One of my all-time favorite comfort foods is risotto, and this Vegan Mushroom Risotto has been my favorite version the last few years.
With the perfect velvety and creamy texture and layers of deep savoriness from browned mushrooms and miso butter, it’s a show stopping dish to serve guests or on date night.
Plus, this post is packed with all the tips and tricks for making excellent risotto I’ve learned since the first time I made it (16 years ago in my college apartment!).
Table of Contents
1. Why this recipe works
2. Ingredient notes
3. Step-by-step instructions
4. Tips for making this recipe
5. Frequently Asked Questions
6. Recipe card with notes
Why this recipe works
The perfect risotto texture.
TLDR: This vegan risotto has peak risotto texture: velvety and creamy, not soggy and mushy, thanks to a few key techniques.
After making risotto for over 15 years, I’ve picked up a lot of tricks and cleared up a lot of myths!
Myth 1: Stir risotto constantly.
Reality: This can make risotto gluey or gummy. Instead, this risotto gets stirred about every 30 seconds, leaving it with a perfectly velvety but not gluey consistency.
Myth 2: Cook risotto until completely soft.
Reality: Risotto is rice, not porridge. It should be creamy and somewhat soft but not overly soft. This risotto is also cooked until al dente, leaving you with a creamy but lovely texture that almost melts in your mouth but doesn’t feel like baby food.
Myth 3: You can cook the vegetables and rice together.
Reality: Doing so (1) it makes it difficult to stir the rice, so your rice texture won’t turn out great and (2) the vegetables (here, mushrooms) get soggy and overcook.
Instead, this risotto recipe cooks the mushrooms separately so they retain their lovely meaty texture (and the rice also gets to keep its beautiful velvety texture).
Serious savory flavor.
Traditional risotto has a generous amount of umami from the dairy-based butter and parmesan cheese (sometimes, more than 1 cheese is added). To make up for that, I rely on a few ingredients.
Miso butter: It’s made with vegan butter and white miso paste, and it mimics the rich savoriness found in dairy-based ingredients so well, turning this vegan risotto an outrageous flavor bomb.
It’s also simple to make: just cream softened vegan butter with room temperature miso with a fork!
Lots of mushrooms! Mushrooms are a natural source of umami, so the more, the better (within reason). I also like to use a few varieties of mushrooms that have a meatier taste/feeling, like shiitakes, maitakes, and oyster mushrooms.
Ingredient notes
Mushrooms. We use a lot of mushrooms (20 ounces, to be exact) in this recipe! You definitely don’t need to use all of the mushroom varieties I use, but aim for at least 2 different kinds of mushrooms for texture and taste variety.
Tips for buying: If you can, look for varieties besides standard white button mushrooms (the least flavorful). More on this in the FAQ section.
White Miso Paste. Miso is one those superstar ingredients that adds so much savory oomph to vegan dishes in a wholesome way. It’s a fermented soybean paste, so it’s a rich source of naturally occuring umami.
Tips for buying: I use white miso (AKA shiro miso), the mildest kind of miso. If you can only find darker miso (e.g, red miso), add a bit less to prevent overwhelming the other flavors.
Vegan Butter. The miso butter takes this recipe from good to wow-worthy mushroom risotto. It adds an indescribably rich flavor and mouthfeel tha’ll have your taste buds screaming “THERE’S A PARTY IN MY MOUTH!”
Tips for buying: Earth Balance buttery sticks are a widely available vegan butter. I also like Miyoko’s butter (cashew-based so it cooks a bit differently) and Country Crock Plant Butter.
Leeks. Many risotto dishes start by sautéing onions or shallots, but my preference is leeks because the mushroom-leek combination is irresistible: nutty and earthy meets sweet, mild, delicate flavors in an electric fusion.
Substitute: About 2 small yellow onions or 6 large shallots.
Arborio Rice or Carnaroli Rice. Arborio, a medium-grain white rice, is most commonly used for risotto, at least in the U.S., as it’s widely available. It works great here.
If you can find Carnaroli rice (a short-grain rice) it makes for the creamiest risotto (it’s known as the “king of risotto” rice!). It releases its starch mostly slowly, which makes for a super-creamy risotto.
And on practical grounds, it’s harder to overcook than Arborio rice. Find it online or at specialty stores/Italian grocers.
White Wine. Most risotto recipes add a dry white wine after the rice is toasted. It enhances all the other flavors and adds a subtle punch of acidity to cut through the creamy richness.
Substitute: Don’t consume alcohol? (1) Skip this step and start adding the veg broth to the pot after toasting the rice. OR, (2) replace some of the acidity by adding a nice splash of white wine vinegar when you ladle in the broth (any time during the risotto process).
Vegetable Broth. I typically make risotto with store-bought vegetable broth to keep things quick. If you make or have homemade broth, it’s always a welcome addition.
Flavor boost tip 1: For incredible meaty flavors to complement the mushrooms, use a vegan “chicken” broth seasoning or something like Better than Bullion. These are quite salty, so I usually use a bit less of them than called for on the package instructions.
Flavor boost tip 2: And for truly phenomenal risotto, make this recipe with the homemade Mushroom Broth from my cookbook, The Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook!
Step-by-step instructions
Slice and tear your mushrooms.
Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat with some olive oil. Once hot, add the mushrooms. Cook for 8-9 minutes, stirring only occasionally, until nicely browned.
Reduce heat to medium. Add the thyme and half of the garlic; season with salt. Cook for 2-4 minutes, then add in the miso butter.
Stir the miso butter into the mushrooms to incorporate. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Set aside.
Dice the leeks and wash them (see FAQ section for instructions).
Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or deep sauté pan. Add the leeks and remaining garlic. Cook 2-3 minutes until leeks have just softened.
Add the rice and toast for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently. Deglaze the pot with the white wine and cook for a few minutes until the smell of booze wears off.
Start ladling in the vegetable broth, 1 cup at a time. Stir frequently but not constantly. Add another cup of broth once most of the liquid has been absorbed and stir again.
Repeat the process of ladling in broth and stirring until the rice is somewhat soft but still al dente (see Tips section on how to determine when risotto is done).
Add the sauteed miso mushrooms to the risotto.
Stir the mushrooms to combine. Add vegan parmesan (optional) and season to taste with salt/pepper. Serve immediately.
Tips for making the best vegan risotto
Making risotto can be intimidating, but once you get familiar with these tips, it’s pretty straightforward. And you don’t need dairy to make risotto creamy. Rather properly cooking the rice–as outlined in the tips below–is the secret!
Use hot vegetable broth.
Warm up your broth in a separate saucepan on the stove. No need to vigorously boil, but make sure you’re adding hot broth to cook the rice. Adding cold or room temp broth –>> the rice cooks unevenly (i.e., some rice grains will be firm and others will be soft).
And add the broth gradually.
Don’t be tempted to pour in the broth all at once. When rice is flooded with a ton of liquid, it’s akin to just boiling rice. Boiled rice does not equal creamy risotto.
In contrast, ladling in the broth over time forces the rice grains to get cozy and agitate each other, unlocking the natural starch found in medium or short-grain rice. Starches release = creaminess.
Deglaze the pot.
When you pour the wine into the rice, use the liquid to scrape up any bits of food stuck to the bottom of the pot. This not only infuses more flavor into the risotto but also makes it easier to stir, ensuring the rice doesn’t stick.
Stir often but not constantly. Don’t stir risotto constantly. Instead, aim to stir it about every 30 seconds. Stirring constantly aerates the rice >> gluey texture.
Once the broth is mostly absorbed, that’s when you add the next ladle of broth.
Cook until al dente, not overcooked and mushy. There’s a misconception that risotto should be very soft and requires 45 minutes of stirring. Not so.
Risotto should be creamy and somewhat soft but still al dente. After you add the first ladle of broth, it shouldn’t take much longer than 20 minutes.
Not sure what al dente should taste/feel like? Do the smear test outlined in this article.
Place a grain of rice on a cutting board and smush it with your finger. The grain should smear fairly smooth but you should still be able to see a bit of the white, al dente center of the rice.
Get those mushrooms meaty browned.
A lot of mushroom risotto recipes just briefly cook the mushrooms for 4 to 5 minutes. BUT, if you want the mushrooms to shine, you gotta allow them to sear and brown beautifully. Use medium-high heat and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. This is also one of the secrets behind my fan-favorite Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff.
Frequently Asked Questions
Generally, it shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes after you add the first ladle of broth. The risotto should be creamy and somewhat soft but still have a bite to it. But the time will vary a bit based on the type of pot you use, the heat level, the temperate of your broth, etc. so you need to cook with your eyes and senses.
Still not sure? Use the smear test:
Place a grain of rice on a cutting board and smush it with your finger. The grain should smear fairly smooth but you should still be able to see a bit of the white, al dente center of the rice. Check out this risotto smear guide test for photos.
If you can, use a variety of mushrooms so you get textural (and taste) contrast.
I typically use some amount of cremini mushrooms: they’re inexpensive and more flavorful than white button mushrooms. And then I throw in with some more exotic varieties like shiitake (available at most grocery stores), oyster, maitake, beech, king trumpet, and/or chanterelles depending on what’s available.
You can usually find these kinds of mushrooms at farmers markets, well-stocked grocery stores like Whole Foods and Sprouts, as well as farmers markets and Asian grocery stores.
A crisp white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris, or Pinot Grigio.
To look up vegan-friendly wines, use Barnivore.com. Some vegan-friendly brands that are commonly available include Layer Cake Wines, Santa Margherita, Justin, Bonterra, Decoy, and Murphy Goode.
Leeks are dirty things so wash properly! First, peel away the papery outer layer or two. Trim off the roots. Lob off the dark green tops. Freeze them for soups or stews.
Slice the leeks vertically in half (in quarters, if large), then dice them. Add to a large bowl of cold water.
Use your hands to swish the leeks around in the water to loosen dirt.
Then use your hands or a slotted spoon to scoop the leeks out of the water (don’t drain the leeks, or the loosened dirt will go back in the leeks).
Dry on a large dish towel.
Wipe off any dirt patches with a dry thin dish towel or paper towel (or pastry brush, if you have the time). Some varieties like button mushrooms have quite a bit dirt, but many varieties are grown in indoor farms and are quite clean.
Washing your mushrooms is not only unnecessary but also makes them water-logged and impossible to dry.
Yes! I have a similar recipe for instant pot mushroom risotto in my cookbook, The Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook!
For an extra pop of umami, a sprinkling of vegan parmesan cheese is nice if you have it.
This dish is satisfying enough to serve on its own, but if you want a side dish, try something light and green: blanched broccolini or broccoli, grilled or roasted asparagus, or a simple green salad with a vinaigrette.
For something a little fancier, try this Beet and Fennel Salad or Maple Roasted Carrots.
As with most risottos, this dish is best enjoyed immediately.
But, if you’re cooking for just 1 or 2, store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. Heat the risotto up in a saucepan on the stove and add some vegetable broth or water (~ 1/4 cup (60 mL) for every 1 cup of risotto). Heat until warm, stirring occasionally and adding a bit more broth as needed to loosen up the texture.
I do not recommend freezing risotto. It significantly changes the texture and hardens, which is the opposite of what you want with risotto.
Watch the video!
Vegan Mushroom Risotto - The most seductive dish
I hope you give this incredibly delicious Vegan Mushroom Risotto a try! If you do, please leave a rating and review below with your feedback and tag me on Instagram with your remakes!
The Best Vegan Mushroom Risotto
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons (56g) vegan butter, softened at room temp
- 2 tablespoons (30-35g) white miso paste, softened at room temp (note 1)
- 20 ounces (570g) mixed mushrooms, sliced or torn (note 2)
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 6 garlic cloves minced and divided in half
- 6 to 8 cups (1.5 to 1.9 L) vegetable broth (note 3)
- 2 large leeks (white & light green parts only), cleaned and diced (note 4)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 cups (~370g) Carnaroli rice or Arborio rice
- 2/3 cup (160 mL) dry white wine (note 5)
- 1/4 cup (30g) vegan parmesan cheese (optional)
- 1 handful Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped (for garnish)
Instructions
- Read the recipe notes below before starting!
- Take the vegan butter and miso out of the fridge and place in a small bowl to soften. Once softened, use a fork to cream them together until well combined.
- Add the vegetable broth to a saucepan. Once it comes to a rapid simmer, adjust the heat to keep the broth warm/hot at a gentle simmer.
- Cook the mushrooms. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil (if using stainless steel or cast iron, use more oil). Once the oil is shimmering, add the mushrooms. Cook undisturbed for a few minutes to develop some browning. Cook for a total of 8 to 9 minutes, until nicely browned, stirring only occasionally.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the chopped thyme and HALF of the minced garlic to the mushrooms. Season with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Cook for 2 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Add the creamed miso butter and stir into the mushrooms, stirring frequently to coat the mushrooms for 2 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Cook the risotto. Heat a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed deep sauté pan over medium heat (note 6). Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once hot, add the leeks and remaining garlic. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the leeks have just softened.
- Add the rice and stir quickly until all the grains are well-coated and the rice smells slightly toasty, 60 to 90 seconds. Pour in the wine, and stir to scrape any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot, cooking until the wine is nearly evaporated and the smell of booze has dissipated, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Ladle in 1 cup (240 mL) of warm vegetable broth and stir frequently but not constantly. Once the rice has absorbed the liquid, add the next round of broth, 1 cup at a time. Continue this process stirring about every 30 seconds and adding more broth when most of the liquid has been absorbed.It should take about 20 minutes from the time you add the first ladle of broth, or until the risotto is slightly firm and creamy, but not too soft or mushy.
- To test for doneness: you can place the rice on a flat surface and smear downwards with your finger. It should be fairly smooth but you should still be able to see a bit of the white, al dente center of the rice. (note 7).
- Add cooked mushrooms to the risotto, and stir to warm through. Remove from the heat, and stir in vegan parmesan, if using. Taste for seasonings, adding salt and pepper as needed. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
I will try later this week
Hope you enjoy this recipe, Ike!
Being lactose intolerant, this recipe allowed me to appreciate risotto again! Even my non vegan/cheese eating friends highly enjoyed the flavor and texture of the meal. This recipe is delicious with its touches of miso butter that create the savory flavor — so inventive.
Well written recipe, easy to follow. Great tips, tricks, and photos showing how it looks along the way. Thank you for creating this!
We are so happy this recipe helped you enjoy risotto again and that it was a hit even with the non-vegans! Thank you for the lovely review Natalya!
My first time making risotto a very tasty treat, I did add little cayenne pepper in my plate since I like spicy foods but all it was very good without it too.
Awesome, Urvashi. Thanks for your comment and for taking the time to review!
This was hands down the best risotto ever! My mom (a non-vegan) loves risotto & has already tried tones. We always eat together on weekends and she normally never goes for seconds because she is satisfied after one plate. BUT with this recipe she went for thirds & said it is more than hard to mot go into the kitchen and eat the rest. Long story short this is the best risotto ever, no matter if you‘re vegan or not, try this! Thank you Nisha for this AMAZING recipe!
Thanks for sharing, Leonie! So happy to hear you and your mom loved the risotto!
Fantastic recipe. I used red wine and it turned out great.
Kate, So glad to hear you loved this recipe!
Fantastic recipe! 3 non-vegans enjoyed it as much as I did!
Awesome, Erin! Thanks for the comment and for taking the time to review :)
This was my first time making risotto and it has set the bar very high. I only had oyster mushrooms on hand so I look forward to trying it with a variety of mushrooms next time. A friend asked me if I would change anything, the answer is NO! It was perfect as is, so delicious and comforting. Thank you for sharing this divine recipe.
Cashell, So glad to hear you loved this recipe!
my grocery store does not have arborio rice, I read that basmati rice could be a good substitute. Do you think that works?
Hi Nery, are you able to find Carnaroli rice? We haven’t tried basmati rice and are concerned it may not have a high enough amount of the right kind of starch to create the perfect risotto. I do read online that many people have made versions of risotto using basmati, but it is definitely less traditional and may not turn out as creamy. If you really want to hit this recipe out of the park, maybe you could try ordering Arborio or Carnaroli rice online? Hope that helped!
WOW WOW WOW! I just made this for dinner and it is SO DELICIOUS!
Sherry, So glad to hear you loved this recipe!
I made this today. Delicious.
Thanks for the lovely feedback, Rebecca!
I was looking for a special recipe to use what is likely the last of this spring’s morel mushroom haul, and this recipe was perfect! I had about 12 pretty big morels I had foraged–less than 20 ounces but if you know morels they are pretty thick and meaty so that wasn’t a problem! The risotto is fantastic (so creamy, no dairy!) but the miso butter is really the star of the show. Generally, I don’t want to overpower the natural taste of the morels so I don’t like to use them chopped up in cream sauces or anything; the miso butter I feel brought out the flavor instead of overpowering it! I also really like how the mushrooms cook separately and are added at the end so they don’t become mushy. I didn’t use thyme because I didn’t have fresh and I thought the mushrooms could stand on their own, but I will probably use thyme when I make this recipe again with storebought mushrooms–because I will make it again! Thank you for all the time you took to develop this recipe and to clearly lay out detailed instructions and suggestions!
Lena, So glad to hear you loved this recipe. Thanks so much for the thoughtful comment!
This was insane! Amazing recipe, thank you
Perfection. I’m serious! This recipe is sooo good. This was my first time making risotto and Nisha provided simple step by step instructions (with photos). I absolutely love this dish and will certainly make this again! Without any variations because it was spot on restaurant-level tasting risotto. Thank you, Nisha!
I knew I had to try this after your vegan mushroom stroganoff recipe was a HUGE hit. Just like last time, the flavors were perfect and the risotto turned out surprisingly creamy and if I’d been served this in a restaurant, I would have happily paid a pretty penny for it.
This recipe was fantastic! I made it last night and just finished the leftovers for lunch, reheating was easy on the stove top with broth as Nisha suggested.
I have to agree that this is one of the best risottos I’ve had, vegan or otherwise. I was able to find oyster mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms at Safeway, which really amped up the flavor.
The miso paste is absolute genius too. I don’t miss cheese at all when I eat this dish!
The best risotto I have ever made. Period! Before becoming a vegan, I had made the traditional spinach mushroom and peas mushroom risotto and they were good, but this recipe is so yummy! I can eat without guilt too 😁. My husband loved it too. Thanks Nisha for your amazing recipes!
Thanks so much for sharing, Sandhya! So happy you loved this vegan mushroom risotto and it was the best you’ve had!
YUMMY!!! Your recipes never disappoint! This was delicious, my first attempt ever making risotto, I amazed myself, my meet loving husband loves it as well, with his comment “it would be great with some meat too.”
Looking forward to trying this! If you want to prepare it a little ahead before guests arrive, could you reheat it once everyone is ready for dinner, maybe adding one last cup of broth and cooking it again for 5 minutes? Thanks!
Soooo good
This is the first risotto I’ve cooked and it’s definitely not going to be the last !
Adding leeks is a great idea and it tastes so good with the mushrooms. And the miso butter ? Love it, great discovery
Thank you so much Nisha !
Miso magic! What a delicious mix of flavors. I topped this with grilled asparagus and it was sooooooo good.