Vegan Mushroom Risotto (Basic Vegan Risotto Recipe)

How to make vegan risotto for two? We show you EVERYTHING you need to know through this creamy vegan mushroom risotto recipe. We included lots of useful tips, step photos, and video for you to make vegan risotto perfectly every time. Are you ready to begin? 

What exactly is risotto?

Risotto is the most common way to cook rice in Italy. According to the traditional recipe, it means that a high-starch, short-grain rice is cooked in broth, which has to be added in batches with frequent stirring. Risotto usually, but not always contains butter, white wine and parmesan cheese for extra creaminess.

What is so special about risotto?

It is so creamy due to the high starch content, while the rice grain is still firm to bite on. Let’s say you cook long grain rice in a pot full of boiling water (or even veggie broth). When cooked, each rice grain is soft, but they are airy and fluffy, not creamy and sticky. If you eat cooked rice on its own, you will say that “Well, it is dry as hell! I need sauce!” That being said, they work great in chili, or in curry, or in a stir-fry.  See, any dish that is saucy.

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Best rice for risotto

You need to look for rice that is high in starch and has shorter grains. The 3 most common type of rice used for risotto. So which one would you choose?

• Arborio – It is the most popular type of rice to make risotto. You don’t need any specialty store, it is likely you can buy it in your local store nearby. We also use Arborio.
• Carnaroli – This is claimed to be the best rice for risotto. Chefs use it to make restaurant-style risotto.
• Vialone Nano –  It is also quite popular rice as it is more starchy than Arborio. Hence, it results in a creamier risotto.

Can you use Basmati Rice?

If you have Basmati rice at home, you don’t need to rush to the store to get Arborio rice. We also tried and tested this recipe with Basmati. It may not be restaurant-style and be less creamy, but you can make up for it with extra butter and vegan parmesan.

Common misconceptions about risotto

• It is time-consuming. – No, it isn’t. You would think that because you add veggie broth in batches it will take longer for the rice to cook. If you check any rice packaging, it says 15-20 minutes. If you make risotto you will also need only 15-20 minutes.
• You need continuous stirring. – No, you don’t. You need to give it a stir in every couple of minutes for sure, but you don’t need to stand there and stir non-stop. You can certainly make other things in a kitchen in the meantime.
• You need risotto rice. – No, you don’t. If you have Basmati rice at home, you don’t need to rush to the store to get risotto rice. We also tried and tested this recipe with Basmati. It may be less creamy, but you can make up for it with extra butter and vegan parmesan.

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Ingredients to make creamy vegan risotto

Let’s start with what you need. It is not a long list I can tell you that. To make our basic vegan risotto recipe we use the following ingredients:

• Arborio rice
• veggie broth
• white wine
• vegan butter
• onion
• garlic
• salt and pepper

If you have the above ingredients you can make this basic recipe and add whichever vegetable you like. We love mushrooms, so we make a creamy vegan mushroom risotto with white button mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms.

How to make vegan risotto?

Prepare the rice – step 1

First, heat a saucepan or stockpot on medium heat. Add olive oil and chopped onion and cook them until they are soft and tender (photo #1). It takes usually 2-3 minutes. Then, add chopped garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes (photo #2). Now, add unwashed arborio rice and stir it for 1-2 minutes to coat it with oil (photo #3). Now, add the white wine and cook the rice in the wine until the wine is absorbed or steamed away (photo #4). It usually takes 2 minutes.

Here comes the veggie broth – step 2

If you continue on medium/high heat, you need more stirring, but the rice will be ready faster. If you take it to low, you need less stirring, but it will take longer to make.

This is how we did it to get the risotto ready in 15 minutes.

Add 1 cup of hot veggie broth to the rice and leave it on medium heat (photo #5). It should bubble up, but not boil (no heavy steam). Stir for a couple of times. We add the other cup of hot veggie broth only when the previous one is almost fully absorbed. You can check that by using your spatula. If you stir and the risotto leaves empty spaces i.e. you can see the bottom of the pot, then it is okay to add more (photo #6). If the risotto flows right back to the empty space and you cannot see the bottom of the pot, then not yet.

Making your risotto extra creamy – step 3

When almost all veggie broth is absorbed, add vegan butter (and the optional vegan parmesan cheese) and stir until melted (photo #7). Add salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Cook for 2 more minutes then cover it with a lid, take off the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes (photo #8). Voila! You’re ready! The risotto should be creamy, but the rice grains should remain firm to bite on.

How to make vegan mushroom risotto?

We don’t cook mushrooms together with the risotto for 3 reasons:

1. Mushrooms release water while cooking, which can make the risotto watery. It is hard to control how much water it releases and when.
2. You can’t season the mushrooms properly. They will absorb the seasoning of the risotto and any additional spices will be washed off by the veggie broth.
3. If you cook mushrooms instead of sauteeing, then they will get soggy.

Our solution is simple. We make our quick, 10-minute sauteed mushrooms in soy sauce glaze recipe and top our vegan risotto when it is ready.

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Top tips to make perfect vegan mushroom risotto

• High heat or low heat? – If you cook risotto on medium/high heat, you need more stirring, but the rice will be ready faster. If you take it to low, you need less stirring, but it will take longer to make.
• One-stop-shop? – You can still make perfect risotto if you add veggie broth all at once, take it to low heat and cook the rice slowly. You need less stirring, a bit more time to be ready, but you may stress less about it. Not perfect Italian restaurant chef-style, but your risotto will still taste pretty awesome.
• Hot or cold veggie broth? – We recommend using hot veggie broth. Every time you add cold broth, the risotto cools back and you need to bring them back to boil so that the rice continues to cook. It will take longer to make.
• One-pot meal? – You can turn it into a one-pot meal. If you start with making the sauteed mushrooms, then place them on a plate while you cook your risotto in the same pan. The glaze at the bottom of the pan will give extra mushroomy flavor to your vegan risotto.
• Is your pot wide enough? – We chose to make risotto in a saucepan so the rice is cooking in a single layer.
• Don’t wash the rice. – We don’t wash the rice so that the starch on the rice will turn the risotto extra creamy.
• Prepare and measure in advance – Every recipe we make for the first time, we like to prepare and measure every ingredient in advance. So, when the cooking starts there are no last-minute tasks or surprises.

What to serve with mushroom risotto?

Italians eat it as a first course or entree, but we love to eat mushroom risotto as the main dinner course. We often pair it with a nice, creamy soup like:

• Vegan Spinach Soup
• Vegan Cauliflower Soup
• Vegan Pumpkin Soup

One of my favorite veggie side dishes is Roasted Asparagus and I love to add it to basically anything. This vegan mushroom risotto is no exception. You can also add Roasted Green Beans, or Sauteed Carrots, or Peas or Corn. And the list goes on…

This Vegan Mushroom Risotto recipe is meat-free, dairy-free and egg-free. It is suitable for vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and nut-free diets.

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More light dinner recipes

You can browse through our Vegan and Gluten-free Dinner Recipes or our Quick Vegan Meals collection or check out

• Vegan Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
• Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese
• Easy Vegan Alfredo Sauce
• Vegan Sweet Potato Gnocchi

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