Creamy, luxurious, and surprisingly easy to nail, this mushroom risotto turns skeptics into believers every single time.
I've served this risotto to omnivores, picky eaters, and even my Italian neighbor who swore vegan food could never be "real food."
Every single time, I get the same reaction: silence while they eat, then asking for seconds.
The secret? Good technique and letting mushrooms do what they do best, which is taste like umami heaven.
No cashew cream, no nutritional yeast trying too hard. Just rice, mushrooms, wine, and patience. It's the kind of dish that makes people forget they're eating vegan because they're too busy enjoying actually good food.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups arborio rice
- 1 lb mixed mushrooms (cremini, shiitake, oyster), sliced
- 6 cups vegetable broth, kept warm
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 large shallot, finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- ½ cup nutritional yeast (optional, for extra richness)
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Fresh thyme, a few sprigs
- Truffle oil for finishing (optional but worth it)
Instructions
1. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and don't touch them for 3-4 minutes. Let them get golden and caramelized. Season with salt and pepper, then set aside.
2. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat remaining olive oil and 1 tablespoon vegan butter over medium heat. Add shallot and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute.
3. Add arborio rice and stir constantly for 2 minutes until the edges turn translucent. You want to toast it slightly.
4. Pour in the wine and stir until it's almost completely absorbed. This is where the magic starts.
5. Add warm broth one ladle at a time, stirring frequently. Wait until each addition is mostly absorbed before adding more. This takes about 20-25 minutes total. Yes, you have to stand there. Yes, it's worth it.
6. When the rice is creamy and al dente (taste it), stir in the cooked mushrooms, remaining vegan butter, and nutritional yeast if using. Add fresh thyme leaves.
7. Season with salt and pepper. The risotto should be loose and flow on the plate, not stiff. Add a splash more broth if needed.
8. Serve immediately with a drizzle of truffle oil and extra thyme on top.
Tips and variations
The stir situation: You don't need to stir constantly the entire time, despite what cooking shows tell you. Frequent stirring works fine. Just don't walk away for more than a minute.
Mushroom swap: Any mushrooms work here. Even basic button mushrooms get incredible when you caramelize them properly. Dried porcini add serious depth if you rehydrate them in some of your broth first.
Make it fancy: Top with sautéed mushrooms you saved from the batch, microgreens, or crispy sage leaves fried in vegan butter. A squeeze of lemon right before serving brightens everything up.
Leftovers hack: Risotto doesn't reheat well as risotto, but it makes incredible arancini. Form cold risotto into balls, bread them, and fry or air fry until crispy. You're welcome.
If You Were a Healing Herb, Which Would You Be?
Each herb holds a unique kind of magic — soothing, awakening, grounding, or clarifying.
This 9-question quiz reveals the healing plant that mirrors your energy right now and what it says about your natural rhythm.
✨ Instant results. Deeply insightful.
