Mushroom risotto is proof that a handful of pantry staples can turn into something that feels like a restaurant dinner. Creamy rice, deeply browned mushrooms, a little wine, a lot of Parmesan and a few minutes of attention at the stove.
The mushrooms are cooked separately first, hard and hot, so they brown instead of steaming in the rice. Most of them get folded in at the end, so they keep their texture and their flavor stays distinct.
It takes about 45 minutes and most of that is stirring and ladling. Pour yourself the rest of the wine and treat it as the quiet part of the evening.
Why this recipe works
- Browning the mushrooms in a hot pan before they meet the rice gives them meaty, concentrated flavor that boiled mushrooms never have.
- Toasting the rice in butter for 2 minutes before any liquid goes in keeps the grains distinct and gives the finished risotto a slight bite.
- Adding warm stock a ladle at a time and stirring often releases starch from the rice gradually, which is what makes risotto creamy without any cream.
- Dry white wine adds acidity so the rich, cheesy rice does not taste heavy.
- A splash of extra stock and a hard beating with butter and Parmesan at the end loosens the risotto into the flowing texture it should have.
- A pinch of dried porcini, if you have it, makes the whole pot taste more like mushrooms without adding more mushrooms.
Ingredients you’ll need
Arborio rice. The standard short grain risotto rice, widely available and forgiving. Carnaroli is even better if you can find it. Never rinse it, since the surface starch is what makes the dish creamy.
Mixed mushrooms. A pound total. Cremini are the workhorse. Add shiitake, oyster or a few wild mushrooms if you can. White button mushrooms work but taste milder.
Stock. About 6 cups of chicken or vegetable stock, kept warm in a saucepan. Cold stock shocks the rice and slows the cooking every time you add it.
Shallot and garlic. One large shallot, finely diced, and 2 cloves of garlic. Shallot is sweeter and gentler than onion and suits the mushrooms.
Dry white wine. Half a cup of something you would drink. Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc are good. Skip anything sweet or oaky.
Parmesan and butter. Real Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated, and cold butter. They go in off the heat at the very end and turn the rice glossy and rich.
Fresh thyme and parsley. Thyme goes in with the mushrooms. Parsley goes on at the end for color and freshness.
Ingredient notes and smart substitutions
Arborio rice
Carnaroli swaps one for one and is more forgiving of overcooking. Vialone Nano works too. Do not use long grain rice, jasmine or basmati. They lack the starch and turn into pilaf. In a pinch, pearl barley makes a chewy risotto style dish but needs about 40 minutes and an extra cup of stock.
Mushrooms
Any fresh mushroom works. For deeper flavor, soak 1/2 ounce of dried porcini in 1 cup of hot water for 20 minutes, chop them, and add both the mushrooms and the strained soaking liquid to the pot in place of 1 cup of stock.
Stock
Vegetable stock keeps the dish vegetarian. Mushroom stock, if you find it, is even better. Low sodium is safer because the Parmesan adds a lot of salt at the end. If your stock is very salty, hold back on seasoning until the cheese is in.
White wine
Replace it with 1/2 cup of stock plus 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice. Dry vermouth is an excellent swap and keeps for months in the fridge.
Parmesan
Pecorino Romano is sharper and saltier. Use about three quarters as much. Grana Padano swaps one for one. For a dairy free version, finish with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast in place of the butter and cheese.
How to make it
1. Warm the stock
Pour the stock into a saucepan and bring it to a bare simmer over low heat. Keep it there the whole time with a ladle nearby.
2. Brown the mushrooms
Heat a large, wide pot or deep skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and butter, then half the mushrooms in a single layer. Leave them alone for 3 minutes, then stir and cook 3 to 4 minutes more until deeply browned.
Season with salt, pepper and half the thyme, scrape them into a bowl, and repeat with the second half. Cooking in two batches is the difference between browned mushrooms and gray ones.
3. Soften the shallot and toast the rice
Lower the heat to medium. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and the shallot with a pinch of salt and cook for 3 minutes until soft. Add the garlic for 30 seconds.
Add the rice and stir for 2 minutes, until the edges of the grains turn translucent and it smells faintly nutty. This toasting step is what keeps the rice from turning mushy.
4. Add the wine
Pour in the wine. It will hiss and bubble. Stir until it has almost entirely cooked away, about 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Ladle in the stock
Add about 1 cup of warm stock and stir until it is nearly absorbed. Add the next ladle when a spoon dragged through the rice leaves a trail that slowly fills back in.
Keep going this way for 18 to 22 minutes, stirring often but not constantly. You do not have to stir every second, but do not walk away either. Taste a grain at the 18 minute mark. It should be tender with a slight bite at the center.
Fold in two thirds of the mushrooms with the last ladle of stock so they warm through.
6. Finish
Pull the pot off the heat. Add the cold butter, the Parmesan and a final splash of stock, then stir hard for 30 seconds. The risotto should flow slowly when you tilt the pot. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve right away in warm bowls, topped with the remaining mushrooms, more Parmesan and chopped parsley.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Gluey, stiff risotto. It cooked too long or sat too long before serving. Loosen it with a splash of hot stock and serve immediately. Risotto waits for no one.
Chalky, undercooked grains. The stock was added too fast or the heat was too high, so the liquid evaporated before the rice absorbed it. Keep the heat at a steady medium and add stock a cup at a time.
Gray, rubbery mushrooms. They were crowded in the pan or cooked with the rice. Brown them separately in batches with plenty of space.
Bland risotto. Season in layers. Salt the mushrooms, salt the shallot, taste the rice halfway, and taste again after the Parmesan.
Too thick at the end. Perfect risotto is looser than most people expect. Add stock by the tablespoon off the heat until it spreads slowly across the bowl instead of standing in a mound.
Cheese clumps. The Parmesan went in over high heat or it was coarsely grated. Take the pot off the burner first and use finely grated cheese.
Mushrooms that release a puddle of water. They were washed and still wet, or the pan was too cool. Wipe mushrooms with a damp towel instead of rinsing, and make sure the fat is shimmering before they go in.
Timing and make ahead plan
Total time is about 45 minutes. Plan 10 minutes to prep, 12 to 15 minutes for the mushrooms, and 20 to 25 minutes for the rice.
Mushrooms can be browned up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Rewarm them in a skillet for 2 minutes before folding them in. Shallots, garlic and grated cheese can be prepped the morning of.
To get most of the work done ahead, cook the risotto through step 5 until it is about two thirds done, roughly 12 minutes in. Spread it on a sheet pan to cool quickly, then refrigerate for up to a day. To finish, return it to the pot with a cup of hot stock and continue as written. This is how restaurants do it.
Fully cooked risotto does not hold well on the stove, so time it to serve as soon as it is done. Have your bowls warm and your guests seated.
Tips for the best mushroom risotto
Use a wide, heavy pot. A wider surface evaporates liquid evenly and gives the rice room to move as you stir. A deep, narrow pot cooks the rice unevenly.
Keep the stock hot but not boiling. Every ladle should go in warm so the rice never stops cooking.
Do not rush the rice with high heat. Medium is right. The pot should bubble gently, not spit.
Save a little stock for the very end. That final splash, added off the heat with the butter and cheese, is what makes risotto flow.
Taste often in the last 5 minutes. Rice goes from perfect to soft quickly, and the exact time depends on your rice, your pot and your stove.
Finish with a squeeze of lemon if the risotto tastes rich but a little dull. Half a teaspoon of juice is enough to sharpen the mushrooms and cheese without tasting like lemon.
Variations
Truffle. Finish with a teaspoon of truffle oil or a few shavings of fresh truffle. A little goes a long way.
Chicken and mushroom. Stir in 2 cups of shredded roast chicken with the mushrooms at the end. Leftovers from roast chicken with root vegetables are ideal.
Spinach and mushroom. Fold in 3 cups of baby spinach with the last ladle of stock. It wilts in a minute.
Squash and mushroom. Add 1 1/2 cups of roasted butternut squash cubes with the mushrooms. It borrows from this butternut squash risotto with sage.
Baked risotto. After the wine cooks off, stir in 4 cups of hot stock, cover, and bake at 400°F for 20 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms, butter and cheese with a splash more stock. It is less creamy but almost hands free.
Equipment that makes this easier
A wide, heavy bottomed pot or a 12 inch deep skillet with straight sides is ideal. Enameled cast iron and heavy stainless both hold steady heat. A second saucepan keeps the stock warm.
A ladle that holds about a cup, a wooden spoon and a rasp style grater for the Parmesan cover the rest. Warm serving bowls are a small touch that keeps the risotto at its best texture longer.
Scaling up or down
Halve everything for two people. Use a smaller pot so the rice is not spread too thin, and expect the cooking time to be about the same.
Doubling is possible but harder. The rice cooks less evenly in a big pot and needs more stirring. If you must cook for eight, use your widest pot, add stock in larger amounts and give it a few extra minutes. Two pots on two burners is honestly easier.
The mushroom quantity is flexible. Anywhere from 12 ounces to 1 1/2 pounds works for this amount of rice.
What to serve with it
Mushroom risotto is rich, so a sharp green salad with lemon vinaigrette is the best partner. Roasted asparagus or sautéed green beans also work.
As a side, it is excellent under seared chicken thighs or pork chops. Try it next to honey garlic pork tenderloin, or alongside red wine braised short ribs for a special dinner.
How to store, freeze and reheat
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container within 2 hours, for up to 3 days. The rice will firm up as it cools, and that is normal.
Freezing is not recommended. The texture turns grainy when thawed. If you must, freeze for up to 1 month and plan to turn it into arancini rather than serve it as risotto.
To reheat, put the risotto in a saucepan over medium low heat with a splash of stock or water for every cup of rice. Stir until loosened and steaming hot, about 5 minutes. The microwave works too, covered, in 1 minute bursts with a splash of liquid.
Leftover ideas
Arancini are the classic move. Roll cold risotto into balls around a cube of mozzarella, coat in breadcrumbs and fry or bake until golden.
Cold risotto also makes excellent crisp cakes. Form it into patties, dust with flour and pan fry in butter for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Top with a fried egg for lunch.
Leftover risotto can also be spooned into a buttered baking dish, topped with more Parmesan and baked at 375°F for 20 minutes until the top is golden and crisp. It becomes a completely different dish.
Nutrition notes
A main course serving, about a quarter of the pot, comes in roughly around 450 to 550 calories with 14 to 18 grams of protein. Made with vegetable stock it is vegetarian.
These are estimates. The amount of butter and cheese you add at the end, the stock you use and how much you top the bowl with all change the numbers.
Mushroom Risotto
Creamy Arborio risotto with deeply browned mixed mushrooms, white wine, Parmesan and thyme.
Equipment
- Wide heavy bottomed pot or 12 inch deep skillet
- Medium saucepan for stock
- Ladle
- Wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 6 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 lb mixed mushrooms (cremini, shiitake, oyster), sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
- 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme, divided
- 1 large shallot, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
- 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Bring the stock to a bare simmer in a saucepan over low heat and keep it warm.
- Heat a wide heavy pot over medium high heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter, then half the mushrooms in a single layer. Cook undisturbed for 3 minutes, then stir and cook 3 to 4 minutes more until deeply browned. Season with 1/4 tsp salt and 1 tsp thyme and transfer to a bowl.
- Repeat with the remaining 1 tbsp oil, 1 tbsp butter, mushrooms, 1/4 tsp salt and 1 tsp thyme. Add to the bowl.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add 1 tbsp butter and the shallot with a pinch of salt and cook 3 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds.
- Add the rice and stir for 2 minutes until the edges of the grains look translucent.
- Pour in the wine and stir until almost fully absorbed, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add 1 cup of warm stock and stir until nearly absorbed. Continue adding stock about 1 cup at a time, stirring often, waiting until each addition is mostly absorbed before adding the next. Cook 18 to 22 minutes total, until the rice is tender with a slight bite. Reserve about 1/2 cup of stock.
- Fold two thirds of the mushrooms into the rice with the final ladle of stock.
- Remove the pot from the heat. Add the remaining 1 tbsp cold butter, the Parmesan and a splash of the reserved stock. Stir vigorously for 30 seconds until glossy and loose enough to flow slowly. Season with the remaining salt and the pepper to taste.
- Serve immediately in warm bowls topped with the remaining mushrooms, extra Parmesan and parsley.
Notes
- Make ahead: Brown the mushrooms up to 2 days ahead. Or cook the risotto two thirds of the way, spread on a sheet pan to cool, refrigerate up to 1 day and finish with hot stock before serving.
- Deeper flavor: Soak 1/2 oz dried porcini in 1 cup hot water for 20 minutes. Chop and add with the strained liquid in place of 1 cup of stock.
- Storage: Refrigerate up to 3 days. Reheat in a saucepan with a splash of stock, stirring, until hot. Freezing is not recommended.
- Vegetarian: Use vegetable stock and a Parmesan style cheese made without animal rennet if that matters to you.
Frequently asked questions
What kind of rice is best for mushroom risotto?
Arborio is the standard and easy to find. Carnaroli is even better because it holds its shape and releases starch evenly. Do not rinse the rice, and do not substitute long grain rice, which will not turn creamy.
Do you have to stir risotto constantly?
No, but you do need to stir often. Every 30 seconds or so is plenty. Stirring releases starch and keeps the rice from sticking, but constant stirring is not necessary and can cool the pot.
Why is my risotto gummy or stiff?
It was cooked too long, or it sat too long before serving. Risotto should flow slowly when you tilt the pot. Loosen it with a splash of hot stock off the heat and serve right away.
Can I make mushroom risotto without wine?
Yes. Replace the 1/2 cup of wine with 1/2 cup of stock plus 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar or lemon juice. The acid keeps the finished risotto from tasting flat.
Can you make risotto ahead of time?
Partly. Cook it about two thirds of the way, spread it on a sheet pan to cool, and refrigerate up to a day. To serve, return it to the pot with a cup of hot stock and finish cooking. Fully cooked risotto does not hold well.
Is mushroom risotto vegetarian?
It is when made with vegetable stock. Traditional Parmigiano Reggiano is made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian Parmesan style cheese if that matters to you.
About the author
