This No-Stir Mushroom Risotto is made with old-fashioned flavors of butter, mushrooms, broth, and parmesan but doesn’t require you to stand over the stove stirring endlessly.
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If you’ve ever made risotto, then you know that the worst part about making this classic comfort food dish is how long you have to stand at your stovetop, stirring constantly.
So we developed and perfected a no-stir risotto recipe that delivers all the creamy, cheesy, comforting results you get from traditional risotto – but without all the wrist-cramping work of stirring for 20 straight minutes.
You start off by sautéing some finely diced mushrooms with onion and garlic in a good amount of butter and olive oil. Once those are cooked down a bit, add the dry rice. I like to cook the rice a bit so that it deepens the flavor before we add any liquid. From here, we add our broth (or water). Cover and let it come to a small simmer for about 25 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Finally, you add some parmesan cheese and seasonings and serve up this easy risotto recipe garnished with some fresh green parsley and an extra sprinkling of cheese!
This mushroom risotto goes well served alongside Lemon Sea Salt Arugula Salad, Simple Sauteed Green Beans, Pan Seared Salmon, or Easy Shrimp Scampi.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Creamy, cheesy, comforting risotto without all the work!
- Ready in just 30 minutes
- Versatile recipe allows you to swap in other veggies, cheese, types of broth, and herbs. So have fun getting creative – or use whatever ingredients you happen to have on hand.
Mushroom Risotto Recipe Ingredients
Here’s everything you’ll need to make a big batch of comforting risotto. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Butter – 2 tablespoons butter
- Olive oil – 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Mushrooms – 4 ounces mushrooms
- Garlic – 2 cloves garlic
- Arborio rice – 1 cup arborio rice
- Chicken broth – 4 cups chicken broth
- White wine – 1/4 cup white wine
- Parsley – Fresh chopped parsley
- Black pepper – 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Parmesan – 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- Salt – sea salt to taste
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
You can use this recipe as a template for how to make risotto, but have fun experimenting with whatever ingredients you have on hand. Here’s how:
- Broth – instead of chicken broth, use vegetable broth, fish stock, or even plain water.
- Cheese – hard, salty cheeses like Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino-Romano are a key ingredient in traditional risotto recipes. But the sky’s the limit! You could try Gruyere, or creamier cheeses like taleggio, mascarpone, or fontina as well.
- Veggies – likewise, feel free to swap other veggies like asparagus, peas, or butternut squash for the mushrooms. Nearly any veg would work!
- Herbs – instead of parsley, use fresh green herbs like chives, sage, or basil.
How to Make Risotto
Here’s how this easy, hands-off risotto recipe comes together in just 30 minutes.
Step 1: Add butter and olive oil to a medium-sized saucepan with matching lid over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the mushrooms and minced garlic. Saute for 4-5 minutes, until mushrooms are cooked through and slightly caramelized.
Step 2: Add the arborio rice to the pan, stir, and cook for 1-2 minutes to toast slightly.
Step 3: Pour wine and chicken broth into the pan and whisk together. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, whisk the mixture, reduce heat to low, and cover.
Step 4: Let cook covered for 15 minutes, then remove lid and stir. Place the lid back on pan and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
Step 5: Remove risotto from heat, then stir in the parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Serve and garnish with parsley and additional cheese.
Recipe Tips
Does it flow like lava? – Warm, perfectly cooked risotto isn’t too brothy…or too “tight” (meaning firm). Ideally, the dish will have just enough liquid that the dish has the consistency of hot lava – meaning it would run slowly down a plate if you were to tip it sideways. (And no…you don’t *actually* have to test this out, but the visual is helpful!) If your risotto looks too firm, add splashes of broth or water and stir until the rice mixture loosens up a bit.
The right rice – while the veggies, herbs, and cheese you use for risotto are flexible, the type of rice isn’t: it’s worth seeking out arborio or carnaroli rice to make this special dish (more on that below).
How to Serve Risotto
Serve the risotto warm, garnished with fresh green parsley and an extra sprinkling of cheese.
How to Store and Reheat Risotto
Store leftover risotto in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Reheat it in the microwave, or over the stovetop, with a few extra splashes of broth or water to keep the dish from being too “tight.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Arborio rice is the most popular choice when making risotto: it has a pleasing shape, absorbs the stock well, and stays perfectly al dente when cooked. But carnaroli rice is also another good choice. Both are fairly commonly found in large grocery stores and speciality markets these days, but if you have any trouble finding them in your area, you can find them online.
While these types of rice are significantly more pricey than the usual plain white rice, they’re worth a little extra money and effort for getting that perfect texture you want for your risotto.
Warm, perfectly cooked risotto isn’t too brothy…or too “tight.” Ideally, the dish will have just enough liquid that the dish has the consistency of hot lava – meaning it would run slowly down a plate if you were to tip it sideways. (And no…you don’t have to actually test this out, but the visual is helpful!)
But when you cool and store risotto, the rice continues to absorb more of the liquid, so it firms up. To get leftovers back to that lava texture, add a few generous splashes of broth or water to the rice mixture before reheating it in a microwave, or on the stovetop.
The best use for leftover risotto is arancini – AKA risotto balls! Extra risotto is the perfect base for these creamy rice balls: the rice gets mixed with other binding ingredients like eggs, rolled into balls, stuffed with cheese cubes that will melt when cooked, and coated in breadcrumbs that create a crispy exterior when fried.
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No-Stir Risotto
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 4 ounces mushroom, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup arborio rice
- 4 cups chicken broth, one quart
- 1/4 cup white wine
- Fresh chopped parsley, for garnish (may substitute dried)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, to taste
Instructions
- Add butter and olive oil to a medium-sized saucepan with matching lid over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the mushrooms and minced garlic. Saute for 4-5 minutes, until mushrooms are cooked through and slightly caramelized.
- Add the arborio rice to the pan, stir, and cook for 1-2 minutes to toast slightly.
- Pour wine and chicken broth into the pan and whisk together. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, whisk the mixture, reduce heat to low, and cover.
- Let cook covered for 15 minutes, then remove lid and stir. Place the lid back on pan and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
- Remove risotto from heat, then stir in the parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Serve and garnish with parsley and additional cheese.
Nutrition
Delicious! Love that I didn’t have to stir!
I’m so glad you enjoyed! ~Melissa
Do you happen to have cooking instructions for this in an instant pot? Thanks Cassy!
We haven’t tried it in an Instant Pot, but if you do please let us know your results!
I am in LOVE! Can’t wait to try this…always thought risotto was too hard to make. I really feel better with some carbs, especially on an active day.
We were pleasantly surprised with the no-stir method, hope you enjoy it!