How to Make the Best Vegan Mushroom Risotto
This vegan mushroom risotto is one of my favorite quick and easy comfort food dishes. It is perfectly creamy, slightly cheesy and tangy, and full of flavor. If I’m feeling fancy, which I usually am, I’ll finish it with a drizzle of black truffle oil, elevating the dish even more. If you’ve never had risotto before, definitely give this vegan mushroom risotto a try. I am confident you will love it!
What is Risotto?
Risotto is a creamy Italian rice dish. Unlike most other rice dishes that require simmering in a pot of water or stock, risotto is simmered by gradually adding a small amount of liquid at a time and stirring it constantly. This method allows the rice to release its starches, which creates a creamy, rich sauce, but with perfectly al dente grains of rice. Risotto reminds me of the rice version of mac and cheese! It’s creamy, slightly cheesy, and tangy, with a tiny bit of chew!
How to Make Risotto
Typically, risotto is made with arborio rice, stock, white wine, and aromatics. I first saute yellow onion in equal parts olive oil and vegan butter until soft. Then, I like to add diced baby bella mushrooms for extra flavor and texture. I season it with salt and pepper, and add in crushed garlic, followed by arborio rice. Once I slightly toast the rice, I gradually add warmed vegetable stock and dry white wine, stirring constantly. Finally, I mix in grated vegan parmesan and a drizzle of black truffle-infused olive oil to finish the risotto.
Risotto = Arborio Rice ONLY
If you’re wondering if you can use any rice to make risotto, the answer is NO. You MUST use only arborio rice! For example, other kinds of rice, like white or brown rice, cook up fluffy. Whereas arborio rice gets sticky and does not fluff up. By using arborio rice, you create a chewy, rich, and velvety risotto.
If you make my vegan mushroom risotto, don’t forget to post a picture to Instagram, tag me @chefsummerstorm, and #gardengrub so I can see your recreation!
How to Make the Best Vegan Mushroom Risotto
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups vegetable or vegan chicken stock
- 1 cup vegan dry white wine, I use a pinot grigio
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp vegan butter
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, small diced
- 2 cups baby bella mushrooms, medium-small diced
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 1 cup arborio rice (You MUST use arborio rice!)
- 1/2 cup vegan parmesan (I use Follow Your Heart's)
- *Optional: 1 tsp TRUFF black truffle infused olive oil
Instructions
- Add the stock and white wine into a medium-sized saucepan and place it over medium-low heat. This should never simmer, but it needs to stay warm.
- Place a large saute pan over medium heat. Once hot, add in the olive oil and butter.
- Once the butter is melted, add in the diced onions and saute them for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Now, add in the diced mushrooms, stir, and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the salt and pepper into the pan, stir well, and cook for another 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the garlic and rice into the pan and constantly stir for 3 minutes.
- Turn the heat down ever so slightly, so it's at a medium/medium-low heat. Then, add 1/2 cup of the vegetable stock/wine mixture. Stir the rice constantly-IMPORTANT.
- Once all of the liquid has absorbed into the rice, add another 1/2 cup of the vegetable stock/wine mix, and stir constantly. Repeat this step until all of the stock mix has been added. NOTE: You need to stir the rice constantly until the very end. You will be cooking and stirring the rice for about 25-28 minutes.
- Once you've added in the last 1/2 cup of stock mix, continue cooking the rice for two minutes, then turn the heat off. Now add in the vegan parmesan and stir until the parmesan has melted.
- Lastly, this is optional, but it adds a lovely flavor, add the TRUFF truffle oil into the rice and stir well.
- Enjoy with an extra sprinkling of vegan parmesan on top!
TIPAROOSKIS
Welcome to my tip section of the vegan mushroom risotto! Here I provide my top tips to help you perfect the recipe. Sometimes, I also give substitute suggestions that I think you may find helpful.
- You MUST stir the rice constantly while cooking, which will be for about 25 minutes or so. This is extremely important, as stirring helps release the rice’s starch, which creates a velvety smooth sauce-like consistency to the risotto.
- If you despise mushrooms, skip adding them to the dish. The risotto will still taste delicious without the mushrooms. On the other hand, if you love mushrooms, feel free to use any kind that your heart desires!
- If you’re wondering if you can make the risotto without wine, I have to tell you no. An authentic risotto is made using dry white wine. I mean, yes, you could TECHNICALLY make the risotto without wine and substitute more vegetable stock instead. But then the dish will lack important flavor and shouldn’t be thought of like risotto.
- Should I use vegan chicken stock or vegetable stock? This is totally up to you! I typically gravitate towards using vegetable stock because I want the flavor of the mushrooms to shine through versus fighting the flavor of the vegan chicken stock. However, vegan chicken stock does taste delicious in the risotto as well! I make my FAVORITE stock by using the Better Than Bouillon vegetable base. I mix it with water and instantly have super flavorful vegetable stock. It is so convenient.
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