These tomato arancini are crispy, crunchy, golden rice balls loaded with tomato flavour and a surprise gooey mozzarella centre. Easy to make, arancini make a wonderful appetizer but are just as wonderful as a snack, lunch or even dinner.
I used my mushroom arancini recipe to adapt this tomato version. The combination of umami-rich tomatoes and parmesan, creamy mozzarella, tender rice and crunchy breadcrumbs is truly irresistible. Even a meat lover won’t miss it in these punchy vegetarian risotto balls.
While they’re very easy to make, you will need to plan ahead for cooling time and time to roll them into balls. That said, they’re worth every minute, I promise you. You’ll be receiving oohs and aahs from all your guests.
Try these chorizo arancini or my sweet corn arancini too.
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Ingredients & substitutions
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
- Canned tomatoes: The first of the two types of tomatoes in this recipe is finely chopped canned tomatoes or canned crushed tomatoes.
- Sun dried tomatoes are the second tomatoey addition and they just add something so special. Richness and so much umami.
- Vegetable stock: Keeping the arancini vegetarian, I use vegetable stock but you could also use chicken stock.
- Onion, celery & garlic: This trio of aromatics add so much depth and flavour to these tomato risotto balls.
- Arborio rice or Carnaroli rice: These are both short-grain rice varieties and they’re the classic types used for risotto.
- Cheese: Two types of cheese add richness and gooeyness to these delicious arancini balls. Parmesan is big on flavour and stirred through the risotto, also helping the balls keep their shape. The mozzarella gives little gooey nuggets of stringy deliciousness in the centre.
- Fresh basil: Basil and tomatoes are made for each other. It adds both flavour and freshness here.
- Breading mixture: Just the basics of flour, eggs, and dried bread crumbs. You could use homemade breadcrumbs but I use a combination of fine dried breadcrumbs and panko breadcrumbs on this occasion.
- Vegetable oil: I like sunflower oil for deep frying. It has a high smoking point and it’s light colour means it doesn’t darken the breading too soon.
If you like the flavour, feel free to add ½ cup of white wine before adding the rice and let it reduce to almost nothing before then adding the rice.
How to make tomato arancini
Making this tomato and mozzarella arancini does take a little patience, being a two-stage process, but it’s so worth it. I like to make the tomato risotto base the day before (or up to 3 days), then assemble, fry and serve them fresh. You can also make them all in one day if you start early to allow for a 2 hour chilling time.
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
1. Heat the stock
Add the tinned tomatoes and vegetable stock to a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cover and set aside until required.
2. Sauté the aromatics
Add a little oil to a pan or skillet and heat over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and garlic to the skillet. Cook until softened.
3. Add the rice
Now it’s time to add the rice to the pan. Cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes until it begins to look a bit glassy.
4. Add the stock & cook the rice
Add a ladleful of the tomato stock to the rice mixture and scrape any brown bits (aka fond) off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon/spatula. Add another ladelful and stir until the rice has absorbed all of the stock.
Add the remaining stock and cover the pan with a lid. Let it come to a simmer, then turn the heat down to low, letting it cook at a very low simmer for about 20 minutes.
Once the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender with just a slight bite to it, stir in the parmesan, sun dried tomatoes and some seasoning. Let it cool for 10 minutes, then stir through the basil and transfer it to a bowl, covered, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
5. Shape the arancini balls.
Before you start shaping and bread, start heating oil in a deep, heavy-based medium or large saucepan and create your dredging bowls – one each with the flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs.
Roll balls of the tomato risotto to about golf ball size – I get about 15 from this batch. Press them into a flat disk on the palm of your hand and add a cube of mozzarella to the centre. Now roll the rice around the ball to encase it. Repeat with the rest of the risotto.
One at a time, roll tomato arancini balls in the flour, then beaten eggs, then the bread crumbs.
6. How to cook arancini balls
Lower 3-4 tomato arancini into the hot oil at a time, and cook for about 5 ½ minutes. Keep the oil between 170-180C (340-350°F) the whole time. When deeply golden, transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
Repeat the process until all of the arancini balls are fried, then serve immediately.
Tips and tricks
- Don’t overcook the rice. No longer than 20 minutes or the rice will just turn mushy. You want it to still be slightly al dente.
- Food safety matters: Rice is very susceptible to causing food poisoning if not treated properly. Never leave rice out at room temperature for longer than 30 minutes. The quicker you get it into the fridge cooling, the better. Also, as you’re frying the arancini, leave the remaining uncooked balls in the fridge.
- Dampen your hands to form the rice balls. The rice mixture will be on the sticky side, so wet hands will make the job easier and less messy.
- Maintain the oil temperature between 170-180C / 340-350F. This is essential to get the right crunchy, golden crumbs without making your arancini greasy. Too low and they’ll turn out greasy. Too high and they’ll burn before the inside is properly heated and the mozzarella is gooey.
- Can arancini be made ahead of time? You can make the rice a day ahead, or fully roll and bread the tomato arancini a day ahead then fry them when ready to serve. If you want to fry them before serving time (so that serving is a little more hands-off) cool them quickly after frying — get them into the fridge as quickly as possible. Then, reheat in an oven at 200C (400°F) for 12-15 minutes.
Storage
Store any leftover tomato and mozzarella arancini in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Arancini freezes well too. You can freeze the uncooked arancini once formed then thaw and fry them when needed or freeze the fried arancini too. Both ways will keep for up to 3 months if stored correctly in an airtight container in the freezer.
Can you reheat arancini?
Reheat your arancini in the oven at 200°C (400°F) for 12-15 minutes. If you have an air fryer, you could use that instead in about half the time at 190°C (375°F).
FAQs
Arborio rice, carnaroli rice or vialone nano are the preferred choice thanks to their high starch content, which creates a creamy texture when cooked. I’ve used arborio in this recipe.
Yes, this is a great recipe for using up leftover risotto. Make sure to use it straight from the fridge. If they aren’t holding together (since risotto normally has a looser texture than the risotto ball rice does), add a little more cheese or an egg to the mixture.
Chilling time is key! Chill the tomato risotto for at least 1-2 hours before you form arancini balls. I always find that overnight is better.
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Ingredients
- 400 g crushed tomatoes (1 can/14oz)
- 1 ½ cups vegetable stock (375ml)
- 1 tablespoon oil (4 tsp, notes 1)
- ½ medium medium onion finely chopped
- 1 stalk celery finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¾ cups arborio rice (150g/~5 ½oz)
- ½ cup sundried tomatoes roughly chopped (95g/~3 ½oz)
- 40 g parmesan cheese finely grated
- ¼ cup fresh basil roughly chopped
- 75 g mozzarella cheese cut into 15 cubes (~2 ½oz)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- ⅓ cup plain flour (all purpose flour) (43g/1½oz)
- Vegetable for deep frying (not olive oil)
- Salt and pepper
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- Small, medium and large saucepans
- Slotted spoon
Instructions
- FOR THE RICE (allow a minimum of 2 hours for chilling once this part is done):Pans for the stock and rice will both require lids in this recipe or at least a plate you can place over the top and easily remove.
- Place the stock and tomatoes in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat off and cover with a lid to keep it warm.
- To a large saucepan over medium heat, add the oil, onion, celery and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes until the vegetables have softened.
- Add the rice and cook for 1-2 minutes until it starts to look a little glassy and translucent in places.
- Add a ladleful of the tomato stock and stir until absorbed. Repeat with another ladleful.
- Add the remaining tomato stock, stir well and let it come to a simmer. Immediately turn the heat down to low and cover with a lid. You want the rice to cook at a very low simmer now for around 15-20 minutes until almost all the stock has been absorbed and the rice is cooked, tender with just a little bite.
- Stir in the sun dried tomatoes and parmesan cheese then taste and add salt and pepper to taste (I usually add about ¼-½ tsp of salt and ¼ tsp finely cracked black pepper).
- Transfer to a plate and cool for 15-20 minutes at room temperature only, stir in the basil, then transfer to the fridge for 1-2 hours until cold.
- FORM THE ARANCINI: Get about 2 inches of oil heating over high heat in a deep heavy based medium saucepan to 180C/350F. A deep fry thermometer here will make your life so much easier and they’re very cheap.
- Place the breadcrumbs and flour in separate bowls. Whisk the eggs in a third bowl.
- With wet hands, roll golf ball sized balls of rice (you should get about 15 total). Flatten the rice ball slightly on the palm of your hand, press a cube of mozzarella into the centre then wrap the rice around it again to a smooth, firm ball.
- Roll the rice balls in the flour, then the egg letting the excess drip off, then finally, the breadcrumbs until thoroughly coated. Transfer to a large plate and chill until required.
- Once the oil is hot enough, use a slotted spoon to gently place 3-4 balls into the pan (don’t overcrowd the pan). Cook for 5 ½ minutes, keeping the oil temperature between 170C/340F and 180C/350F, until golden brown.
- Transfer to a plate covered with paper towel to drain. Repeat until all arancini balls are done.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
- Served here with lemon pepper aioli – ⅓ cup mayo, ½ clove garlic minced, 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice to taste, zest of half medium lemon, good pinch or two of pepper to taste. Mix.
- Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
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