Our super easy Cauliflower Mushroom Risotto is a creamy and delicious side dish that is whole30, Paleo, and vegan! Made with real, simple ingredients that come together in a matter of minutes. Serve with just about any main dish to make a complete meal!
The Best Cauliflower Mushroom Risotto
We have been perfecting this easy recipe for the last couple of weeks and are so excited to bring it to you guys this week! The flavor of this cauliflower mushroom risotto is SO good and the sauce is made extra-creamy with the help of coconut milk and unsweetened almond milk! Definitely a family favorite recipe that we continue to make at our house again and again.
Looking for another delicious side dish recipe? You have to try our Roasted Cauliflower Salad!
What You Will Need
- olive oil – just a drizzle in the pan to help sauté the aromatic ingredients.
- fresh garlic & onion – aromatic ingredients that are always perfect for getting the best flavors going.
- salt & pepper – simple seasonings that are always a must!
- fresh mushrooms – any variety of mushrooms would be great! We used baby bella mushrooms, but button mushrooms and cremini mushrooms would be great too.
- arrowroot powder – used as the thickening agent in this creamy sauce.
- canned coconut milk & almond milk – the creamy base that also still keeps the recipe card dairy-free.
- vegetable broth – just pick-up your favorite broth from your local grocery store.
- lemon juice – a little bit of acidity is perfect to help amplify all the flavors.
- fresh thyme – this fresh herb is the perfect compliment to this side dish recipe.
- cauliflower rice – highly recommend making your own cauliflower rice but you can purchase a store-bought version too.
How To Make Cauliflower Mushroom Risotto
The first steps to making this easy recipe are to bring a large pot or saucepan to a medium heat. Drizzle in the olive oil and sauté the garlic and onion.
Add mushrooms to the pan and continue cooking for about 5 minutes.
Add the last tablespoon of oil, then the arrowroot powder, and stir to coat. Slowly add the coconut milk, almond milk, and vegetable broth while continuing to stir. Then stir in the lemon juice and fresh thyme. Finally, stir in the cauliflower rice and finish cooking for about 3-5 minutes.
Best Way To Serve Cauliflower Mushroom Risotto
You can serve this risotto recipe with just about any main course. We love enjoying it with a whole roasted chicken, grilled pork tenderloin, or air fryer chicken thighs. And if you like to keep it vegan, just serve alongside some steamed green beans or air fryer asparagus! Perfect for your next family dinner.
Made this delicious recipe and loved it?! We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
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Cauliflower Mushroom Risotto
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Description
Our Cauliflower Mushroom Risotto recipe is a creamy and delicious side dish that is packed with great flavor!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided (sub with avocado oil)
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup sweet yellow onion, diced
- kosher salt and ground black pepper
- 8oz mushrooms, sliced
- 2 teaspoons arrowroot powder
- 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/4 cup vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- 1 1/2 cups cauliflower rice (homemade or store-bought)
Instructions
- Bring a saucepan to a medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan.
- Once olive oil is hot, add garlic and onion to sauté for about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add mushrooms and move around the hot pan. Allow them to cook and reduce, approximately 5 minutes.
- Add the last tablespoon of olive oil, stirring to coat the ingredients, and then add the arrowroot powder. Stir to coat.
- Slowly add the coconut milk and stir to combine. Then add the almond milk and vegetable broth; stirring consistently.
- Add lemon juice and thyme and continue stirring.
- Taste and add additional salt or pepper, as desired.
- Stir in cauliflower rice and allow to cook 3-5 minutes (longer if desired).
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Coconut Milk: be sure to fully combine the coconut milk before use. (to re-combine, pour coconut milk into a wide-mouth mason jar and use an immersion blender to blend).
- Whole30/Paleo: just check the vegetable broth ingredients before use.
- Storage: for best results, use immediately but leftover risotto can be stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6oz
- Calories: 126
- Sugar: 1.9 g
- Sodium: 43.8 mg
- Fat: 11.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 6 g
- Protein: 2.4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Samantha B. says
This was good! I did have low hopes because it was made with the cauliflower rice haha, but it surprised me and my husband! I added the zest of a lemon like a previous person did and I didn’t have regular flavored almond milk so I just added more coconut milk. We will make again and double the recipe.
Erin says
So glad you enjoyed this one, Samantha! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a review!
Kristina says
Pretty good just lacked taste. I ended up adding some chili paste to get some flavor and spice. Next time I will probably add some spinach or chicken to make it more complete of a meal. I didn’t have almond milk so used all coconut milk which may be the lack of taste part too.
Erin says
Hi, Kristina! Maybe up the salt and pepper next time? Thanks for trying the recipe!
Brandie says
Super tasty! Thoughts on throwing some nutritional yeast in there? (I didn’t bc I always like to try recipes as the chef intended ☺️)
Erin says
Hi Brandie – I haven’t tried this one with nutritional yeast, but if you want it to have a more cheesy flavor feel free to try it and let me know!
Jess says
This sounds and looks great and I’m going to give it a try… question about serving/presentation… in the photos it looks like creamy cauliflower risotto with mushrooms on top. Would you remove the mushrooms from the pan before you combine the liquid making the sauce and add In the cauliflower and top the dish with mushrooms?
Erin says
Hi Jess – I just pulled some of the mushrooms out for the photo so they wouldn’t be covered and so people could tell what the dish was – that’s all!
Melissa Torrez says
YUM! I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this as I love classic rice risotto but this definitely satisfies!!! I used frozen cauli rice and subbed fresh lemon zest for lemon juice. Tasted amazing!
Thank you for sharing 😊
Erin says
Thanks, Melissa! I am so glad you enjoyed it!! And thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback, it means a lot!