Wild Mushroom Risotto

Enjoy a delicious wild mushroom risotto with a combination of wild fresh mushrooms and dry chanterelle mushrooms. It's creamy, rich and such a comforting dish you can easily make at home.

Wild mushroom risotto is one of those dishes that sounds fancy but is actually surprisingly simple to make. It’s a luxurious, creamy dish that feels like a special treat, yet it doesn’t require any advanced cooking skills—just a little time and attention to detail. Once you make it, you’ll see why risotto has such a beloved reputation!

It has that rich, buttery flavor that makes it taste like it's been cooked with heaps of butter and cream. But here's the best part: there's actually just a modest amount of butter and absolutely no cream at all! The magic of risotto lies in its rich, velvety texture, achieved by cooking short-grain rice that releases starch as it cooks. This gives the dish its signature creaminess, even without heavy cream. For this wild mushroom risotto, I’m adding a combination of wild mushroom and dry chanterelle mushrooms to bring an extra depth of flavor, making the dish even more comforting and satisfying.

While it sounds like a gourmet meal, wild mushroom risotto is actually quite approachable. With just a few ingredients and a little patience, you can create a decadent dish that’s perfect for a cozy dinner or a special occasion.

I always wondered what the hype was about, but after I tried it, I completely understood why risotto has earned its well-deserved reputation. The best part? Even though it’s considered a gourmet dish, it’s actually surprisingly easy to make! Who would have thought something so fancy could be so approachable?

Ingredients:

1 cup dry mushrooms (I used chanterelles)

4 oz fresh mushrooms (I used a combination of bella, shitake and oyster mushrooms)

2 Tablespoons butter

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 large onion, chopped

2 cups arborio rice

1 cup white wine

½ cup reserved mushroom liquid

6 ½ cups chicken broth

¼ - ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated

4 Tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

salt, pepper

How To Make Wild Mushroom Risotto

Risotto has a creamy consistency and to achieve that, we need to use a short grain rice called Arborio. The short grain rice has a lot of starch, which will thicken the broth that the rice will be cooking in and create that creaminess that risotto is so famous for. Long grain rice will not work in this recipe. I bought mine when I was in Italy this summer with my husband. It is a common ingredient in America these days, so you can easily find it in your local grocery store.

For this risotto, I used both fresh and dry mushrooms. You can use one or the other. I like using a combination, since the dry mushrooms give a real depth of flavor and the fresh mushrooms balance the intense and concentrated flavor and give freshness as well. It's very hard to find fresh chanterelle mushrooms, but they are my favorite mushroom of all, so I love that they are available online.

For the fresh mushrooms, I used a combination of baby bella, shitake and oyster mushrooms. You can use whatever mushrooms that you can find in your local grocery store.

Place the dry mushrooms in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, until the mushrooms are rehydrated and soft.  Drain the mushroom liquid and set it aside to be used in the risotto later. Melt 1 Tablespoon of butter in a skillet and add the rehydrated dry mushrooms, the fresh mushrooms, garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes. Set aside.

Meanwhile, pour the chicken broth into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Turn the heat to low and keep the broth on the stove, at a low simmer. It's very important to use hot broth in risotto, so  it stays hot when you're adding it to the rice. If you add cold broth, the rice will not cook evenly, and the rice will be hard on the inside.

It is best to use homemade broth. This is one of the recipes where it will make a huge difference in taste. The liquid that you will be using to cook the risotto will become a lot more concentrated. If you're using store-bought broth, t's important to remember to use low salt broth.

In a 12 inch nonstick skillet, melt the butter and add the onions. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the onions for 3-5 minutes, until they are tender. Add 2 garlic cloves, cook for another 30 seconds. Add the rice to the skillet, stirring, and cook for about 2 minutes, until the rice is completely coated in the butter and is translucent. Cooking the rice in the butter will coat each kernel and prevent them from absorbing the liquid too quickly and becoming soggy. Pour in the wine and cook until most of the wine is soaked in to the rice.

Pour in the reserved mushroom liquid, and once again, keep cooking until the liquid is absorbed into the rice. Keep ladling in about a cup of the hot broth into the rice, and then adding another cup of broth as soon as most of the broth is absorbed into the rice.

It's important to keep stirring the risotto frequently. Keep cooking the risotto on medium heat until it is creamy and the rice is soft but still has a slightly chewy texture. It should take about 25-30 minutes, but it could be more; you just have to keep an eye on it and keep tasting the rice to check for doneness. You might not need to use all of the broth. Give the risotto a taste to see if it needs any more salt. My chicken broth was salty enough, so I didn't need to add any more salt. Also, keep in mind that you'll still be adding the Parmesan cheese to the risotto, which is salty too. Add freshly grated black pepper, Parmesan cheese and parsley. Stir to combine. Add the mushrooms and stir to combine as well. Serve immediately.

Wild Mushroom Risotto

Olga Klyuchits

Enjoy a delicious wild mushroom risotto with a combination of wild fresh mushrooms and dry chanterelle mushrooms. It's creamy, rich and such a comforting dish you can easily make at home.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Sides

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 cup dry mushrooms I used chanterelles
• ▢ 4 oz fresh mushrooms I used a combination of bella, shitake and oyster mushrooms
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons butter
• ▢ 5 garlic cloves minced
• ▢ 1 large onion chopped
• ▢ 2 cups arborio rice
• ▢ 1 cup white wine
• ▢ ½ cup reserved mushroom liquid
• ▢ 6 ½ cups chicken broth
• ▢ ¼ - ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese finely grated
• ▢ 4 Tablespoons fresh parsley minced
• ▢ salt pepper

Instructions

 

• Risotto has a creamy consistency and to achieve that, we need to use a short grain rice called Arborio. The short grain rice has a lot of starch, which will thicken the broth that the rice will be cooking in and create that creaminess that risotto is so famous for. Long grain rice will not work in this recipe. It is a common ingredient in America these days, so you can easily find it in your local grocery store.
• For this risotto, I used both fresh and dry mushrooms. You can use one or the other. I like using a combination, since the dry mushrooms give a real depth of flavor and the fresh mushrooms balance the intense and concentrated flavor and give freshness as well. It's very hard to find fresh chanterelle mushrooms, but they are my favorite mushroom of all, so I love that they are available online.
• For the fresh mushrooms, I used a combination of baby bella, shitake and oyster mushrooms. You can use whatever mushrooms that you can find in your local grocery store.
• Place the dry mushrooms in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, until the mushrooms are rehydrated and soft. Drain the mushroom liquid and set it aside to be used in the risotto later.
• Melt 1 Tablespoon of butter in a skillet and add the rehydrated dry mushrooms, the fresh mushrooms, garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, pour the chicken broth into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Turn the heat to low and keep the broth on the stove, at a low simmer. It's very important to use hot broth in risotto, so it stays hot when you're adding it to the rice. If you add cold broth, the rice will not cook evenly, and the rice will be hard on the inside.
• It is best to use homemade broth. This is one of the recipes where it will make a huge difference in taste. The liquid that you will be using to cook the risotto will become a lot more concentrated. If you're using store-bought broth, t's important to remember to use low salt broth.
• In a 12 inch nonstick skillet, melt the butter and add the onions. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the onions for 3-5 minutes, until they are tender. Add 2 garlic cloves, cook for another 30 seconds.
• Add the rice to the skillet, stirring, and cook for about 2 minutes, until the rice is completely coated in the butter and is translucent.
• Pour in the wine and cook until most of the wine is soaked in to the rice.
• Pour in the reserved mushroom liquid, and once again, keep cooking until the liquid is absorbed into the rice.
• Keep ladling in about a cup of the hot broth into the rice, and then adding another cup of broth as soon as most of the broth is absorbed into the rice.
• It's important to keep stirring the risotto frequently. Keep cooking the risotto on medium heat until it is creamy and the rice is soft but still has a slightly chewy texture. It should be about 25-30 minutes, but could be more, you just have to keep an eye on it. You might not need to use all of the broth.
• Give the risotto a taste to see if it needs any more salt. My chicken broth was salty enough, so I didn't need to add any more salt. Also, keep in mind that you'll still be adding the Parmesan cheese to the risotto, which is salty too.
• Add freshly grated black pepper, Parmesan cheese and parsley. Stir to combine. Add the mushrooms and stir to combine as well. Serve immediately.

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