Get ready for the best, creamiest, most decadent vegan risotto! This luscious dish is bursting with sautéed mushrooms and umami flavor. You'd never guess it was dairy-free!
I feel like risotto gets a bad rap! People seem to think of it as fancy or fussy — there was even a time when I did. But it's totally not.
Risotto is usually a one-pot deal. This risotto recipe actually gives you the option of making it on one pot, so saving time by cooking it in two.
Also, the rice takes about 20 minutes to cook up, so unless you're pairing it up with something that takes much longer, you've probably got a relatively quick meal on your hands.
So let's talk about how to make this easy vegan risotto!
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What You'll Need
- Olive oil. You could technically substitute any high-heat oil, but olive will give your risotto the best flavor. I don't recommend skipping the oil in this one — mushrooms need quite a bit of oil to really sauté nicely!
- Fresh mushrooms. Good news! You can use just about any variety of fresh mushrooms for this recipe. I used a mix of button, oyster, and baby shiitake mushrooms. Regular shiitakes, cremini mushrooms, or even portobellos (chopped into small pieces) would work. You can use just one variety of mushroom, or a few, like I did!
- Shallots. Red onions will work as a substitute here if needed.
- Garlic.
- Arborio rice. You should be able to find this in most supermarkets, right where all the other types of rice are sold. I don't recommend substituting another variety — arborio rice is what gives risotto it's classic texture and creamy consistency.
- White wine. You can leave this out for an alcohol-free version of this recipe if you'd like. If you do use it, be sure to check with Barnivore to ensure the variety you use is vegan.
- Spices. We're using dried thyme, rosemary, and rubbed sage. Want to substitute with fresh herbs? Go for it! Just double the amounts.
- Low sodium vegetable broth. Using low sodium broth gives you maximum flexibility to season the risotto as you see fit. If you only have regular veggie broth on hand, cut it with about 30% water.
- Full-fat coconut milk. You can substitute with light coconut milk or another variety of unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk, but full-fat coconut milk is what works best for giving you a super creamy vegan risotto.
- Miso paste. Look for miso in the international foods section of your supermarket. The recipe calls for white miso paste. Other varieties will work, but may alter the flavor slightly. Can't find it? Leave it out! It adds flavor, but the recipe will be fine without it.
- Lemon juice.
- Truffle oil. This will add lots of savory, mushroom flavor, but it can be left out if it's not available.
- Frozen peas. Thaw them out before you begin cooking. Leave them out if you're not a fan of risotto with peas!
- Salt & pepper.
How to Make Vegan Mushroom Risotto
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd prefer to skip right to the recipe!
- Sauté your mushrooms. You can complete this step before making the risotto, using the pot you'll cook the risotto in (to save dishes), or at the same time in a separate vessel (to save time). Either way, you'll want to clean and slice your mushrooms, then cook them for few minutes on each side in a bit of olive oil, until they're browned and tender.
- Tip: Don't crowd the mushrooms in your pot when cooking. You want them in a single layer so they can sit in contact with the hot cooking surface (avoid stirring too much). This means you might need to cook them in batches.
- Cook the aromatics. Begin by sweating chopped shallots in a bit of oil. Once they soften up, add minced garlic and cook it very briefly with the shallots.
- Add the rice. Sauté the rice with the aromatics for a minute or two, until it starts to become shiny and translucent.
- Add the wine. Carefully pour it in with the rice. Add the spices at this time as well.
- Simmer. Stir it up and let the wine simmer until most of the liquid is gone.
- Cook the risotto. Start adding broth to the pot, about a half cup at a time, letting each addition cook off before adding more.
- Stir, stir, stir! Risotto needs to be stirred frequently to develop it's creamy texture and prevent it from scorching the bottom of your pot.
- Add coconut milk. After about 20 minutes and a total of 3 or so cups of broth added to the pot, your risotto should be almost done! Time to stir in the coconut milk and miso paste.
- Finish. Cooked mushrooms go in last, along with lemon juice, truffle oil and peas. Now you can take the pot off of heat and season the risotto with some salt and pepper.
Dig in!
I like to top my risotto with a sprinkle of vegan Parmesan cheese!
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends! A few varieties of miso contain gluten, so just check to make sure yours is gluten-free and you should be good to go!
I couldn't taste it at all, but feel free to use another non-dairy milk if you prefer. Just make sure it's unsweetened and unflavored.
More Risotto Recipes
- Caramelized Onion & Tomato Risotto
- Vegan Broccoli Cheese Risotto
- Butternut Squash Risotto
- Kale Pesto Risotto
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Creamy Vegan Mushroom Risotto
Get ready for the best, creamiest, most decadent vegan risotto! This luscious dish is bursting with sautéed mushrooms and umami flavor. You'd never guess it was dairy-free.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil (or as needed), divided
- ¾ pound assorted fresh mushrooms, cleaned and roughly chopped
- ½ cup chopped shallots (about 2 shallots)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 ½ cups arborio rice
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon rubbed sage
- 3-4 cups low sodium vegetable broth, warmed
- ½ cup full-fat coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons white miso paste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon white truffle oil
- ½ cup frozen peas, thawed
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
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Coat the bottom of a large nonstick pot or skillet* with about 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil and place it over medium heat.
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When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms in as even a layer as possible. Only add as many mushrooms as you can fit without crowding. Cook the rest in one or more additional batches, adding oil as needed between batches.
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Allow the mushrooms to cook for about 5 minutes on each side, until tender and browned, then remove them from the pot or skillet and transfer them to a plate.
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Coat the bottom of a large pot with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and place it over medium heat.
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When the oil is hot, add the shallots. Cook the shallots for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they become soft and translucent.
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Stir in the garlic and cook for about 1 minute with the shallots, until very fragrant.
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Stir in the rice and cook it for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until it begins to turn shiny and translucent.
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Stir in the wine, thyme, rosemary and sage. Bring the wine to a simmer and allow it to cook until fully absorbed by the rice, stirring frequently.
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Begin adding the broth to the pot, about ½ cup at a time, bringing each addition to a simmer and allowing it to cook until fully absorbed by the rice before adding the next batch. Stir the rice frequently as it cooks.
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After about 3 to 3 ½ cups of broth have been added (this should take almost 20 minutes) the rice should be very creamy and almost fully cooked, with just a bit if firmness at the center of the grains. At this point, stir in the coconut milk and miso. Make sure to fully incorporate the miso.
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Allow the rice to continue cooking until the coconut milk has been absorbed. Test the rice for doneness and add a bit more broth and cook a few minutes more if needed.
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Remove the pot from heat and stir in the cooked mushrooms, lemon juice, truffle oil, and peas.
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Taste-test and season with salt and pepper to taste.
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Serve.
Recipe Notes
*In this recipe you'll be cooking the mushrooms separately from the rice. You have the option of using a separate skillet for the mushrooms so that you can cook the mushrooms and rice simultaneously (to save time), or using the pot that you'll ultimately cook the rice in, and cooking the mushrooms first (to save dishes).
I never have wine in the house. Is there anything I can use instead?
I use vegetable broth in its place.
You can just leave it out. It adds flavor, but the risotto will still be delicious without it. :)
Actually wine is very important for flavor as it adds a sour to recipe. Veggie broth will work but the risotto with be missing depth
Can I substitute something instead of peas? There are allergies in the family.
Asparagus or broccoli would be great! If you use fresh I'd recommend adding them with the last or second to last broth addition, so they have enough time to cook.
wonderful !!
Thank you!!
Great recipe. Love the one pot concept since I am a full time RV'er (less to clean up). I inadvertently did the shallots and mushrooms together, then added the wine etc. Worked fine...just kept stirring and adding broth and remaining ingredients
Wonderful!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Christel!
Another great recipe. I think the coconut oil is the key to this one. 1/2 cup of white wine for the risotto... the rest for me!
Ha! Sounds like an excellent meal! Glad you enjoyed it. :) Thanks Evan!
Great recipe! I had some fresh Chanterelle mushrooms which turned out really good! Thanks for the recipe.
Wonderful! Glad you enjoyed it. And I'm very jealous of your fresh chantrelle mushrooms!
Absolutely delicious. I didn’t think I could make a risotto taste as good as a recipe I made when I was vegetarian but dang this vegan recipe is incredible! Everything I have made by you has been nothing but amazing and I am so thankful I came across your blog. Thank you so much for everything that you do!❤️
Yay!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for your wonderful review and kind words!
Could I use the brown miso instead? It’s the only one I have.
That should work just fine! The flavor will be slightly different, but still delicious I'm sure. :)
This risotto is perfect!
I didn't have white wine, but i can deglaze the pan with beer right? I thought so. lol
The miso is a nice touch. I was suspicious of the coconut mild, but i had exactly 1/2C left over in the fridge - providence!
I didn't notice any coconut flavor, but what a great texture.
I'm so glad you like it! I'm itching to try this with beer myself now. :) Thanks so much Jeff!
Hi,
Can I make this recipe without the Miso paste? Will it still taste good? As I’m looking to make it for dinner.
It should taste good without it - you just might need a little extra salt!
One of the best recipes! I've made non-vegan risotto a few times and I was amazed at how well this one tasted like it! It was worth scouring markets for miso paste and truffle oil. I also added some white kidney beans (from dry bean, soak, boil) for some protein which I was worried about ruining the dish but it melded in fine! I'd just recommend really increasing the amount of herbs if doing that. Loved the savouriness of this one!
This is so insanely good. And in a pandemic when the store is out of risotto, the recipe adapts quite nicely to pasta if you follow all the steps with the mushrooms and onions but just use 1/2-2/3 cup of white wine and a 5.4 oz can of coconut creme, and the same amount of miso. It’s a serious favorite! Thank you!!!
I just made this for dinner.... So delicious!! I never thought to add coconut milk to a risotto before, it makes it super creamy 🤤
Just made this tonight, and it was wonderful! The only thing I changed was using olive oil instead of truffle oil because I couldn't find it. Definitely a crowd pleaser, and the coconut flavor was undetectable!
Not a vegan but making a lot of vegan food.
Have had both ordinary risotto and this and I have to say this is one of my favourite risottos.
Full of flavour and let fattening. Totally win win.
Holy moly this was good. i tried to make it once before and didn't have all the ingredients, used red wine (it was beautifully purple!), and it was gooooood. But today I had every single ingredient (chose broccoli over peas) and it was TO DIE FOR! I'm not vegan, but I LOOOOOOOVE your recipes. I've made several of them before, and as a content producer, I know how important comments are. I'll be back!!
(and thank you for leaving your lawyer job!!!!)
:)
I made this for Thanksgiving this year. Soaked dried shiitake mushrooms overnight. Reserved the liquid to add to the rice. Used a Chardonnay as the wine. Herbs de Provance in place of the spices. It was a total hit with my meat eating friends as well as the vegans in the house. Thank you for the inspiration and the courage to try a risotto for the first time. -dan
Delicious! So flavorful and creamy. The coconut milk is genius! I'm sure you can sub different veggies and herbs, but don't skip the coconut milk. I didn't use the truffle oil, and added a little kale and it was so good. Thank you for the wonderful recipe. I appreciate that it didn't use vegan cheese.