Apple Risotto from Shokugeki no Souma – Recipe with Apple Juice and Bacon

Apple in a risotto sounds like the kitchen switched off common sense — and that is exactly why the dish from Shokugeki no Souma (食戟のソーマ) sticks with you. Sweet meets crispy bacon, apple juice stands in for classic stock, and breakfast suddenly feels like a tiny cooking duel at the stove.

That contrast is what we are cooking here: not a museum piece, but the version fans have been remaking for years — Arborio rice, apple juice, a splash of sake, and crispy bacon on top. If you want more series context, check the curiosities about Shokugeki no Souma; this page is about the plate.

Shokugeki no Souma is a manga by Yūto Tsukuda with art by Shun Saeki, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump at Shueisha and collected in 36 volumes. The anime adaptation spans five seasons — far beyond the early days of one season and a “second season already scheduled.” At the center is Sōma Yukihira: he wants to surpass his father Jōichirō’s cooking, lands in an elite culinary school, and has to prove himself in shokugeki duels where fewer than ten percent of students graduate.

The series is not a dry cookbook. It is about nerve at the stove, odd ideas that somehow work, and dishes staged so well that you get hungry mid-episode. That is why remakes are worth it — and apple risotto is one of the most approachable.

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Where does the apple risotto come from?

In the story, Sōma cooks it as a breakfast dish: refreshing sweet-tart aroma, crisp apple cubes, and crunchy bacon as contrast. The trick in many home versions: apple juice carries apple flavor through the rice without stewing the fruit soft. Our ingredient list stays close to the house version long used here — with sake instead of white wine and parmesan for creaminess.

If you want a classic Japanese plate rather than anime food, try the gyūdon recipe — different bowl, same urge to cook.

Apple risotto recipe

Ingredients

• 80 g Arborio rice
• 40 g onion
• 30 g butter
• 20 g parmesan cheese
• 10 ml sake
• 600 ml apple juice
• ½ apple (preferably a firm red apple)
• 2 slices of bacon
• Italian parsley
• Salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Finely chop the onion and parsley.
2. Dice the apple into small cubes and soak briefly in water so it does not brown.
3. Heat the apple juice in a pot and keep it warm — cold liquid slows the rice.
4. In a second pot over medium heat, melt the butter, then sauté the onion and rice until the grains look slightly translucent.
5. Add the sake and cook until the alcohol smell fades.
6. Add one ladle of warm apple juice, stir, and simmer until almost absorbed.
7. Repeat several times (about six additions) until the rice is creamy and al dente.
8. When the rice is nearly done, fold in the apple cubes and cook only briefly so they keep a bite.
9. Grate the parmesan into the rice; season with salt and black pepper.
10. Cook the bacon until crispy.
11. Plate the risotto, garnish with bacon and parsley — Yukihira-style apple risotto, ready.

Tips for the plate

• Keep the juice warm: as with classic risotto, stable temperature helps the rice cook evenly.
• Add apple late: long cooking turns the cubes mushy; crisp is the point.
• Do not skimp on pepper: a fresh grind cuts the sweetness and keeps the dish savory.
• Optional twist: some cooks like a squeeze of lemon at the end — optional, but bright.

Below is an English-language video that shows the rhythm of stirring and adding liquid — useful if you want to see timing before you cook.

Enjoy — and tell us how your risotto turned out. Between manga food and a real kitchen, there is often just one pot and the nerve to pour apple juice into rice.