These mushroom arancini are pumped full of umami from fresh and dried mushrooms. That along with the tender rice, gooey cheese, and crunchy golden crumb coating makes these a great appetiser, lunch or snack.
I recently updated my chorizo arancini recipe and was excited to try out a new variation. These arancini di riso con funghi, if you feel like testing out your Italian, with their amazing mushroomy flavour are rich, autumnal, and earthy, perfect for a comforting and cosy dinner party at home.
I usually serve these up with my arrabbiata sauce, but do try them with my herby mojo verde too, just like I served with the chorizo variation. My tomato pasta sauce would be lovely too. Choose your favourite, and enjoy.
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What is mushroom arancini?
Mushroom arancini are Italian rice balls filled with a savoury and creamy mixture of rice, mushrooms, cheese, and a few other ingredients. The balls are then coated in breadcrumbs and fried until golden brown and crispy. While the process is a little different as far as the rice cooking goes, they’re often thought of as risotto balls.
Traditional arancini are often stuffed with some sort of ragu, but I decided to switch things up with mushrooms. This isn’t the first time I’ve shared my own variation of this Italian dish — don’t miss my sweet corn vegetarian arancini recipe, as well as the chorizo one linked above.
Ingredients
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
- Mushrooms: I’m using both dried porcini and Swiss brown mushrooms. Dried porcini have a phenomenal flavour so you don’t need a lot. If you don’t have Swiss brown where you live, cremini mushrooms, chestnut mushrooms, or baby Bella mushrooms are all the same thing – aka baby portabello mushrooms.
- Chicken stock: Serves as the liquid base for the risotto. To make this recipe vegetarian-friendly, you can simply use vegetarian stock instead.
- Onion, celery & garlic: These aromatics add depth and complexity to the mushroom risotto arancini. I like to think of them as our flavour starters — you’ll sauté them right after the mushrooms before adding the rice.
- Arborio rice or Carnaroli rice: These short-grain rice varieties are a must for risotto – the key component in arancini.
- Cheese: You’ll need parmesan cheese for the rice and mozzarella cheese for the centres of your Italian risotto balls.
- Fresh parsley: Goes directly into the rice mixture before you form the arancini.
- Breading: Just the basics here: flour, eggs, and dried breadcrumbs. Why not try making your own breadcrumbs from your next loaf of stale bread.
- Vegetable oil: For deep frying. I like sunflower. It has a high smoking point and it’s light colour means it doesn’t darken the breading too soon.
How to make arancini
My mushroom arancini recipe takes a little patience, being a two-stage process, but it’s so worth it. You can always start step one a day ahead, then assemble and fry them to serve fresh. Or, you can make it all in one day. Whatever you have the time for is perfectly fine.
When cooked, the mushrooms take on an umami-rich flavour too. Paired with the creamy risotto, the whole thing is deeply savoury, in the best way you could imagine. The texture isn’t mushy or stodgy either. The rice is surprisingly tender, which complements the gooey cheese centre and crunchy exterior of the mushroom aranchini wonderfully!
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
1. Rehydrate the porcini mushrooms
Add the stock to a saucepan and bring to a simmer, then place the lid on and turn the heat off.
Place the porcini mushrooms in a small bowl and pour over the stock to cover them. Set aside to rehydrate.
2. Sauté the other mushrooms & aromatics
Add some oil to a frying pan and heat over medium-high heat. Add the diced brown mushrooms and cook for 4-5 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion, celery, and garlic to the skillet. Cook until softened.
3. Add the rice & porcinis
Introduce the rice to the pan. Cook while stirring for about 1-2 minutes or until it starts to look glassy and translucent. Chop up the rehydrated porcinis and add them to the rice.
4. Add the stock & cook the rice
Strain the porcini liquid back into the stock saucepan through a fine mesh strainer (sometimes they contain a bit of grit so straining is a must). Bring it to a simmer, then turn off again. Add a ladleful of stock to the rice mixture and scrape any flavourful bits (aka fond) off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir until the rice has absorbed all of the stock, then pour in the rest and cover the pan with a lid.
Let the mixture come to a simmer, then turn the heat down to low. Let the rice cook at a very low simmer for about 20 minutes.
Stir in the Parmesan and parsley and season to taste. Set aside to cool a bit before refrigerating for 1-2 hours, or overnight.
5. Form & bread the rice balls
Start heating the oil in a deep, heavy-based medium or large saucepan and create your dredging stations with the flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs.
Roll balls of rice to about golf ball size. Press flat on your palm, add a cube of mozzarella, and then roll the rice back around to form a smooth firm ball as shown in the images below. Repeat with the rest of the risotto.
One at a time, roll mushroom arancini balls in the flour, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs.
6. How to cook arancini balls
Lower 3-4 mushroom arancini into the hot oil and cook for about 6 minutes. Make sure to keep the oil between 170-180C (340-350°F) as they fry for the best colour. When deeply golden, transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
Repeat the process until all of the mushroom aranchini are fried, then serve immediately.
Tips and tricks
- Don’t overcook the rice. Remember that risotto should be slightly al dente with a bit of a bite. Overcooking can make it mushy.
- Take care when cooling and reheating the rice. Don’t let it sit at room temperature for longer than 30 minutes. If the underneath of the plate is still warm, place a tea towel beneath before storing it in the fridge to protect the shelves from the heat. It’s best to get it in the fridge quickly as it needs to cool as quickly as possible.
- Wet your hands before forming the rice balls. The mixture will be on the sticky side, so wet hands work best.
- Maintain the oil temperature. You’ll get the best colour — a deep, golden brown — when the oil temperature stays between 170-180C / 340-350F. Use an oil-safe thermometer to keep an eye on it. Overheating the oil can cause the mushroom arancini balls to burn on the outside before the inside is hot and the cheese melted.
- Can be made ahead of time. You can make the rice a day ahead, or fully roll and bread mushroom arancini a day ahead then fry them when ready to serve. If you want to fry them before serving time (so that serving is a little more hands-off) cool them quickly after frying — get them into the fridge as quickly as possible. Then, reheat in an oven at 200C (400°F) for 12-15 minutes.
Storage
Store any leftover mushroom arancini in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.
This recipe also freezes very well! To freeze uncooked arancini, form the rice balls and place them on a parchment-lined baking tray. Freeze until solid, then transfer to an airtight container or bag. Or, allow cooked arancini to cool completely before freezing. Whatever method you choose, they will keep for up to 3 months.
How to reheat arancini
Reheat your mushroom risotto arancini as directed above — in the oven at 200°C (400°F) for 12-15 minutes. If you have an air fryer, you could use that instead in about half the time at 190°C (375°F).
FAQs
Arborio rice, carnaroli rice or vialone nano are the preferred choice thanks to their high starch content, which creates a creamy texture when cooked. I’ve used arborio in this recipe.
Yes, this is a great recipe for using up leftovers. However, it’s important to use leftovers straight from the fridge. If the risotto is too warm, it will be impossible to roll and won’t hold its shape. Also, keep in mind that risotto is normally made and served more at a more “loose” consistency than the rice for these rice balls. If it’s more liquidy, you may need to add an egg to the mix to get them to hold their shape.
Ample time in the refrigerator to chill is key. Remember my note about not rushing the process — the rice needs to chill for at least 1-2 hours before you can form Italian risotto balls. I always find that overnight is better.
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Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups chicken stock (625ml)
- 5 g dried porcini mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (notes 1)
- ½ medium onion finely chopped
- 1 stalk celery finely chopped
- 100 g swiss brown mushrooms cremini/chestnut/baby bella, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ¾ cups arborio rice (145g/~5oz)
- 40 g parmesan cheese finely grated (⅓ cup packed)
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley finely chopped (notes 1)
- 60 g mozzarella cut into 12 cubes
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- ⅓ cup plain flour (all purpose flour)
- Vegetable oil for deep frying
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- Saucepans (small, medium and large-deep)
- Slotted spoon
Instructions
- Place the stock in a saucepan and bring to a simmer, then place the lid on and turn the heat off.
- Place the porcini mushrooms into a small bowl and pour over just enough of the stock to cover them. Set aside to rehydrate.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan or large skillet and add the diced mushrooms over medium high heat. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring regularly, until you see about 50% of the pieces turning golden.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion, celery and garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes until softened.
- Add the rice to the pan and cook, stirring for about 1-2 minutes until it looks a little glassy and translucent in parts.
- Remove the porcinis from the hot stock and finely chop them up, then add them to the rice. Strain the porcini liquid through a fine mesh sieve back into the stock saucepan.
- Bring the stock back to a simmer, then turn it off again.
- Add a ladleful (about 125ml / ½ cup) of the stock to the rice mixture. Scrape any colour (aka flavour) off the bottom of the pan and stir constantly until the rice has absorbed all the stock.
- Pour in all of the remaining stock and cover the pan with a lid. Let it come to a simmer, then immediately turn the heat down to low. You want the rice to cook at a very low simmer now for around 20 minutes until almost all the stock has been absorbed and the rice is cooked, tender with just a little bite.
- Stir in the parmesan and parsley then season to taste with salt and pepper (I usually add about ¼-½ tsp of salt and ¼ tsp finely cracked black pepper).
- Set aside to cool slightly before refrigerating for 1-2 hours or overnight until cold.
- TO FORM THE ARANCINI: Start heating about 5cm/2 inches of oil in a deep heavy based medium or large saucepan over high heat. You want the oil to get to 180C/350F.
- Place the breadcrumbs and flour in two separate high sided bowls. Whisk the eggs in a third bowl.
- With wet hands to stop it sticking, roll balls of rice to about golf ball size. Press it flat on your palm, add a cube of mozzarella, then roll the rice around it back into a smooth, firm ball. Repeat with the remaining risotto mixture to make 12 balls.
- Roll the risotto balls in the flour, then the egg, then lastly the breadcrumbs.
- Use a slotted spoon to lower 3-4 rice balls into the hot oil and cook for about 6 minutes, until they are deep golden in colour, all the time keeping the oil temperature between 170C/340F and 180C/350F while they’re frying. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to drain.
- Bring the oil back up to heat. Repeat the frying process until all arancini balls are done.
- Serve immediately.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
- Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
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