Easy Vegan Risotto

This Easy Vegan Risotto is a creamy blend of arborio rice, herbs, white wine and sautéed onion and mushrooms. It tastes like it came from a fancy restaurant and makes for the perfect side dish or meatless main course!

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Having grown up in an Italian household, I’ve had my fair share of risotto. My father was born and raised in Northern Italy and found a love for cooking Italian food as a hobby in his later years. While I was the typically kid that had no interest in learning things from my parents such as cooking and gardening (which will forever be a regret of mine), I am happy to say that he managed to instill in me a deep love for Italian food.

Naturally, I’ve found plenty of ways to veganize my favorite Italian dishes such as this vegan risotto!

What is risotto?

Risotto is a classic Italian rice dish that is typically cooked with white wine and broth. Instead of regular white rice, risotto is made with Arborio rice, which contains more starch. This extra starch thickens the cooking liquid and makes for a deliciously creamy dish. Many types of risotto contain butter, heavy cream and parmesan cheese, but this recipe is completely plant based and includes vegan butter and any plant based milk you choose. You could also add a sprinkling of vegan Parmesan cheese, if you’d like.

You’ll often find risotto on the menu at many high end restaurants, and it can be a little intimidating to prepare at home. I’ve got good news for you! This vegan mushroom risotto tastes just as good as the dish from your favorite Italian restaurant, but is actually super easy to make. You can serve it as a side dish with vegan meatloaf or any other entree, or as a satisfying main course option.

Ingredients in this easy vegan risotto recipe:

This fabulous mushroom risotto is packed with fresh mushrooms and peas and is made super flavorful from a mix of onion, garlic, thyme, white wine and plant based milk. I’m in loveeee. You’ll find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card, but here’s a note about the key ingredients:

• Vegetable stock or broth. the liquid for cooking the rice.
• Vegan butter. for sautéing the onion and mushrooms.
• Onion + garlic. adds delicious aromatic flavor to the mushroom risotto.
• Mushrooms. no need to hunt down exotic mushrooms, baby bella mushrooms are absolutely perfect in this recipe.
• Arborio rice. be sure to use arborio rice (or other short grain Italian rice) so that your risotto cooks up nice and creamy. Do not use regular white or brown rice for this recipe.
• Herbs and spices. you’ll need fresh thyme, salt & pepper for a delicious flavor boost.
• Peas. any green peas work. I typically use fresh English peas, but feel free to use frozen.
• White wine. Wine adds depth of flavor into risotto. If you’d like to make this without wine, you can sub with 2/3 cup of additional broth/stock.
• Plant based milk. adds just a touch of extra richness and creaminess.
• Vegan parmesan cheese. optional, but highly recommended. I love Violife’s Parm cheese!

How to make vegan mushroom risotto:

Rumor has it that risotto is tedious to prepare and difficult to get just right. Well, I promise that by the end of this post you can make the perfect, delicious, creamy risotto that will rival any restaurant version. Let’s get started:

• Heat the stock/broth. In a saucepan, cook the vegetable stock at a very minimal simmer.
• Sauté the veggies. In a large pot, melt the butter and cook the onion, mushrooms, and thyme for about 5 minutes. Then, add the garlic, salt, and pepper and cook for about 3 more minutes.
• Cook the rice. Add the risotto rice to the pot and stir frequently. Let the rice get to the point that it’s almost frying and becomes a bit translucent.

• Add the liquid. Stir in the wine. Then, turn the heat down to a gentle simmer and stir in ONE ladle full of the stock and a pinch of salt. Simmer until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Repeat this process until all the stock has been added.
• Stir in peas and milk. When you add in the last ladle full of stock, stir in the peas and the plant based milk. You can add a bit more or less, if desired.
• Finish and enjoy! Depending on your preference, you can cook the risotto so that most or all of the liquid has been absorbed OR you can stop cooking the risotto so that there’s some liquid remaining. Once done, remove from heat, let cool slightly, and serve. Pro-tip: stir in a handful of vegan parmesan cheese – I love Violife’s Parm cheese!

Storing leftovers:

Risotto is best served immediately because the rice will continue to absorb liquid and soften as it cools. However, it will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 2-4 days. To reheat, cook in the microwave for about one minute with a little bit of stock added. After the minute, stir, then finish heating through. Be sure that the risotto doesn’t heat up so much that it overcooks and becomes mushy.

Once you try this vegan mushroom risotto, you’ll find yourself making it on the regular! It’s one of my favorite recipes… ever. It’s the one to whip out when you need to impress! Fancy enough for guests, yet easy enough to cook up on a busy weeknight.

More vegan Italian recipes to try:

• Easy Vegan Meatballs
• Vegan Lasagna
• Aperol Spritz
• Vegan Pizza
• Tofu Caprese Skewers
• Sweet Potato Gnocchi
• Vegan Minestrone Soup
• Vegan Meatloaf
• Quick & Easy Pasta Salad

As usual, PLEASE let me know if you make this recipe and let me know how you like it! You can come back here and leave a comment or tag me on instagram (@foodwithfeeling).

Mushroom and Pea Risotto

A creamy blend of arborio rice, herbs, white wine and sautéed onion and mushrooms, this Easy Vegan Risotto tastes like it came from a fancy restaurant. The perfect side dish or meatless main course!

5 from 1 vote

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Course: dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories:

Author: Brita Britnell

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Ingredients

• ▢ 4 cups of veggie stock or broth
• ▢ 2 tablespoons of vegan butter
• ▢ ½ of a medium sweet onion finely chopped
• ▢ 8 oz of baby bella mushrooms thinly sliced
• ▢ 5 sprigs of fresh thyme de-stemmed
• ▢ 2 cloves of garlic finely minced (more to taste- I like a lot)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon of salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 1 ½ cups of arborio rice or other short grain Italian rice
• ▢ ⅔ cup of white wine*
• ▢ 1 heaping cup of green peas can be frozen
• ▢ ¼ cup of plant based milk
• ▢ extra salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• In a medium saucepan, heat the stock so that its just warmed through and at a VERY minimal simmer. Keep on the heat until needed.
• In a large pot, heat the butter until just melted and then add in the onion, mushrooms, and thyme and cook until the onion is just translucent, about 5 minutes. Aadd in garlic, salt, and pepper and cook 3 additional minutes.
• Turning up the heat a bit, add in the risotto rice and let cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently to let the rice get to the point that it’s almost frying and the rice becomes a bit translucent. (this might seem strange but go with it…it gives the rice a nice bite)
• Add in the wine and stir to combine. Turn the heat back down to a gentle simmer.
• Add in JUST ONE ladle full of the stock and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine and let simmer until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Repeat this until all of the stock has been added being careful to not add more stock until the previous ladle-full has been almost completely absorbed.
• When you add in your last ladle full of stock, stir in the peas and the milk. You can add a bit more or less if desired. The milk simple gives it a bit more creaminess.
• You can cook the risotto so that most/all of the liquid has been absorbed OR you can stop cooking the risotto so that there’s a decent amount of liquid remaining. I cook most of the liquid out of mine.
• Once done, take off of the heat, let cool just slightly, and ENJOY!! Pro-tip: stir in a handful of vegan parmesan cheese- I love Violife’s Parm cheese!

Notes

*If you’d like to make this without wine, you can simply use 2/3 cup of additional broth/stock.