled the arancini on the spot while sipping on sangria and chatting with my friends. Then we went out to the patio and sipped sangria and munched on the other things people had brought until the arancini were done.  It was such a fun evening!

Baked Pesto Zucchini Arancini (Italian Rice Balls)

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 45 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Yield: 4 - 6 servings (or more) 1x

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 teaspoon butter
• 4 cups finely chopped zucchini
• 2 cups leftover rice
• 1 oz. Greek cream cheese or Neufchatel, softened
• 2 – 4 Tablespoons sun dried tomato pesto (recipe here – or use store bought)
• 1 – 2 Tablespoons finely chopped basil leaves
• 1 small sprig of rosemary, finely chopped
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella and/or other Italian cheeses (I used a mix of Mozzarella, Asiago and Parmesan)
• 1/2 teaspoon bacon salt (recipe here – or use store bought bacon salt)
• 1/2 inch chunks of mozzarella or gouda cheese
• For breading: finely crushed rice chex cereal (or panko crumbs)
• For dipping: your favorite pasta sauce

---

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray or line with a silicon baking mat.
2. In a medium frying pan over medium heat, rub the butter over the bottom to coat it. Add the zucchini and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the moisture has cooked out of it. Set aside to cool a bit, then put the zucchini in the middle of a clean kitchen towel. Squeeze the zucchini over the sink to get all the moisture out of it. (The zucchini will be greatly reduced in size.)
3. Meanwhile, add the rice, cream cheese, pesto. basil, rosemary, egg, and shredded cheese in a medium mixing bowl. Add the zucchini and stir to mix. Form the rice mixture into 1-inch balls, wrapping the rice mixture around a chunk of cheese, then roll each ball in the crushed rice chex and set on the prepared pan. Bake at 425 F. for about 35 minutes or until golden brown and you can hear a little sizzle when you open the oven. Enjoy the rice balls hot out of the oven with your favorite pasta sauce for dipping if you like.

---

Notes

You can pre-prep the rice mixture and store it in the fridge until just before serving time.

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

© Copyright 2018, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.

Looking for more rice recipes?

Rice is such a great staple; it’s cost effective and delicious! You can travel all over the world with rice, too, because rice is widely used in almost every culture. Here are some of my favorite rice recipes:

• Seriously awesome black bean and rice burgers
• Clementine Rice and Kale Salad
• Shrimp, Asiago & Asparagus Risotto with fresh dill
• Spicy West African Fried Rice (Jollof)
• Broccoli Mushroom Chicken Fried Rice
• Baked Butternut Brown Rice Risotto
• Mexican Fiesta Rice Cups
• Greek Rice Salad
• Sweet Potato & Brown Rice Salad
• Cilantro Lime Rice
• Bacon Spinach Wild Mushroom Risotto

And I gathered up some more amazing rice recipes from my foodie friends:

• North African Rice Dates & Olives – Ally’s Kitchen
• Refreshing Rice, Grape & Basil Salad – Ally’s Kitchen
• South Carolina Hash & Rice – Southern with a Twist
• Easy Chicken & Rice Foil Packets – Southern with a Twist
• Savory Pecan Rice Casserole – Cooking with Mary & Friends
• Journey Cakes – Cooking with Mary & Friends
• Jalapeno Popper Rice – Dixie Chik Cooks
• Vegetarian Bibimap – Caroline’s Cooking
• Spanish Black Rice Paella – Caroline’s Cooking
• Mexican Shrimp Fried Rice – The Unorthodox Epicure
• Chinese Shrimp Fried Rice – The Unorthodox Epicure
• Arroz con Gandules – a Puerto Rican dish from My Love for Cooking
• Chinese Sausage Fried Rice – My Love for Cooking
• Oven Roasted Veggie Rice – ChinDeep
• Oven Baked Cheesy Veggie Rice Bowls – ChinDeep
• Cheesy Lentil & Brown Rice Casserole – ChinDeep
• Fresh Fried Rice with Jerky and Potato – This is How I Cook
• Saffron Herb Rice and Guilin and Yangshou – This is How I Cook
• Turkey Wild Rice Salad with Tarragon and Grapes – Bacon Fatte
• Carnival Rice dish with Cilantro & Lime – Bacon Fatte
• Stir Fried Wild Rice – Bacon Fatte