Mushroom Risotto Recipe: Creamy, with Three Mushrooms

Last updated on October 16th, 2026

Risotto has a reputation as a restaurant-only dish that needs constant attention and a chef’s touch. It doesn’t. This mushroom risotto recipe uses three types of mushroom, cremini, shiitake, and oyster, for three different textures in one bowl, and the technique itself is just rice, stock added in four stages, and a 10-minute rest at the end.

Three Mushrooms, Three Jobs

This recipe uses three varieties: cremini or chestnut mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and oyster mushrooms. Cremini and shiitake are pan-fried, while the oyster mushrooms are roasted separately until crispy. The cremini and oyster mushrooms go into the rice, and the shiitake are kept back to warm through and sit on top: three different textures from one pot. Before slicing, trim off any tough or dirty parts: the base of the shiitake stalks, and the woody joins on the oyster mushrooms. It’s the same idea as snapping the woody ends off in my lemon and feta asparagus.

Washing Mushrooms Without Ruining Them

Mushrooms act like sponges, so don’t leave them sitting in water. Rinse them briefly, they float, and any dirt sinks to the bottom, then pull them out after no more than a minute and dry them thoroughly with paper towel. This step matters more than it looks: mushrooms that go into a hot pan still damp will steam instead of caramelising. Once dry, slice the cremini into roughly five-millimetre pieces and the shiitake a little thicker, around eight millimetres.

Caramelising The Mushrooms

Heat olive oil in a wide pan on a high heat until it shimmers, then add the cremini first. Leave them alone for the first two minutes so they form a proper crust instead of steaming in their own moisture, then stir gently and cook until golden. Do the shiitake the same way straight after: they hold less water, so they’ll brown faster and need a shorter cook. Meanwhile, roast the oyster mushrooms separately at 220°C (430°F): toss them in oil but skip the salt at this stage, since salting them now would draw out moisture and stop them crisping up the way you want. Roast for 10 minutes, flip them, then give them another 5 to 10 minutes until evenly golden.

Infusing The Stock

Don’t throw the mushroom trim away: rinse it, then add it to a pan with 1 litre of vegetable stock and warm it on a low heat so it infuses into the stock. Pour a little of the stock into the tray you roasted the oyster mushrooms in and scrape up all the caramelised bits stuck to the base. It’s the same deglazing principle at the heart of my pan sauce method. Stir that liquid back into the rest of the stock: it’s packed with roasted, umami flavour you’d otherwise throw away. If you’re using a stock cube or packet stock, use about half the amount the label recommends, otherwise the risotto can end up too salty once everything reduces down. Better still, use my salt-free homemade vegetable stock and you won’t need to worry.

How to Make Mushroom Risotto Creamy

Use a wide pan for this part: it gives the rice room to cook without needing constant stirring, and too much stirring is what turns risotto mushy. Sauté finely chopped shallots and celery in the same pan you cooked the mushrooms in, then toast the rice (arborio or carnaroli) for a couple of minutes before adding a small glass of dry white wine: if you wouldn’t want to drink it, don’t cook with it. It’s the same toasting step I use for the orzo in my butternut squash orzo. Cook about 80 per cent of the wine away while stirring, then add the stock in four stages of roughly 250 ml (1 cup) each, stirring gently every couple of minutes so you don’t break up the grains. Keep it at a gentle simmer throughout.

Adding The Mushrooms

Put the shiitake on a sheet tray in the oven to warm through: warmed, not cooked, so if the oven has gone cold, turn it on as low as it goes. Once the rice has had three additions of stock and is starting to look like risotto, stir in the remaining stock along with the cremini and oyster mushrooms. Simmer gently for about two minutes, until each grain has just a small amount of pure white left in the very centre. Take the pan off the heat, put a lid on, and let it rest for 10 minutes: this lets the rice finish cooking gently in residual heat rather than overcooking on direct heat, and it’s when the texture really comes together. Stirring in a slice of shallot, truffle and pepper butter just before it rests makes it richer still.

Finishing With Parmesan and How to Serve It

After the rest, stir in about 50 ml of hot water (or leftover stock): arborio is thirsty and will have soaked up all the excess liquid, and you want the risotto just a little looser than you’d like it on the plate. Stir in finely grated parmesan for the last bit of creaminess; thick shavings won’t melt in properly, so keep it fine. It’ll tighten slightly as the cheese goes in, just like the sauce in my spaghetti scarpariello, so loosen it with a splash of stock if needed. Now check the seasoning and add salt if it needs it, especially if you used packet stock: taste more than once, since it’s easy to under-season and impossible to fix over-seasoning. Serve it in a wide bowl or on a normal flat plate. It should settle as you spoon it in, so if it holds its shape, add a dash more liquid. Finish each bowl with the warmed shiitake on top, which gives the dish another texture.

Mushroom Risotto Recipe: Creamy, with Three Mushrooms

Ben Goshawk

This mushroom risotto recipe uses three kinds of mushroom for three textures: cremini and shiitake pan-fried, oyster mushrooms roasted until crispy, and the trimmings used to flavour the stock. The stock goes in four stages, then the rice rests off the heat for 10 minutes before finely grated parmesan goes in.

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Course Risotto

Cuisine Italian

Servings 2

Calories 696 kcal

Equipment

• Baking / Roasting tray
• Chef’s knife
• Chopping board
• Microplane / Fine grater
• Paring / Small knife
• Digital scales
• Drinking glass (as measure, cup)
• Measuring jug
• Shot glass / Measure
• Saucepan
• Plate / Tray
• Serving bowl / Dish
• Lid
• Pastry brush
• Spatula (silicone, general)
• Wooden / Stirring spoon

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 200 g / 1 cup Arborio rice or any other risotto rice
• 1 x Medium shallot finely chopped 80g / 3oz
• 1 x Stick of celery 50g / 1.5oz
• 4 x Shiitake mushrooms 95g / 3.5oz
• 6 x Cremini/Chestnut mushrooms 130g / 4.5oz
• Bunch of oyster mushrooms 130g / 4.5oz
• Small glass of dry white wine 125ml / 1/2 a cup
• Vegetable stock 1 litre / 1 quart
• Parmesan 50g / approx 1 cup of grated
• Olive oil
• Salt

Instructions

 

• Trim the mushrooms: cut the bottom off the shiitake stalks, pull the stalks off the cremini, and cut the oyster mushrooms from the main stalk. Brush off any visible dirt and keep all the trim in a container.
• Wash the mushrooms in a container of water deep enough that they float with a three finger gap of water underneath. Give them a gentle mix and lift them out after about 30 seconds, and no more than one minute.
• Drain the mushrooms on paper towel, then pat each one dry. Do not skip this step.
• Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius (430 degrees Fahrenheit). Run water over the trim and leave it to soak.
• Slice the cremini into roughly 5 millimetre slices and the shiitake into roughly 8 millimetre slices, keeping the shiitake stalks intact. Pull the oyster mushrooms apart into roughly little finger sized pieces, removing any tough stalky bits.
• Put the oyster mushrooms on a sheet tray, drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and mix well with your hands so every piece is coated. Do not add salt.
• Roast the oyster mushrooms for 10 minutes, flip them, then roast for another 5 to 10 minutes until evenly golden brown and crispy.
• Put the trim, pulled or cut into smaller pieces (remove the very bottoms of the stalks if they are really dirty), into a 1.5 litre saucepan with 1 litre of vegetable stock. Warm it on a low heat so the trim infuses into the stock.
• Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a wide pan (about 23 centimetres / 9 inches) on a high heat until it shimmers. Add the cremini and leave them for 2 minutes without stirring. Stir gently and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes until golden in parts. Do not add salt. Move them to a plate.
• Add a little more oil if needed and cook the shiitake for about 1 minute, stir gently, then cook for another minute. Move them to the same plate. Leave the pan to cool, keeping the caramelised fond in it.
• Pour a little of the warm stock onto the roasted oyster mushroom tray and scrape up all the caramelised bits with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, not metal. Pour the liquid back into the stock and top the stock up to the 1 litre mark.
• Put the pan you cooked the mushrooms in back on a low heat. Cook the finely chopped shallot with a pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive oil for about 1 minute until soft and slightly translucent, then add the finely diced celery.
• Add the rice and toast it gently for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the small glass of dry white wine and cook away about 80 per cent of the liquid, stirring.
• Add the stock in four stages of roughly 250 ml (1 cup), stirring gently every couple of minutes so you do not break the grains, and keep it at a gentle simmer.
• Put the shiitake on a sheet tray in the oven to warm through, not cook. After three additions of stock, add the remaining stock with the cremini and oyster mushrooms, stir gently and simmer for about 2 minutes, until each grain has just a small amount of pure white in the very centre.
• Turn the heat off, put a lid on the pan and leave the risotto to rest for 10 minutes.
• Stir in about 50 ml of hot water or leftover stock, then the finely grated parmesan. Taste and season with salt if needed, then serve in a wide bowl or on a flat plate with the warmed shiitake on top.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 696kcalCarbohydrates: 107.6gProtein: 21.4gFat: 15.5gSaturated Fat: 5.2gCholesterol: 21.5mgSodium: 1405mgPotassium: 1211mgFiber: 6.1gSugar: 10g

Keyword creamy mushroom risotto, mushroom risotto, mushroom risotto recipe, mushroom risotto with white wine

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