Thanks to you, I now have a huge craving for an old flame- Barney Butter. Just when I thought I had left him in the dust…!
Maybe a long distance relationship could work, afterall?

Aside from Barney Butter and my mouth, there isn’t a better combination than caramelized onions and sautéed Cremini mushrooms. Before I taught myself how to cook, I would have told you there is no better combination than canned mushrooms and pizza sauce, but luckily, I have branched out a bit and discovered a love for things that do not come in a can.
[For the record, I will forever love canned mushrooms. I just can’t help myself!]
Anyways, when I stumbled upon this Vegan Mushroom Risotto recipe over at The Kitchn, I had to compose myself until I could get to the grocery store for the ingredients. My heart was all a flutter and it filled my every thought. I even found myself obsessively glancing at the picture to make sure it looked as good as I remembered.
I bought some local Cremini mushrooms, fresh and perfect…

It is a good day.

It is not a good day for Eric because he will not touch a mushroom with a ten foot pole! He really doesn’t know what he’s missing out on.
I married him despite this.

To be honest, I’m pretty happy to have this dish all to myself. It is quite a bit of work to make and the fact that I got to enjoy it for a few meals was a nice reward. Sharing is overrated, anyways. If your partner does enjoy mushrooms though, this would be a fun meal to make together! And if you are like me, you will ask the man to do all the prep work that you loathe, like chopping onions and garlic.
I’m just nice like that I guess.

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Mushroom Risotto with Caramelized Onions
Thick, rich, and satisfying with a strong mushroom flavour and pop of sweetness from the caramelized onions. This is pure comfort food.
Adapted from: The Kitchn.
Yield: 2 (as main course), or 4 side servings
Ingredients:
- 3-4 yellow onions, divided
- 1 tbsp + 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 pound cremini mushrooms (~455 grams), washed and sliced
- 1 large sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 cup uncooked pot barley (or grain of choice, like rice)* see note
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 3.5 cups vegetable broth (I used full-sodium), *see note
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to garnish
- 1 tbsp Earth balance or butter, to stir in (optional)
Directions:
1. Chop 2 small yellow onions to make 2 cups worth. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook onion for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and cook over medium-low for about 8 minutes. Reduce heat if necessary to avoid burning.
2. Turn the heat up to medium-high. Add all the sliced cremini mushrooms to the skillet and let them cook for 5-10 minutes.
3. Add the rosemary sprig and seasonings to the skillet. Stir well. Cook for a couple minutes. Now add in the barley (or rice), balsamic vinegar, and vegetable broth gradually as it cooks. You may have to adjust the amount of liquid used depending on the type of grain used. Bring to a boil. Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and stir every few minutes, reducing the heat when necessary to prevent it sticking to the bottom. Be careful because it will burn fast!
4. Meanwhile, make the caramelized onions. Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a cast iron skillet. Cut 1-2 yellow onions in half, and then slice them into thin half moons. Add them to the oil and sprinkle liberally with salt. Cook on low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions turn a dark brown, for about 30 minutes. Watch closely. I burned some of mine because I got distracted by shiny objects. It happens.
5. When the risotto has finished cooking remove rosemary sprig and stir in a spoonful of Earth balance or butter if desired. Distribute into bowl and top each bowl with a spoonful of caramelized onions and freshly ground pepper. Serves 2-4.
Note: Make sure that you add the vegetable broth slowly as different grains will absorb different amounts of liquid. You don’t want too much liquid at the end!
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The changes I made to the original recipe are the following:
- I used barley instead of white rice
- I used 1 pound of Cremini mushrooms instead of 1/2 pound
- I used 3 cloves garlic instead of 4
- I used 3.5 cups liquid veggie broth instead of 2 cups (I had to adjust for the barley)
- I omitted the white wine as I didn’t have any
- I used 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar instead of 2
- I cut the oil down
- I did not use vegan cream cheese
- I changed the procedure (the original recipe calls for baking in the oven!)
It still turned out incredible despite the changes!

I think next time I will try pearled barley because the pot barley seems to give me stomach pains (hard to digest with the outer husk!).
Make sure that you add the vegetable broth slowly as different grains will absorb different amounts of liquid. You will basically have to eyeball it as it cooks and add more liquid as needed. If you are using white rice, you might only need 2-2.5 cups of vegetable broth.

Rinse the dirty lil buggers!

Chop 2 small onions and 3 cloves garlic.

Sautée.

Add in sliced mushrooms, and cook for another 5-10 minutes.

Add in seasonings…salt, rosemary sprig, pepper.

Now add in the 1 cup of grains and the vegetable broth…gradually.

Cover and cook for about 20-25 minutes, stirring often and adding more vegetable broth when necessary so it doesn’t burn. If it starts drying out, you need more liquid!
Meanwhile, make the caramelized onions…mmm.

Watch the onions closely…I burned some of mine because I got distracted by shiny objects. It happens.
When the risotto is ready, stir a spoonful of Earth Balance (or butter) in and serve immediately.

This recipe takes about 45 minutes of active prep work and another 20-25 minutes to cook. It is quite labourious, but if you make it with someone else it will go much faster!

Top with lots of caramelized onions.

When I took my first bite, I forgot about all the chopping and stirring and I said, Yup, it was all worth it.
It is thick, rich, and satisfying with a strong mushroom flavour and pop of sweetness from the caramelized onions. C-O-M-F-O-R-T-F-O-O-D.
You should also check out the original recipe by The Kitchn’s Faith Durand– it was baked in the oven! I may have to try this next time, but since I didn’t use white rice I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. I made it the traditional way on the stove top just to be safe. If you guys experiment with baking different grains let me know. I’m hoping a quicker cooking brown rice works too!
What food combinations do you LOVE to pair together?
Ohhh poor Eric, he doesn’t know what he is missing!! This looks delicious Angela… the lengthy prep time is likely worth the wait! I can only imagine what your kitchen smelled like… yum!
– Brittany
Mushrooms and onions belong on everything!
One of my other favorite combos is brussels sprouts and mushrooms stir-fried together. So good!
I want to love mushrooms, I keep trying, but honestly, they taste like dirt to me. I do love risotto with artichoke hearts, sundried tomatos and red bell peppers. That is a combo I could eat all the time!
I too share a strange love for canned mushrooms. It feels like a strange guilty pleasure. For a treat on pizza or straight out of the can, they just can’t be beat. Glad to hear I’m not alone :)
yes someone who gets me! lol.
I remember as a kid, I used to stick the canned mushrooms right into pizza sauce when my mom and I made pizza. Mmmm
This looks like such a warm and inviting dish. My husband is like Eric, and will not go near a mushroom. I don’t think he would even come in the kitchen while I make this.
Perhaps I’ll save it for a night when he will be out, and then I’ll have lots of leftovers for lunches.
Thinking of making it with quinoa instead of barley, as I’m gluten free.
I think I will try quinoa next time too :)
I have never seen garlic and onion chopped so neatly lol! Looks like pure comfort food :-)
This is lovely! I think that this will be dinner tonight for me and my hubby!
I love how I already have all the ingredients in my pantry. I agree with you about the wonderful combined flavours of caramelized onions and mushrooms… so simple and also such an inexpensive dish that doesn’t break the bank. I love it! (Did I say that already?)
Canned button mushrooms ARE tasty! Trying to avoid canned goods where possible also, but will admit that I do like the taste of canned mushrooms and artichokes!
I too love it when I can make a delicious dish that is pennies to make…and also feels quite ‘fancy’ too! Sure beats paying a ton of money at a restaurant
Absolutely! I discovered that caramelized onions serves as an amazing topping on a fresh baguette or whole-grain crackers when entertaining. Along with inexpensive homemade dips like olive tapenade or hummus, makes for easy and quick prep when we have guests drop by. Next time I’m also adding your spinach artichoke dip to that! :)
Awesome photos. I am going to make a version of this with butternut squash or peas added!
Mushrooms are just about the most disgusting things in the entire world. Although my husband LOVES them. Yup, he married me despite my mushroom hatred too ;) It’s especially annoying because so many vegan/vegetarian recipes include them!
My favorite pairing has to be chocolate and peanut butter. Classic!
This looks so comforting! My husband doesn’t like mushrooms either… That doesn’t stop me from cooking with them!
that mushroom risotto looks so amazing!!!
Mushrooms are my favorites!! I would like this right now!!! It could be my “breakfast of champions” or is that “breakfast of champignons”. OH…that’s so bad….groan….I can’t believe I wrote that!!! :)
This looks wonderful, I love mushrooms with onions. Thanks!
I like curry and bananas, orange and ginger and lemon and dill.
AHHHHH!!! NOOOO!!!!! I absolutely MUST second any other comments about the mushrooms! I adore your blog and love following as you try your hand at new recipes but it literally made my heart ache to see that you rinsed (gasp! even looks like you soaked!) your mushrooms in their number one evil enemy: water! As an experiment recently I cooked two separate batches of mushrooms side by side (one batch rinsed with water, the other batch gently rubbed with a clean towel to remove dirt) just to see the truth for myself about what will happen to the mushroom flavor and water content. The rinsed batch never was capable of browning because they were stewing in the water that leaks out and had literally one tenth of the mushroom flavor as the batch that was never introduced to water. The flavor is richer, they cook faster (because they aren’t stewing but rather searing/sealing in juices), and they just are a different thing entirely than a rinsed mushroom! Please PLEASE take this as a serious matter and try the recipe again for yourself with non-watery mushrooms and the flavor will blow your mind in comparison!!!!!
That’s all for my mushroom rant!
So.Much.Garlic. I LOVE it. Garlic is a total must. Sorry to all of those at the gym next to me sweating the next day. ;)
I originally read this at 9 am and immediately wanted risotto. Looks so so good!
This risotto looks so delicious! I always liked mushrooms but my love for them has expanded since I became vegetarian. A portobello burger is so much better than with meat ;).
Wow. This brings me back to my childhood….hello mushrooms!
xxoo
YUM! Thanks for providing me with the perfect dinner for tonight — showed it to my boyfriend and he agreed that it was the perfect thing!
Gotta say I’m with Eric on this one. :S Sorry! :)
In terms of food combinations- hummus + salsa + avocado= heaven