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Roasted mushroom risotto is fantastic comfort food and surprisingly easy to make at home. Roasted portobello mushrooms add stunning savoury flavour, making this the ultimate comfort food.
Wouldn’t this be amazing with chicken? I have you covered! Try Chicken Risotto with Mushrooms and Thyme!
I wasn’t sure about risottos at first. They seemed a little tedious, and I wasn’t sure they were worth the effort. But travelling to Italy and tasting risotto made by the experts has convinced me.
Risotto is now a comfort food for me. It’s what I make when I want a one-pan meal that won’t take a whole lot of time or effort.
There is a small amount of technique that goes into making risotto right. But don’t worry, it doesn’t take long to get the hang of it!
How to make risotto creamy
The creaminess of risotto comes from using the right rice and the right technique. It doesn’t come from adding piles of cheese.
First choose a proper risotto rice such as arborio and carnaroli. They have plenty of starch, which gets released into the risotto, making it creamy.
Creamy risotto is a result of adding the stock slowly and allowing it to combine completely before adding more, while at the same time regularly stirring. Stirring while adding stock slowly releases the natural starch of the arborio rice and makes the risotto creamy. The friction of the rice pieces bumping into each other releases starch.
Although pouring in all the stock at once may be tempting as a way of speeding up the recipe, it will not make for a great result. If all the liquid is added at once, the result will be more like a soup because the rice won’t have the chance to absorb it properly.
Remember that risotto should be runny, not stodgy. If you spoon some onto your plate, it should ripple outwards, not hold its shape.
So the real secret to making risotto creamy? A bit of patience! Don’t rush it, follow the steps, and you’ll have creamy, restaurant-quality risotto at home!
Roasted portobello mushrooms
We’ve added roasted portobello mushrooms to this recipe to bring beautiful umami flavour to the creaminess of the risotto. Roasting them first brings this out and lets the mushroom flavour come out in a surprising way.
Roasting the mushrooms first does make cooking this recipe a little longer. But you will not regret it when you taste the result!
Recipe tips and notes
- So much of the trademark creamy texture of risotto is down to rice. To make great risotto you first need to choose the right rice. A starchy rice like This is an affiliate link.arborio or This is an affiliate link.carnaroli are perfect, but sometimes the packet will just be helpfully labelled ‘risotto rice’.
- Perfect risotto relies on holding onto moisture, which is helped by using the right pan. I use a large, high-sided saucepan.
- White wine is traditionally added to risotto to give it acidity. This is important for balance since risotto without wine can be quite rich. Choose a dry white wine or a , avoiding anything sweet.
- While I love wine in my risotto, it is absolutely possible to make it with no wine. If you don’t add wine, at least add 1-2 tsp of white wine vinegar to replace the acidity. A squeeze of lemon juice will work as well.
- If you aren’t confident with making risotto, let me walk you through how to make the perfect risotto with this video. Or read through my top risotto-making tips in this article.
Serving suggestions
I’m a big fan of pairing a creamy dish like this mushroom risotto with something fresh and light. I tend to reach for a Caprese Salad as one that hits all those notes with the added benefit of being dead simple to prepare.
My kids will insist that I add a warm, homemade Garlic Bread with plenty of herbs and finished with mozzarella. I’ve made mine in an air fryer, but an oven will do just fine.
Storage and leftovers
Mushroom risotto is a filling dish so a moderate amount can go a long way, which means its common to end up with leftovers. The good news is that it will keep very well in the fridge if covered well, preferably in an airtight container.
Be sure you eat leftovers within 3-4 days. Although it an be reheated in a microwave, I prefer the stovetop. It might be a little thick, but just add a splash of water to loosen if needed.
More vegetarian risotto recipes
- Truffle Risotto with Wild Mushrooms
- Spring Asparagus Risotto
- Saffron Risotto
- Butternut Squash Risotto with Sage and Goat Cheese
- Instant Pot Risotto with Broccoli
Roasted Mushroom Risotto
Ingredients
- 300g/ ⅔ lb baby portobello mushrooms
- 5-6 sprigs thyme
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp This is an affiliate link.olive oil, extra virgin
- 2 stalks celery
- 1 white onion
- 10g/ 3.5 oz dried mushrooms
- 50g/ 2oz This is an affiliate link.Parmesan cheese, or vegetarian hard cheese
- 300g/ 1½ cup This is an affiliate link.arborio rice
- 125ml/ ½ cup white wine, dry
- 500ml/ 2 cups This is an affiliate link.vegetable stock
- 500ml/ 2 cups water
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Scatter whole mushrooms on a large baking sheet. Place sliced garlic cloves and thyme leaves over top and pour over olive oil. Roast in an oven preheated to 200C/400G for 15 minutes.
- Rehydrate the dried mushrooms in 500ml/2 cups of water and allow to steep for 30 minutes. Once done, drain and strain the stock into a separate container and put rehydrated mushrooms aside. Chop the onions and celery into a small dice.
- Heat a large pan or wide pot over medium heat and pour in 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add the celery and onions and sauté for 10 minutes.
- Add arborio rice and sauté while stirring until all the rice is evenly coated with the olive oil, for about 1 minute. Pour in the white wine and stir until it has completely evaporated, scraping the bottom to release the brown bits into the broth. Allow it to simmer over low heat for 2 or 3 minutes.
- Add 125ml/½ cup vegetable stock, 125ml/½ cup of mushroom stock and chopped up rehydrated mushrooms to the rice and give it a good stir, leave to cook. The stock should be just above the rice when you first add it. Once you see the stock going down add a bit more and stir. Make sure the stock is nearly absorbed into the rice before adding more stock. Repeat until all the stock is gone and the rice is cooked but still slightly chewy.
- Once the rice is cooked and the risotto is a nice and creamy consistency, cut up the roasted portobello mushrooms into small pieces and add to the rice. Stir to combine. Add a good pinch of salt, careful not to add too much. Grate over with a hard vegetarian cheese. Cover with a lid and let it stand for 5 minutes. Serve with more grated cheese and black pepper.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
