Creamy Mushroom Risotto

This Creamy Mushroom Risotto is so easy to make and tastes delicious. Made with just a few simple ingredients you can have the dreamiest creamiest risotto on your table in no time. This vegetarian risotto is perfect for a tasty weeknight dinner.

There is nothing nicer on a chilly evening than a big bowl of creamy risotto. Even better is a big bowl of creamy mushroom risotto. I like to cook the mushrooms separately in butter, I stir some through the risotto and then serve some on top too. 

This creamy mushroom risotto makes the most of ordinary chestnut (brown) mushrooms. There are no fancy ingredients here, just simple everyday ingredients. But the result is a delicious family meal, perfect for an easy weeknight dinner.

What You’ll Need

This recipe calls for just a few simple ingredients. You might have everything you need in your cupboards already.

How To Make Creamy Mushroom Risotto

This is just a quick visual guide, please see the recipe card below for full instructions and ingredients list.

1. Cook the shallots in oil until soft then add the rice and cook until toasted. Let the rice soak up any juices then pour in the wine and stir well. Then add the garlic.
2. Once the rice has soaked up the wine start adding the vegetable stock, one ladle at a time. Stir the rice often, once the rice absorbs the liquid add another ladle. This should take 20 to 30 minutes. Add the thyme and season with salt and pepper.
3. While the risotto is doing its thing, fry up the mushrooms. I always use real butter for this bit, it really adds great flavour to the mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms in batches and keep warm.
4. Finally, once all the stock has been added to the rice add butter and stir vigorously until the butter has been incorporated. Then stir in the creme fraiche. Now turn off the heat and stir in the cheese. Stir in half the mushrooms now then serve immediately topped with the remaining mushrooms, some cracked black pepper, a sprinkling of chopped parsley and some freshly grated cheese.

Recipe Tips and Variations

• Rice – arborio rice is the best rice to use for this risotto, you will get the best results from this. It is high starch rice that lends itself well to strong flavours. Arborio rice will also give you that lovely creamy texture you want from a risotto.
• Mushrooms – chestnut mushrooms (brown mushrooms) are the best mushrooms to use here, they have more flavour than button mushrooms, however, if all you can find is button mushrooms then go ahead and use them. You will still have a lovely creamy mushroom risotto. You can also use wild mushrooms if you wish. If you do use wild mushrooms make sure and buy good quality wild mushrooms. 
• Shallots – I use banana shallots for this recipe you can use small round shallots if you want. You can also use a brown onion if you can’t get shallots. It is essential to give the shallots at least 10 -15 minutes to cook, they should be soft but not brown.
• Wine – I use a good dry white wine for this risotto. The rice must be hot when you add the wine and it should sizzle as soon as it hits the pan. You can leave it out if you wish if you are avoiding alcohol or want to serve this to young children. I have made this without wine, I substitute a tablespoon of white wine vinegar and it still tastes great.
• Stock- I use a low sodium vegetable bouillon to make the stock for this creamy mushroom risotto. Any good quality vegetable stock works perfectly. I always add the stock one ladle at a time and stir continuously, this will release starch from the rice helping to make it creamy.
• Butter – adding butter will make your risotto super creamy. As soon as you add it you must stir the risotto vigorously.
• Cheese – I use pecorino cheese for this risotto. Any good vegetarian parmesan style cheese will work really well.
• Creme fraiche – I use full-fat creme fraiche. For an even more indulgent risotto try swapping the creme fraiche for double cream.
• Pro – Tip – Turn up the heat when you add the rice to the onion, make sure the rice gets nice and toasty, but doesn’t brown or burn, so stir it often. This will add a lovely nutty flavour to the rice which adds even more flavour to your risotto.

More Tasty Rice Recipes You’ll Love

• Courgette Risotto – This courgette risotto with peas, lemon and pine nuts is the perfect vegetarian comfort food.
• Stuffed Squash with Wild Rice – filled with wild rice, mushrooms, walnuts and herbs this is perfect for a weekend dinner. 
• Mushroom Fried Rice – Better than take out Mushroom Fried Rice. Slightly spicy and seriously tasty this is great as a meal on its own or as a side dish.

Have you made this Creamy Mushroom Risotto Recipe? Rate it and leave me a comment below to let me know what you think!

Creamy Mushroom Risotto

This Creamy Mushroom Risotto is so easy to make. Made with just a few simple ingredients you can have the dreamiest creamiest risotto in no time. This vegetarian risotto is perfect for a tasty weeknight dinner.

5 from 11 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Servings: 4

Calories: 610kcal

Author: Michelle Alston

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 2 large banana shallots finely chopped
• ▢ 450 g (1 lb) chestnut mushrooms wiped clean, sliced or cut into quarters
• ▢ 2 large cloves of garlic put through a garlic press
• ▢ 350 g (1 ¾ cups) arborio rice
• ▢ 75 ml (⅓ cup) of dry white wine optional
• ▢ 1.2 litres (4 ½ cups) of hot vegetable stock
• ▢ 75 g (⅓ of a cup) butter divided into two portions of 50g and 25g divided into two portions of 50g and 25g
• ▢ ½ a lemon, juiced, about 3 tablespoons
• ▢ 30 g (⅓ of a cup) pecorino cheese finely grated, plus more for serving
• ▢ 5 or 6 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked
• ▢ ¾ tsp sea salt divided into three quarters
• ▢ ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper divided into two quarters
• ▢ 2 tbsp creme fraiche
• ▢ 1 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley for serving, optional

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Instructions

• Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the chopped shallots along with a pinch of sea salt.

  Cook until soft, about 10 - 15 minutes, more if needed, stirring occasionally.
• Add the rice to the pan and cook until the rice soaks up any liquid in the pan and is toasty.
• Turn up the heat then pour in the wine and stir. The wine should sizzle when it hits the pan.

  Once the wine has been absorbed into the rice stir in the garlic then start adding the stock.

  Add the stock one ladle at a time. Stir the rice often, once the rice absorbs the liquid add another ladle of stock. This will take about 20 to 30 minutes.
• While the rice is cooking fry the mushrooms.

  Melt 50g of butter in a frying pan, add the mushrooms along with ¼ teaspoon of sea salt then cook for about 5 minutes over medium to high heat.

  Try not to stir the mushrooms too much, just turn them once or twice, this will keep them nice and firm.

  You will need to do this in batches. Once cooked set aside and keep warm until you are ready to use them.
• Once all the stock has been added add the lemon juice then check the seasoning, I usually end up adding ¼ teaspoon each of black pepper and sea salt.

  Add the remaining butter and stir vigorously until the butter has been incorporated. Then turn off the heat and stir in the cheese, again vigorously.
• Finally, stir in the creme fraiche.

  Stir in half the mushrooms to the risotto, plus any juices from the mushrooms.

  Serve immediately topped with the remaining fried mushrooms, some freshly ground black pepper, a little chopped parsley and some freshly grated pecorino cheese.

Notes

• Rice - I use arborio rice for this risotto.
• Wine - is optional, but recommended. I have made this without wine and have added a tablespoon of white wine vinegar in its place. The result has been almost as good as if you use wine.
• Mushrooms - I use (brown) chestnut mushrooms for this, you can use other mushrooms. Wild mushrooms work really well too.
• Creme fraiche - I use full-fat creme fraiche, you can use low-fat if you want but be aware you will lose some of that rich creamy flavour. You can also use cream in this if you want to make it even more creamy.
• Can I make this vegan? To make this vegan, sub the cheese for similar vegan cheese, and try a dairy-free creme fraiche. You will also need to cook the mushrooms in oil or vegan butter. Please note I haven't tested this as a vegan recipe.
• Can I make this Gluten-Free? Yes, just make sure the stock you use is gluten-free.
• Can I freeze this? No, I do not recommend freezing this dish.
• Nutritional Information - is approximate and is calculated using an online nutrition tool. It is based on one serving of four. Please be aware rice weight was dry when calculated. Nutritional information will increase when the rice is cooked.
• Weights and measurements - For US readers, I use Cuisipro measuring cups and spoons, and a Pyrex measuring jug for liquids. These are the industry standard. Cup/spoon volumes can differ from brand to brand, for accuracy, I recommend weighing all ingredients if possible.

Nutrition

Calories: 610kcal | Carbohydrates: 82.2g | Protein: 12.2g | Fat: 24.1g | Saturated Fat: 12.6g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 690mg | Potassium: 707mg | Fiber: 4.4g | Sugar: 0.7g | Calcium: 120mg | Iron: 3mg

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*First published on Oct 2018. Updated November 2019 with a step by step guide and new process photos. Updated again Feb 2021 with more nutritional information and new photos.