Creamy Mushroom Risotto

This creamy mushroom risotto is decadent and luxurious. Each bite is better than the last. The mushroom flavor pairs perfectly with the parmesan making this a dish that everybody will remember.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

With simple ingredients, you can create a dish that is bursting with an earthy flavor. It can stand on its own as a main dish, or you can serve it as a side dish.

This is a whole different animal than a standard rice dish. The dish is so rich and flavorful that your friends and family will be requesting it all the time.

Some say risotto can be a pain to make as the dish requires constant stirring. I call it a labor of love.

Plus, I don’t mind sitting there, tending the risotto, all the while enjoying a glass of wine. If I cook with it, I have to have a glass. A great risotto is worth the 30 minutes, I promise.

As earlier stated, this dish can be served as a main dish, but if you want to treat it as a side dish, it pairs well with chicken and beef dishes.

Dishes like our Roasted Chicken Thighs with Rosemary and Lemon, Roasted Chicken With Lemon And Thyme, Garlic Herb Beef Top Round Roast, or our Prime Rib Roast (Closed Oven Method) would all be good mains for this delicious risotto.

Ingredients Needed

Outside of the types of mushrooms you want to use, all of these ingredients are readily available at your local grocery market.

We opted for a variety of mushrooms: baby bella mushrooms (Cremini mushrooms), oyster mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms. But you can use one type or multiple, depending on your tastes.

Risotto Base – Arborio rice, shallot, white wine, and olive oil. Arborio rice is one of the highest rice grains (superfino) and is perfect for risotto. The shallot will add a light sweetness to the rice, while the white wine adds a needed acidity.

If you don’t want to use wine, you can substitute it with chicken stock.

Chicken Stock – If you do not use unsalted stock, you probably will not need to season the risotto with salt. Chicken broth works just as well.

If you have access to mushroom stock, you could do a 50/50 mix of chicken stock and mushroom stock for a more robust mushroom flavor.

Mushrooms, garlic, and fresh thyme – You can keep it simple with just one type of mushroom or use a blend of different types of mushrooms. But we do want to use something with a little bit of flavor, such as portabella, porcini, and/or shiitake mushrooms.

The fresh thyme and garlic will add additional flavor to the mushrooms.

Butter and Parmesan Cheese – This finishes up the dish. Parmesan and butter are added to the risotto at the end to give it a creaminess and luxurious finish. It is the proverbial cherry on top.

Butter is also added to the mushrooms to give them a beautiful sheen and caramelization.

How To Make Creamy Mushroom Risotto

Whenever I am preparing a dish, I like to get my ingredients in order. Fortunately, there isn’t too much prep work for this delicious risotto.

Add the stock to a medium-sized saucepan and set to medium heat to medium-high heat.

The stock needs to be added to the rice at almost a boiling temperature so it doesn’t cool it down during the cooking process.

While the stock is warming up, dice the shallot, cut up the butter into tablespoon pieces and give the garlic clove a crack. No need to dice the garlic, we will just add it as-is to the mushrooms at a later point.

Set all of this aside and heat a large skillet over medium heat.

Add two tablespoons of olive to the skillet, and when the oil has heated up, add the diced shallots.

Sweat the shallots until they’re transparent, maintaining proper heat so they don’t burn.

Add the rice to the skillet and toast the rice for two to three minutes, stirring constantly.

Next, add the white wine to the skillet, and stir. Continue stirring as the alcohol from the wine evaporates off, about 2 to three minutes.

Now comes the fun part. Add a ladle full of hot stock to the risotto and start stirring using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.

You will continue to stir for about 2 to 3 minutes until the rice has absorbed most of the stock. As you’re stirring, the rice should be at a low simmer.

Continue to repeat the process of adding a ladle of stock and stirring for a few minutes.

When you have gone through about half the stock, place a medium-sized skillet on another burner on medium-high heat. You really want this skillet to be hot.

Add two tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet, and when the oil has heated, add the mushrooms.

Cook the mushrooms for about 3 to 4 minutes until the oil has been absorbed and you can see that the mushrooms are starting to shrink up a bit.

Add a tablespoon of butter, the fresh thyme, and the crushed garlic clove to the pan of mushrooms and continue to cook for five to 6 more minutes, about 10 minutes total.

While you’re cooking the mushroom, continue to add the chicken stock every 2-3 minutes and keep stirring.

When the stock is getting low, taste the risotto. You want the risotto to be al dente, slightly firm, but with no crunch.

When you have finished adding the remaining stock to the risotto, the mushrooms should be done. They should look rendered down, have a beautiful sheen from the butter, and have some caramelization.

Remove the mushrooms from the heat.

When the risotto rice has reached an al dente, add the butter to the skillet and stir to combine well.

The butter is going to add a creaminess to the risotto that is just amazing. As you stir, you can see that this risotto has a creamy consistency and moves like lava.

Next, add about 2/3 of the carmelized mushrooms to the skillet and mix to combine.

Finally, add the parmesan cheese and mix to combine well. Continue to stir all the while as the rice will continue to absorb all this flavor. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

When the cheese has been completely incorporated, place a portion of the mushroom risotto on a plate or small bowl.

Smack the bottom of the plate or shake back and forth to allow the risotto to spread evenly.

Garnish with some of the caramelized mushrooms and optionally top with some additional parmesan cheese and serve up this decadent creamy mushroom risotto.

This mushroom risotto will wow them all, I promise!

Tips And Variations

• Overcooking the risotto can occur if too much stock is added or if the pan is left on the heat for an extended period. Remember to add some, stir for a couple of minutes so it absorbs, then add more.
• You can substitute the Arborio rice with jasmine rice if you can’t find Arborio.
• Substitute Pecorino romano cheese for parmesan for a more aggressive bite (which we love).
• Adding a quarter cup of peas at the end of the cook will add a beautiful vibrant pop of color to the dish.
• Finely chopped chives would make a beautiful garnish.
• You can use any combination of mushrooms that you like. Just slice them into manageable pieces before cooking them.
• You can substitute chicken stock with vegetable stock or vegetable broth to make this a vegetarian dish.
• Try to use fresh mushrooms if you can. If you’re using dry mushrooms, just soak them in water for about 30 minutes.

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