Risotto ai funghi is a rice dish built on patience rather than a long ingredient list. Risotto is a traditional dish from Northern Italy, particularly the Po Valley, where rice cultivation is prominent. Mushrooms, usually a mix of fresh cultivated varieties and dried porcini, turn plain risotto into something earthy and deeply savoury, the kind of dish that shows up on trattoria menus across autumn and winter.
The texture is the whole point. It’s unique for its cooking method, which involves gradually adding hot broth to absorb into the rice, creating a distinctively creamy texture without adding cream. Done well, each spoonful should be loose enough to slump slightly on the plate, not stiff, not soupy, with rice that still has a little bite at the centre.
Classic versions deglaze the toasted rice with white wine. This recipe leaves the wine out: it uses warm stock and a small spoon of lemon juice in its place, which gives a similar lift of acidity without any alcohol. The dish works well as a meatless main for a weeknight, or as a first course before roast chicken or a simple fish fillet.
What you need
Three things decide how this risotto turns out: the rice, the mushrooms and the broth.
Rice: Arborio is a rounded, Italian short grain rice that is high in starch, and because of that high starch content, as it cooks in broth, it achieves a creamy texture. Carnaroli is a very close substitute and holds its shape a touch longer, which some cooks prefer. Arborio rice is risotto rice, and you can use Carnaroli risotto rice if needed.
Mushrooms: dried porcini give the broth most of its depth. In Italy, risotto ai funghi is often made with fresh porcini mushrooms in season, but porcini can be hard to find elsewhere, and are always very expensive. Dried porcini, sold in small bags at most supermarkets and Italian delis, are the practical stand-in and are what this recipe uses alongside fresh cremini or chestnut mushrooms.
Broth: a well-flavoured vegetable or chicken stock, kept at a gentle simmer on the side, is what the rice slowly absorbs. Thin or very salty stock will flatten the dish, so taste it before you start.
| Ingredient | Swap | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Arborio rice | Carnaroli rice, 1:1 | Firmer bite, holds its shape a little longer off the heat |
| Dried porcini | Dried mixed wild mushrooms, same weight | Milder, slightly less earthy depth in the broth |
| Parmesan | Vegetarian hard cheese (rennet-free), same weight | Suitable for vegetarians; flavour is very close |
| White wine (classic recipe) | Warm stock plus 1 tbsp lemon juice | Gives acidity without alcohol; slightly less sharp, still balanced |
Mushroom risotto (risotto ai funghi)
A creamy Northern Italian rice dish made with arborio rice, dried porcini and fresh mushrooms, finished with butter and parmesan. This version leaves out the traditional wine, using warm stock and a little lemon juice for acidity instead.
- Gluten-free
Ingredients
Mushrooms and broth
- 15 g Dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 250ml warm water for 20-30 minutes
- 300 g Fresh cremini or chestnut mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
- 1.2 l Vegetable or chicken stock, kept hot on the side
Risotto base
- 60 g Unsalted butter, divided
- 2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Onion or shallot, finely chopped
- 1 clove Garlic, minced
- 320 g Arborio or Carnaroli rice
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice, stands in for the wine used in classic versions
- 50 g Parmesan cheese, finely grated, plus extra to serve
- 2 tbsp Fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp Salt, to taste
- 1 pinch Black pepper, to taste
Equipment
Wide heavy-bottomed pot or pan, Separate saucepan for stock, Ladle, Wooden spoon
Method
- Soak the porcini. Put the dried porcini in a small bowl and cover with 250ml warm water. Leave for 20-30 minutes until soft, then lift out, squeeze gently and chop. Strain the soaking liquid through a fine sieve or paper towel to remove grit, and stir it into your stock.
- Warm the stock. Pour the stock (now including the strained porcini liquid) into a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Keep it on low heat next to your main pot for the rest of the cooking.
- Cook the mushrooms. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 15g butter in a wide, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the fresh mushrooms and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring now and then, until golden and any liquid they release has evaporated. Stir in the chopped porcini, season with a little salt, and cook 1 minute more. Scoop out about two-thirds of the mixture and set aside; leave the rest in the pot.
- Soften the onion. Add the remaining olive oil and 15g butter to the same pot. Add the onion and cook over medium-low heat for 4-5 minutes until soft and translucent but not browned. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute until fragrant.
- Toast the rice. Add the rice to the pot and stir constantly for 2-3 minutes until the edges of the grains turn translucent while the centre stays opaque. The rice should smell lightly nutty.
- Add acidity and start the broth. Pour in the lemon juice with a small ladleful of hot stock and stir until absorbed; this replaces the wine used in classic versions and gives the rice a similar lift of brightness.
- Build the risotto. Add the hot stock one ladleful at a time, stirring frequently and waiting until each addition is mostly absorbed before adding the next. This takes 18-22 minutes. The rice is ready when it is creamy around the edges with a slight firmness at the centre, not chalky and not mushy.
- Fold in the mushrooms. Stir the reserved mushroom mixture back into the rice for the last 2 minutes of cooking, just to heat through.
- Finish with butter and cheese. Take the pot off the heat. Stir in the remaining 30g butter and the grated parmesan until melted and glossy (this is the mantecatura). Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
- Rest and serve. Cover and let the risotto stand off the heat for 5-10 minutes; it will loosen slightly as it absorbs any remaining liquid. Stir once, spoon into shallow bowls, and scatter with parsley and extra parmesan.
Contains: milk. Check the labels on packaged ingredients.
Written with AI assistance and reviewed by a human editor. This recipe has not been cooked in a home kitchen, so taste and adjust as you go. The header picture is an AI-generated illustration, a stock photo or an official press picture, not a photo of this exact recipe. Use halal-certified meat.
Tips for success
Warm the stock before you start ladling. Cold stock dropped onto hot rice stalls the cooking and makes the texture uneven. Keep it at a low simmer in a separate pot the whole time.
Toast the rice properly. Stir the rice constantly for 2-3 minutes until the edges of the grains become translucent but the centre remains opaque. This step is what gives the finished rice its structure, so don’t rush it or skip it.
Cook some of the mushrooms separately. Cook mushrooms separately from the rice, then stir them in at the end just before serving, which prevents them from overcooking and lets the risotto cook evenly. Saving back a few slices to scatter on top also gives the plate better texture.
Add stock gradually, not all at once. A ladleful at a time, stirred until absorbed before the next addition, is what coaxes the starch out of the rice. Dumping in all the liquid at once gives you a boiled rice side dish, not a risotto.
Don’t overcook it. The risotto should be slightly firm and creamy, not mushy. Start tasting a few minutes before you think it’s ready; rice that’s gone past al dente can’t be fixed.
Rest briefly before serving. Take it off the stove while there’s still some liquid, looking creamy but not dry, and let it stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving, as the rice keeps absorbing from the liquid. This final rest is what gives the finished dish its gentle, spoonable consistency.
Storing and reheating
Risotto is best eaten soon after it’s made, since the texture firms up quickly as it cools. If you have leftovers, cool them within 2 hours of cooking and refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 to 4 days, following standard cooked-rice food safety guidance. Reheat gently on the stovetop with a splash of stock or water, stirring, until it’s steaming hot all the way through. Only reheat rice once. Risotto also freezes reasonably well for up to 1 month; thaw it in the fridge overnight before reheating the same way.
Serving ideas
Serve mushroom risotto as a main course on its own, with extra grated parmesan and a crack of black pepper at the table. A simple green salad with a sharp lemon dressing cuts through the richness well. For a slightly larger spread, it also works as a first course ahead of roast chicken, grilled fish or a plain pan-seared chicken breast.
Diet and allergen notes
As written, this recipe is vegetarian if you use vegetable stock, and halal throughout, with no pork and no alcohol: the wine in classic versions is replaced here with stock and lemon juice. It contains dairy (butter, parmesan) and is not suitable for a vegan or dairy-free diet as written; for a dairy-free version, replace the butter with extra olive oil and leave out the cheese, or use a plant-based hard cheese alternative. It is gluten-free as written, provided your stock and any added cheese are confirmed gluten-free, since some stock cubes and pre-grated cheeses contain wheat-based anti-caking agents. It is not suitable for keto, since rice is the main ingredient.
Questions
Can I make mushroom risotto without any dried porcini?
Yes. Use a generous amount of fresh mixed mushrooms (cremini, chestnut, oyster) and a well-flavoured stock instead. The flavour will be milder and less earthy, but still a good risotto; a splash of soy sauce or a spoon of tomato paste stirred into the stock can help round out the savoury depth that porcini usually bring.
Why is my risotto gluey instead of creamy?
This is usually down to over-stirring at too high a heat, or letting the rice cook past al dente. Creaminess comes from starch released gradually as the rice absorbs broth slowly; constant vigorous stirring over high heat breaks the grains down too much and makes the risotto stodgy rather than silky.
Can I prepare risotto ahead of a dinner party?
You can par-cook it: bring the rice to about three-quarters done, spread it on a tray to stop the cooking, then finish it with the remaining hot stock and the mantecatura of butter and cheese just before serving. A fully finished risotto left to sit for more than 10 to 15 minutes loses its texture and is hard to bring back.
Sources
- Source: Authentic Creamy Mushroom Risotto Recipe
- Source: Mushroom Risotto – A Family Feast
- Source: Italian mushroom risotto (risotto ai funghi) – The European Dish
- Source: Risotto ai funghi (Mushroom Risotto) – Memorie di Angelina
- Source: Authentic Italian Risotto with Mushroom Recipe
- Source: Risotto ai funghi porcini – Objective Foodie