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Arancini al Ragù (Sicilian Fried Rice Balls)
Saffron rice balls packed around a meat ragù with peas and a cube of caciocavallo, rolled in breadcrumbs and fried golden, the king of Sicilian street food.
Sicilian · advanced · serves 12
prep 60 min · cook 80 min · plus 2 h hands-off time
~385 cal · 12g protein · 57g carbs · 10g fat · 2g fiber · 2g sugars · 4g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Arancini are the best-known snack of Sicily, sold hot from the counters of every rosticceria and bar from Palermo to Catania. Their name comes from the Sicilian word for orange, because a round, fried, -gold rice ball looks like one. The island has never settled whether to call them arancini or arancine: Palermo and the west say arancina, Catania and the east say arancino, and in the east they are often shaped into a point said to echo Mount Etna.
The rice is cooked with and butter, left to cool so it holds its shape, then wrapped around a filling. The classic, and the oldest, is al ragù: minced meat slowly cooked with tomato, onion and wine, with sweet peas and a cube of cheese, usually caciocavallo, that melts in the middle. The other great standard is al burro, with ham and mozzarella.
Some trace the combination of rice and meat back to the Arab rule of Sicily, though historians do not agree. What is certain is their place in the calendar: in Palermo, Syracuse and Trapani, arancine are eaten on 13 December, the feast of Saint Lucy, when many families avoid bread and pasta in memory of a grain ship that ended a famine in 1646.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 12
- 500 g risotto rice (Originario or Arborio)
- 1.2 litres water
- 1 sachet (0.15 g) , dissolved in 2 tbsp hot water
- 50 g butter
- 40 g Parmigiano or aged caciocavallo, finely grated, traditional Parmigiano and caciocavallo are made with animal rennet; strict vegetarians should use a vegetarian-rennet hard cheese
- to taste salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil (for the ragù)
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 250 g minced beef
- 100 ml red wine
- 300 ml tomato passata
- 120 g peas, fresh or frozen
- to taste black pepper
- 120 g caciocavallo or provola, cut into 1 cm cubes, traditionally made with animal rennetHard to find? 120 g low-moisture mozzarella, cubed - milder and less savoury than caciocavallo
- 120 g plain flour (for the batter)
- 180 ml cold water (for the batter)
- 250 g fine dry breadcrumbs
- 1.5 litres sunflower oil, for deep frying
Instructions
- 1Bring the water to the boil with 1 tsp salt, add the rice and cook for about 18 minutes, stirring often, until tender and the water is absorbed. Off the heat, stir in the saffron with its water, the butter and the grated cheese.
- 2Spread the rice out on a large tray, cover with cling film and leave to cool completely, about 2 hours, so it firms up and becomes sticky enough to shape.✎ Chef’s noteWarm rice will not hold its shape. Cold, compact rice is the whole secret of arancini that do not burst in the oil.
- 3Meanwhile make the ragù: soften the onion in the olive oil for 5 minutes, add the beef and brown it well, breaking it up. Pour in the wine and let it bubble away, then add the passata, season and simmer gently for 35 minutes, until thick. Stir in the peas for the last 10 minutes. Leave to cool.
- 4Whisk the flour and cold water to a smooth batter the thickness of double cream. Put the breadcrumbs in a wide dish.
- 5With damp hands, cup a large spoonful of rice (about 90 g) in your palm and press a hollow into it. Fill with a spoonful of ragù and a cube or two of cheese, cover with a little more rice and press into a tight ball or a cone. Make about 12.
- 6Dip each ball in the batter, let the excess drip off, then roll it in the breadcrumbs, pressing so they stick all over.
- 7Heat the oil in a deep pan to 175°C. Fry the arancini two or three at a time for about 4 minutes, turning, until deep golden all over. Drain on kitchen paper.✎ Chef’s noteFry only a few at a time; crowding drops the oil temperature and the crust goes soft and greasy.
- 8Rest them for a few minutes, then eat hot or warm, the way they are sold across Sicily.
Sicilian rosticceria tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Sicily. Sweet and savoury are not kept apart here. Sardines go into pasta con le sarde with raisins, pine nuts and wild fennel; caponata balances vinegar against sugar; and the almond and citrus that came with the Arab centuries turn up in marzipan fruit and granita as readily as in a sauce. It is an island that never sorted its pantry into courses.
🗺️
Italy. Italy is twenty regions of fiercely local cooking, where a sauce or pasta shape can define a single city. Built on superb ingredients treated simply, olive oil, tomatoes, cheese, cured pork, and wheat, it prizes tradition, seasonality, and the sanctity of the shared table.
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Europe. Europe has written a great deal of its food into law. A regulation of 1992 created the protected designation of origin and the protected geographical indication, tying a name to a place and a method, and an EU evaluation published in 2021 counted more than three thousand registered names across those schemes, from cheeses and hams down to particular shapes of bread.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
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Good to know
You’ll need: Whisk.
Storing it: Cool leftover rice quickly and refrigerate within an hour. Keep up to 2 days and reheat until piping hot all the way through.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Arancini al Ragù (Sicilian Fried Rice Balls)?
Saffron rice balls packed around a meat ragù with peas and a cube of caciocavallo, rolled in breadcrumbs and fried golden, the king of Sicilian street food.
Where does Arancini al Ragù (Sicilian Fried Rice Balls) come from?
Arancini al Ragù (Sicilian Fried Rice Balls) is a Sicilian dish from Sicily, Italy.
Can Arancini al Ragù (Sicilian Fried Rice Balls) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Arancini al Ragù (Sicilian Fried Rice Balls) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Arancini al Ragù (Sicilian Fried Rice Balls) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Arancini al Ragù (Sicilian Fried Rice Balls) take to make?
About 4 h 20 min in all: 60 minutes prep and 80 minutes cooking, plus 2 h of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 12.
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