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Hearty and delicious, you won’t believe that this Mushroom Risotto is made with only 8 ingredients, and is completely dairy-free! A cozy and healthy entree.
Hearty, Delicious, Mouth-Watering Mushroom Risotto. 8 Ingredients. 30-ish Minutes.
What are you waiting for?
Risotto is one of those things that seems really complicated. You’ve probably seen those infamous commercials for Hell’s Kitchen — while someone does always seem to “f*** up the Risotto”, I promise that with these easy steps, you’ll be a Risotto master in no time at all 😉
First, let’s talk some Risotto basics.
There are a few key steps that you must take in order to ensure Risotto success. To put it simply, make sure to:
- Use WARM Vegetable Broth: this allows the Arborio Rice to release more starch (aka more creaminess), and also prevents overcooking. I like to keep my Broth in a small pot over low heat, right next to me on the stove.
- Only add a little Liquid at a Time: so the Rice can fully absorb it, and you’re not left with a Risotto-esque soup! You should only add 1/2 cup of warm broth at a time and stir frequently. You’ll know it’s time to add more broth when you drag your spoon or spatula through the Risotto and it leaves a dry “path”
- Look for “La Onda”: Risotto should have a creamy but slightly al-dente texture to it once finished; you can start taste-testing it around 14 minutes or so of cooking, though it will probably take about 20 minutes before it reaches your desired texture. Another way to tell is to look for La Onda (or “wave” in Spanish); when you drag your spoon through the Risotto, it will ripple back towards the center in a wave-like motion.
One more thing: traditional Risotto is also made with Oil and Dairy, but I try to avoid both of those items in my personal diet. We’ll skip the Oil (but not the flavor) by dry-toasting our Arborio Rice before sauteéing it with the wet ingredients. We’ll also use a combination of toasted Nutritional Yeast and my homemade Rosemary Garlic Cashew Cream to give this Mushroom Risotto extra depth and dimension — no need to use Cheese or Butter here!
This dish is hearty enough to serve on its own as a main course, but I decided to add some roasted Mushroom Caps and blanched Asparagus to my plates as well. I’ll pop the Mushroom Cap recipe in the recipe notes too – you can roast them in the oven while the Risotto cooks!
If you’re looking for more cozy Dinner recipes, you’ll also love this One Pot Mushroom Stroganoff and this Butternut Squash & White Bean Chili!
Finally, if you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I love seeing your delicious recreations 🙂
PrintHearty Mushroom Risotto
Hearty and delicious, you won’t believe that this Mushroom Risotto is made with only 8 ingredients, and is completely dairy-free! A cozy and healthy entree.
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 30 Minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 Servings 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the Risotto:
- 8 cups Low-Sodium Vegetable Broth
- 2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 2 cups Arborio Rice
- 12 oz Baby Bella Mushrooms
- 1 large Shallot, finely diced
- 1 tsp Fresh Thyme, chopped
- ½ cup Dry White Wine (Optional, but strongly recommended*)
- ½ cup Rosemary Garlic Cashew Cream
- Salt and Black Pepper, to taste
For the Portobello Mushroom Caps: (Optional)
- 3 Large Portobello Mushroom Caps, sliced into ½” pieces
- 1 tbsp Tamari
- 1/2 tbsp Maple Syrup
- Black Pepper, to taste
Instructions
For the Portobello Mushroom Caps: (Optional)
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Add the Tamari and Maple Syrup to the bottom of a large bowl and whisk well, then toss in the sliced Mushroom Caps. Spread evenly onto a greased or lined baking tray, and sprinkle generously with Black Pepper.
- Bake at 400F for 25 Minutes, or until tender.
For the Risotto:
- First, warm the Vegetable Broth in a large pot over the stove; keep the burner on low heat throughout the Risotto-making process, to ensure it stays warm.
- Next, add the Nutritional Yeast to a separate, large pan over Medium-High Heat. Toast the Nutritional Yeast for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. The “Nooch” will turn a darker color and start to smoke once toasted; remove from the pan and set aside in a small dish.
- Repeat the same toasting process with the dry Arborio Rice, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat once the grains of Rice start to turn golden brown, then set aside.
- Return the pan to the burner, and reduce the heat to Medium. Add the Shallot to the pan with a splash of Vegetable Broth and sauté until translucent. Then, add the diced Mushrooms, Thyme, and dry White Wine to the pan; simmer the Mushrooms in the Wine for 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the Arborio Rice to the pan along with ½ cup of the Vegetable Broth; reduce the heat to Medium-Low and stir the mixture frequently, to ensure all grains of rice are evenly cooking. Once you can drag your spoon through the mixture and it leaves a dry path, add an additional ½ cup of warm broth, and repeat.
- Begin to taste the Risotto for doneness at around the 14 minutes mark, though it may take 20-25 minutes to cook in total. The Rice will be creamy but have a slightly al dente texture once finished.
- Once the Risotto has cooked, stir in toasted Nutritional Yeast and Rosemary Garlic Cashew Cream. Transfer to a plate, garnish as desired, and serve immediately.
Notes
- There is no substitute for Arborio Rice
- The White Wine can be replaced with 1/4 cup of Vegetable Broth, but I strongly recommend using it, as it adds a lot of flavor to the dish. I used a Vegan Pinot Grigio; for more information on selecting a vegan wine, check out Barnivore.
- Thanks to the kitchn for the helpful risotto tips!
Keywords: Mushroom Risotto, Vegan Mushroom Risotto, Dairy Free Risotto, Healthy Risotto
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Instead of the cashew garlic cream could I sub for oatly barista creamer?
★★★★★
I’m not sure how thick the barista creamer is, but if it is fairly creamy/thick then it could work!
is this dish once it is made up freezer friendly for those hard days at the office and long drive home.
Freezing risotto isn’t really the best, but refrigerating it would be totally fine!
Is there anything I can use in place of the yeast? The person I’m cooking for can’t have yeast, gluten or dairy
You could either leave out the nutritional yeast completely or add a small amount of soy sauce at the last step in place of the nutritional yeast, just to give it the same sort of depth of flavor.
Can I use cashew butter in place of the cashew cream?
I think that should work, but you would need less – maybe about 1/2 to 2/3 the amount of cashew cream
My hubbie is not vegan yet, and his tastes are pretty different from mine since I went vegan, but we both love this dish! I use 1/4 cup of white wine vinegar in place of the wine, and it’s downright delicious! I’ve taken to making it in the instant pot (2 cups brown rice and 2 cups of water), and it is just as good but so much easier!!
Another successful recipe, Caitlin! Thank you as always!
★★★★★
That’s great to hear Deborah! 🙂
AMAZING. SO good, I couldn’t believe I cooked it! As a new vegan, it was a blessing
Awesome!!!! So happy to hear that 🙂
I’ve never made risotto before, but I bought risotto rice recently because I’ve been wanting to! I’ve looked at a lot of recipes and none of them required toasting the risotto rice – I don’t really find it that weird a step but I’m just curious as to what this does 🙂
It brings out the flavor of the rice!
I want to make this for Christmas.. do you think Tahini (the good kind that doesn’t have any english on the label!!) might be a good sub for the Cashew Cream? My roommate is allergic to nuts.
Yes, though it will taste like tahini! I would also add some rosemary and thyme to the risotto as well 🙂