Hello, my chickpeas! Today we are cooking up a vegan risotto that is velvety, creamy, savory, and oh so delicious. This Vegan Miso Mushroom Risotto is a must for any mushroom-loving vegan!
Making a risotto may sound overwhelming, but I promise it isn't as bad as you think! This recipe is a little bit more involved than some of my other staples, but is 100% worth it. Let's dive in!
Inspiration for Vegan Miso Mushroom Risotto
I have had many requests for a vegan risotto, so I decided it was time to deliver! Typical risotto usually isn't vegan due to butter, cheese, and chicken stock. This one, however, is free of all dairy and meat products!
I wanted to create a vegan risotto that was hearty, indulgent, and satisfied that risotto craving while being fully plant-based. The main flavor profiles here are our umami mushrooms, paired together beautifully with a slightly earthy & salty miso flavor. We take our time with the cooking process to ensure that our risotto comes out the perfect texture.
Ingredients
This recipe has some very flavorful ingredients that bring out that umami flavor. Let's get into it.
- Veggie broth & miso paste: we combine these to essentially make a miso broth. This is super important for our flavor as well as our creamy texture!
- Shallot, mushrooms, thyme, and garlic: for those beautiful earthy & herby flavors!
- Arborio rice: this particular type of rice is very important for the proper risotto texture! It is more starchy than other types of rice, giving us that hearty and creamy consistency.
- Apple cider vinegar, vegan parmesan, and lemon juice: for a little bit of extra zing. The vegan parmesan and lemon juice are technically optional, but highly recommended for peak flavor!
How to Make Vegan Miso Mushroom Risotto
As mentioned earlier, this recipe is a bit more involved than most of my others. Risotto must be cooked a very particular way in order to achieve that velvety creaminess that we know and love! Let's break it down.
- Whisk the miso paste into the veggie broth and bring to a gentle simmer on the stovetop.
- Separately, sauté the garlic. Add the thyme and mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, then set to the side.
- Sauté the shallot.
- Add a splash of miso broth and the rice to the shallot pan. Stir for 1 minute to "toast" the rice. Add apple cider vinegar and more miso broth, and cook until the liquid has evaporated.
- Add ½ cup of miso broth to the rice. Stir regularly until most of the liquid is absorbed. Continue this process, adding ½ cup at a time, until rice is creamy but slightly firm. With the final addition of broth, add in the mushrooms as well.
- Stir in optional vegan parmesan, remove the pan from the heat, and let cool 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper, and optional lemon juice.
- Serve & top with parsley and more vegan parmesan if desired. Enjoy!
Tips & Tricks
Risotto is somewhat particular, so here are some thoughts on how to best succeed when making this recipe!
- You may be tempted to swap out the arborio rice for another rice, but I recommend sticking with the arborio rice! Risotto is a very particular texture and other types of rice typically won't behave the same way. (If you are searching for a WFPB option, I have seen some brown risotto rice options out there. However I have not tried this myself so experiment at your own risk!)
- The trick here is to go slow! Adding the broth slowly allows our risotto to get creamy and starchy, rather than just boiling the rice. So be patient!
- Looking for other mushroom-forward recipes? Check out my Vegan Hungarian Mushroom Soup and my Pumpkin Pasta With Spinach & Mushrooms next!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Miso Mushroom Risotto
Ingredients
- 4 cups veggie broth
- 2 tablespoon white miso paste
- 1 shallot - finely chopped
- 1 lb mushrooms - sliced (I prefer baby bella, but any will work!)
- 1.5 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves - roughly chopped (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)
- 3 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 cup arborio rice
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
- ⅓ cup vegan parmesan - technically optional, but highly recommended
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice - optional
- parsley - for garnish
Instructions
- Make the Miso Broth: Add the veggie broth and miso paste to a small pan on the stovetop. Whisk until the miso paste is fully dissolved. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low and keep it at a gentle simmer.
- Sauté mushroom mixture: Heat a large nonstick pan to medium heat on the stovetop. Add a splash of water and the garlic, sautéing for 1 minute or until garlic is fragrant.Add the thyme and mushrooms. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender and have started to release their juices. Remove from heat and set your mushroom mixture to the side.
- Sauté shallot: Bring another large nonstick pan to medium-heat. Add a splash of the miso broth and the shallot, and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Start the rice: Add another splash of miso broth and all of the rice to the pan. Stir quickly, keeping the rice moving for about 1 minute - it should start to smell slightly toasty. Add the apple cider vinegar and ¼ cup of the miso broth. Stir and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 1-3 minutes.
- Continue cooking risotto: Add ½ cup of the miso broth to the rice. Stir regularly (but not constantly), until most of the liquid is absorbed.Add another ½ cup of miso broth and repeat the process.Continue to repeat this process (½ cup at a time) until your rice is creamy but still slightly firm. With the final addition of broth, add the mushroom mixture as well and stir to combine. This whole process should take about 20-30 minutes and will use up most (if not all) of the miso broth.
- Final touches: Remove the pan from heat. Stir in optional vegan parmesan, optional lemon juice, and salt & pepper to taste.
- Serve & top with parsley and more vegan parmesan if desired. Enjoy!
Happy cooking! If you made this recipe don’t forget to tag me (@joyfulbalanceofficial) on facebook or instagram so I can cheer you on for your risotto-making ways.
Stay joyfully balanced!
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