This creamy mushroom and asparagus risotto is packed with fresh vegetables. But thanks to the perfect combination of spices, veggie broth, and nutritional yeast, it tastes as decadent as traditional risotto.
Like our Vegan Asparagus Pasta, this dinner is a great option for weeknights when you’re craving a little comfort food. It takes some patience to get right, but comes together quickly despite a long list of fresh ingredients.
Table of Contents
Why I Love This
If you’ve been vegan for some time, you may not have had the opportunity to try your hand at cooking risotto. This dish typically requires a heaping of butter and some cheese to achieve the creamy texture it’s celebrated for.
With this mushroom and asparagus risotto recipe, I achieve that same creamy decadence without any dairy products. The key is a combination of vegetable broth, garlic, onion, spices, and nutritional yeast. Together, these ingredients create the enticing umami flavor that makes this traditional Italian dish oh-so-good.
The key to getting the smooth texture is all in the cooking. The truth is, you don’t need loads of fat to make risotto creamy. You only need a little patience.
By slowly adding broth, the rice is exposed to higher heat as it absorbs moisture. This causes the rice grains to release more starch. This starch, in turn, creates that gooey texture we crave.
Ingredients
What makes risotto so unique in flavor and texture is the combination of ingredients that go into it. Creating the perfect tango of umami, earthy, acidic, and gooey requires some key players.
- Arborio rice. This Italian variety of short-grained rice is a perfect medium for carrying the variety of flavors that this dish contains. Arborio has a higher content of amylopectin starch compared to other types of rice, which gives it a unique, creamy texture when cooked slowly.
- Mushrooms. The deep, earthy flavor of mushrooms really elevated this vegan dish. I prefer cremini for their softer texture.
- Asparagus. Thick and chewy, asparagus compliments the mushroom flavor and brings some satisfying variety to the texture of this dish.
- White wine. An element of the traditional risotto-making process, white wine lends the dish a little bit of acidity to counteract the richness. If avoiding alcohol, you can absolutely skip this ingredient and still achieve a delicious final product.
- Nutritional yeast. Traditional risotto is made with butter and parmesan cheese. Nutritional yeast is a great way to imitate those flavors in plant-based cooking and add some necessary vitamin B12 to your diet.
How to Make
This mushroom and asparagus risotto recipe is not difficult to make once you know the steps. Here is a quick overview to help you learn the process.
Preparation
Step 1: Dice the onion, mince the garlic, and chop the asparagus and mushrooms.
Cooking Instructions
Step 1: Saute the veggies. Start with the onions, garlic, and asparagus and cook until the asparagus is fork tender and the garlic is fragrant.
Step 2: Add the mushrooms, spices, and wine. Stir well to coat the vegetables.
Step 3: Add the rice and mix well. Continue stirring occasionally until the rice grains begin to glimmer and pop like Rice Crispies in milk.
Step 4: Add the vegetable broth about ½ cup at a time, allowing it to fully absorb into the rice before adding more. Stir slowly and continuously through this process to entice the creamy starch out of the rice.
Step 5: Stir in the spinach, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast. Cook until the spinach is wilted.
Expert Tip
The key to achieving the perfect risotto texture is convincing the rice to let go of all that ooey-gooey starch. To do that, you need the right combination of heat and liquid throughout the cooking process.
One thing that I’ve found really helps achieve this perfect balance is to, first, add only ½ cup to ¾ cup of broth at a time. And second, to warm your broth before you add it to the rice.
Adding only small amounts of broth allows the rice to maintain a higher level of heat than it would if submerged in broth. Higher heat pulls out more starch than lower heat. This translates to a smoother, creamier, and more satisfying final product.
Another important aspect to retain that starch-capturing heat is to warm your broth before adding it to the pot. If you add cold broth, your rice will cool down and hold tighter to that starch each time you add more broth. Not only will this reduce how creamy the final dish is, but it will lengthen the cooking process.
What to Serve it With
Mushroom and asparagus risotto pairs well with salads, vegetables, and crunchy bread. Here are my favorite sides to serve with this dish to help inspire you.
Salads
This risotto pairs exceptionally well with crisp, fresh salads, including spring salad, easy broccoli salad, and raspberry vinaigrette over artichoke hearts salad.
Vegetables
Fresh and roasted vegetable sides both provide a great texture contrast to this dish. I often serve it with roasted sugar snap peas and asparagus, green garlic, and pea tendrils.
Crunchy Bread
Crispy, baked bread is the perfect compliment to this dish. Serve it with slices of freshly baked easy vegan bread or double down on the decadence with my favorite vegan garlic bread.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why isn’t my risotto creamy?
Most likely, you cooked it too fast or added the broth too fast. The key to creamy risotto is giving the rice time to slowly absorb the broth while keeping it hot so it can release its starches to create a velvety texture.
Can I substitute Arborio rice with another type of rice?
Yes, you can substitute another type of short-grained rice for Arborio if you don’t have it. However, Arborio is the type of rice traditionally used for this dish in Italy and is, in my opinion, the absolute best option for getting that perfect velvety texture.
Is this vegan risotto allergen-friendly?
Yes, this creamy dish contains no soy, nuts, or gluten. And since it’s vegan, it doesn’t contain allergens like eggs, dairy, or shellfish.
Storing and Reheating
Mushroom and asparagus risotto tastes best when served hot out of the pot. But if you do have leftovers, you have a few options for storing them to eat later.
Fridge
Yes, this can easily be stored in the fridge. Place leftovers in an airtight container and store for up to five days.
Freezer
Yes, you can freeze mushroom and asparagus risotto leftovers, but the texture won’t be nearly as good once you defrost it.
Allow the dish to cool fully before storing it in an airtight, freezer-safe container. It will stay good for up to six months.
Reheating
To reheat this dish from the fridge, place it in a saucepan and add ¼ to ½ cup of broth. Set the burner to medium and bring the mixture to a simmer before lowering the heat to medium-low, stirring occasionally. Enjoy once it’s heated through.
If reheating frozen mushroom and asparagus risotto, place the container in the fridge and allow it to thaw overnight. Once thawed through, reheat according to the instructions above.
Serving Size
This recipe makes two to four servings. I have found that when served alone, it can typically feed about three people. But when I pair it with a big salad or multiple veggie sides, it can easily feed four.
It is easy to double this recipe if needed, just make sure you have a big enough pot with an extra-wide base to cook it all in.
Mushroom & Asparagus Risotto
Ingredients
- 1 onion diced
- 4-6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lb asparagus usually one bunch from the grocery store; woody stalks removed and chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
- 8 oz mushrooms about 15 or so if you use crimini, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp thyme dried
- ½ – 1 tsp salt to taste
- ½ cup white wine optional
- 1 cup Arborio rice uncooked
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups spinach chopped
- 2 tsp nutritional yeast optional
- ¼ tsp onion powder optional
- 1-2 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and asparagus and heat, stirring occasionally, until softened (about 5-7 minutes).
- Add mushrooms, thyme, salt, and white wine, and heat until mushrooms are softened, another 3-5 minutes or so.
- Add rice and stir until rice is well coated and starts to make small snapping noises (like Rice Krispies).
- Add vegetable broth 1/2 – 3/4 cup at a time, stirring well, and allowing the rice to soak up all the liquid before adding more; this takes about 3-5 minutes or so each time.
- Once you've added almost all the broth, add the spinach, nutritional yeast, onion powder, lemon juice and the rest of the broth and stir until the spinach is wilted (2-3 minutes). Taste, and add more salt, pepper, or lemon juice if needed. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Originally from a small town in Lithuania, I've spent 11 years living in Birmingham, UK, before moving back to her home country and settling there with her partner. My time in the UK took place during formative adult years which shaped my multifaceted career path.
I've always been fascinated with languages and their structure. At the university, I completed a joint honors degree in English and Media, which fueled my interest in writing and creating visual content. Later, I applied my experience to become a freelance translator and continue learning other languages.
In 2016, I completed training as a yoga teacher and also became a certified rock climbing instructor, further expanding my career to include manyhobbies. The result was a wealth of personal and professional experiences that contributed to where she is now.
My commitment to veganism and sustainability is not purely on paper either. Living on a semi-off-grid homestead in rural Lithuania, I spend time growing and preserving food and caring for rescue animals, including goats, rabbits, and farm birds.
In my free time, I loves to craft using textiles and yarn, read, and run local trails. Not that this type of lifestyle affords a lot of free time!
That said, being able to share my various experiences through writing and photography is essentially a dream job, because it allows me to do what I love and expand my horizons even further.
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First time making risotto and so glad that this was the recipe I started with. My husband loves it and it’s so simple, tasty and very filling. I use green beans (as not a fan of asparagus) and sometimes add in peas alongside the spinach. Can’t go wrong either way. This is regularly made in our home, thank you!
We’re so glad you liked it! Those are perfect substitutions/additions, too.
This recipe was amazing! First time cooking a risotto and it came out so nice and flavourful! Honestly would really recommend!
Love this recipe regularly make it its foolproof and do easy to do!!!
Listen. There’s a multitude of things that I could have done wrong. Maybe it was the brand of vegetable broth I used. Or the wine. Or that I used frozen asparagus. Whatever it was, this recipe just was not…good. It lacked flavor, kind of tasted like…dirt (and yes I washed my vegetables). I would definitely not make this again, and hope I forget ever making it. I do not recommend you try.
did you use frozen spinach? that ruins just about any dish possible.
Absolutely love this recipe! It’s perfect for a date night in, tastes delicious and leaves me and my husband feeling full and happy. 10/10 would recommend if you’re debating whether or not to cook this.
So glad you enjoyed it, Caitlin!
Required an additional cup of broth. A resounding HELL YES. That was delicious, and we have a very full household.
Exceptional recipe, always fall back on it!
I just made this and it was exactly what I was looking for! Delicious!
Wowww!such a wonderful recipe
I know this is years after the post but I just found it!!! Do you think I could get away with using jasmine rice? Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Fantastic flavours, everyone loved it includind my daughters carniverous boyfriend.
I absolutely love this recipe. I swear by it.
I’m gluten and lactose free and finding foods I actually enjoy eating is so hard. I make this risotto ALL the time!
Love it.
Hi Jessica,
I made this recipe last night and it is amazing! (Currently enjoying it for lunch today, too!) It gave my arms a good workout, but it was certainly worth the time and effort. I let my dad try it and he didn’t believe there was no cheese in it. I will definitely be adding this into my recipe vault 🙂
I made this the other night and it was so delicious that I have printed the recipe and given it to my friends. I added loads of mushroom (im obsessed with mushrooms) and just ate some leftovers and it tasted even better today.
Love love love!!
Have been making mushroom risotto for my hubby for years – gave this a try last week and WOW! Is now his new favorite!! Thank you , thank you for this wonderful recipe!!
Great Recipe– Just made for dinner– had zucchini on hand so subbed out for the asparagus and used brown rice. Also threw in some frozen peas, sage and rosemary. Yummmmm. Will def make again!!
Tasted amazing! 🙂
I like this recipe, but I would add the asparagus later in the cooking process. I think they become overcooked when added in the beginning. They really only need maybe 10 minutes near the end to get tender, and they avoid becoming too mushy that way.
Great point! I never found mine to get particularly mushy, but adding them at the end is not a bad idea at all.
This recipe is divine and so simple to make! Plus minimal mess to clean up at the end. Thank you for sharing! 🙂
I just wanted to THANK YOU for sharing this recipe. I followed it exactly as written and have made the risotto twice now. I used portabella mushrooms and it is my favorite vegan recipe so far. It’s a hit in my house!
This recipe is delicious! I rarely cook, but it was so easy. Thanks!
I made this tonight and oh my goodness! It was absolutely incredible! Our daughter was recently diagnosed with allergies to wheat, eggs, cows milk , and numerous tree nuts. She’s eleven years old and has eaten those things ( other than tree nuts) all of her life. She asked me how I got it so creamy without milk. She was very happy with it and my husband said that it tasted like the risotto that we’ve had in nice restaurants. I am so thankful for this recipe. Thank you!!
Do you have serving size information for this recipe? Just wondering how much I can eat and not feel guilty! 🙂
I’d say it’s about 4 servings, which is 250 calories (there’s 1000 calories in the whole thing, so divide it up however you like!)
Making this right now… it smells and looks divine! Can’t wait until it’s done!!! Thank you so much for sharing an awesome vegan recipe!
I made this and it was freaking awesome!!!! great recipe thanks!
I just found your website today and made this recipe along with the Vegan Buffalo Wings (both versions) for my husband and I.
I used to be a vegetarian and want to get away from eating meat because I love animals so much and it just doesn’t seem right to eat them.
This was our first time having risotto so we didn’t have anything to compare it to but it was very good. My husband had several servings. Thanks for the inspiration to become more vegan with all of these awesome recipes.
The next two things I plan to try are the Taco Salad and the Colcannon. I felt like I wanted to try so many of your recipes at once. I wish I would have had all day to cook today.
Thank you sooo much for this recipe! I can’t wait to try it out tonight! Looks delicious.
Just made this now and it was delicious 🙂 I used mushroom stock to give it a more mushroomy flavour.. my boyfriend was definitely impressed! Now I just need to find a recipe to make him like greens… 😉
Sounds so delicious! Me ad my family love mushrooms and asparagus, but I never combined them together for some reason. Thanks for sharing!
I just made a spinach risotto for dinner, slightly different than the recipe here but I never would have thought of it if I had not seen this post a few months ago. I mean, I don’t think I was even clear on what risotto was before reading this. So thank you for the food inspiration, it was wonderful! Though I’ll have to add mushrooms next time for sure.
I made this for supper tonight – it was incredible! I had picked up asparagus at the farmers’ market this week and wanted to try something different with it. This recipe is definitely a keeper! Thanks for the tips, too!
I made this last night for dinner with a minor addition. I added a Tbsp. of Dijon mustard at the very end for an extra kick. It was great even before that though. Best cheese-less risotto recipe yet!
i made this tonight and it was WONDERFUL! thanks for sharing!
this looks wonderful–i want to try this with the barley we have on hand! thanks 🙂
I’ve been craving risotto something fierce the last couple of weeks, and this looks incredible! Yum!
Yum. I made a mushroom beer risotto a few months ago – it was insane.
I swear that risotto should be a food group all on its own – and you’ve added two of my favourite veggies to the mix! Risotto takes a bit of time to make but the end result is always worth it!
Oh yum! I recently found a non vegan recipe for asparagus risotto that looked good and I was going to try and “veganize” it. Looks like you did the work for me 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!