This mushroom risotto is rich and creamy with a beautiful earthiness from the mushrooms. The better the stock, the better the risotto (although I still love this even when I only have basic stock cubes in!)
It you’re a mushroom lover, this is hearty, warming dinner, packed full mushrooms is for you!
Risotto is such a flexible dish because it absorbs any flavour you throw at it! I personally love the cheesy, mushroomy flavour of this one but there are so many other varieties, like my Creamy Tomato Risotto or my Spring Vegetable Risotto, you can adjust the flavour to fit your preferences very easily.
Even though this risotto doesn’t contain pieces of meat, it’s not classed as vegetarian – due to the chicken stock and Parmesan (uses animal rennet) . You can easily make it vegetarian by substituting the chicken stock for vegetable stock and the parmesan with vegetarian Italian hard cheese, which can be found at most local supermarkets.
📋 Ingredients
Stock – Use the best you can get hold of. I like to use Homemade Chicken Stock or a really flavourful stock such as Essential Cuisine chicken glace. Flavourful shop-bought bone broth is good too. If you can’t get hold of any of this, don’t worry, water + chicken Oxo cubes WILL WORK and it will still taste very nice.
Mushrooms – I use mixed mushrooms – consisting of mainly large and small chestnut mushrooms and white mushrooms. Oyster and shiitake mushrooms make great additions too. Use your favourite varieties.
📺 Watch how to make it
Full recipe with detailed steps with ingredient quantities can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
First the onions and mushrooms are fried in plenty of butter, along with a little olive oil, until tender.
Garlic is added for flavour, then in goes the rice and wine, which is cooked until the rice absorbs the wine.
Now comes the classic risotto steps of slowly adding in ladles of stock, and letting each one absorb, before adding the next. We stir as we go, and keep going with the stock until the rice is tender and creamy.
Finally we add in a little seasoning (salt is optional, as the stock and Parmesan have salt in), plus plenty of parmesan for a rich creamy flavour and and a good squeeze of lemon juice to add a little acidity, to balance out the flavour.
👩🍳PRO TIP You can easily make this a vegetarian dish by substituting the chicken stock for vegetable stock, and the parmesan for a vegetarian Italian hard cheese.
The texture of this dish is just so velvety and rich!
🍽️ What to serve it with
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I like to serve with a little black pepper, a dusting of parmesan and sprigs of thyme and/or parsley.
🍲 More fantastic mushroom recipes
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Add the butter and oil to a large frying pan. Heat over a medium heat until the butter melts.3 tbsp unsalted butter, 1 tbsp olive oilAdd the finely diced onion to the pan and cook for 3 minutes until softened.1 onionAdd the mushrooms and fry for 4-5 minutes until softened and lightly golden. Note: I sometimes take out a few of the more golden/browned mushrooms and put to one side to add to the top at the end (cooking the mushrooms with the rice and stock takes that golden colour off them) – this is optional though!400 g (14oz) mixed mushroomsAdd in the garlic, stir and cook for a further minute.2 cloves garlicNext in goes the arborio rice. Stir it all together.300 g (1 1/3rd cups) uncooked arborio riceAdd in the wine and stir and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly, until the wine has almost fully absorbed into the rice. 150 ml (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp) white wineNow add the stock a ladle at a time – ensuring each ladle has almost fully absorbed before adding the next. Ensure you stir regularly. It should take about 17-20 minutes for all of the stock to be absorbed and for the rice to be slightly al dente.1200 ml (5 cups) hot chicken stockAs you’re coming to the end of the stock give the rice a taste, If you’ve used all of the stock and the rice is still too hard, you can add in splashes of just boiled water, until the rice reaches the desired tenderness. Alternatively if the rice is done to your liking befor all the stock is absorbed then you might not need to use all of it.Give the risotto and taste and add the salt if needed, and the black pepper.¼ tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground black pepperAdd in the parmesan and lemon juice and give everything a good stir.75 g (3/4 cup) parmesan, 1 tbsp fresh lemon juiceServe topped with a little grated parmesan, some black pepper, and some chopped thyme and/or parsley.grated parmesan, freshly chopped thyme and/or parsley, freshly ground black pepper
*Note 1 – Mushrooms
I use mixed mushrooms – consisting of mainly large and small chestnut mushrooms and white mushrooms. Oyster and shiitake mushrooms make great additions too. Use your favourite varieties.
I often make this with only chestnut or portabella mushrooms, as I find them to be the most tasty, earthy mushrooms.
*Note 2 – Chicken stock*
Use the best you can get hold of. I like to use homemade, or a really flavourful stock such as Essential Cuisine chicken glace. Flavourful shop-bought bone broth is good too.The better flavour the stock, the tastier the risotto will be.However!!I have also made this with water with + 3-4 Oxo stock cubes and it’s still very tasty. If you only have stock cubes in, I still recommend making this recipe.
Make it vegetarian:
Even though this risotto doesn’t contain pieces of meat, it’s not classed as vegetarian – due to the chicken stock and Parmesan (uses animal rennet) . You can easily make it vegetarian by substituting the chicken stock for vegetable stock and the parmesan with vegetarian Italian hard cheese, which can be found at most local supermarkets.
Can I make it ahead?
Risotto does taste best when served right away, however, you can make it ahead if you like.Make the risotto, then cool, cover and refrigerate. Reheat in a pan over a low heat. You’ll need to add in more stock to loosen it up when reheating.
Can I freeze it?
I prefer risotto made and eaten right away, but you can freeze it if you have leftovers.Quickly cool, then cover and freeze any leftovers. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat the risotto in a pan over a low heat. You’ll need to add in more stock to loosen it up when reheating.
How to scale up and scale down this recipe
This recipe can be doubled up for a crowd or halved for two people, sticking to the same ingredient ratios.
Nutritional Information is per serving (excluding the serving suggestions).
Calories: 573kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 642mg | Potassium: 660mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 427IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 198mg | Iron: 4mgNutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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