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Mushroom Parmesan Shrimp Risotto is hearty and comforting! Loaded with tons of garlic, and cooked until the rice is nice and creamy. Perfect for a Friday night dinner or to serve company!
Homemade Shrimp Risotto!
Have you ever made risotto before? Because up until very recently it was something I thought I’d never make again.
There may have been an incident sometime in the past five years when I thought huh, this can’t be that hard! I channeled my inner Ina and set to work. I went in blind… on risotto. Let that sink in for a second. [face palm] What was I even thinking? No recipes, no clue what I was doing with just a mental taste of the risotto we enjoyed on our honeymoon as my guide. And well, I’m sure you can guess how it turned out. Crunchy rice, husband had to save the day by ordering a pizza while I cursed under my breath and seriously contemplated burning the pan as that would require far less effort than to clean it.
But risotto doesn’t have to be that way! It can be a breeze to make if you follow a recipe, stay by the stove and exercise just the tiniest bit of patience.
To put it simply, do the complete opposite of everything I did, and you’ll be just fine!
Today’s parmesan shrimp risotto is loosely based on the one we enjoyed on our honeymoon in Cancun, six years ago. We went to an all-inclusive resort for five days and spent most of the time eating or dreaming about this shrimp risotto that they brought to you poolside – seriously. If that isn’t the way to my heart, I don’t know what is!
That first bite is perfection. Notes of onions and garlic wrapped around tender, sweet shrimp and creamy rice loaded with more than a generous mound of parmesan.
This is my food language.
Ingredients for Homemade Mushroom Parmesan Shrimp Risotto
I’ve got a super important question for you. Do you play on team ‘shroom? Because if you do, you’re going to love what they do here because we’re sauteing them in olive oil until they’re golden and then we’ll introduce them to the risotto at the end and let them hang out in that garlic and onion scented creamy rice right before we serve big bowls of this stuff. If you’re not a fan of mushrooms, feel free to double up on the shrimp and omit them entirely!
Other than the shrimp and mushroom, you’ll need a few key ingredients.
- Parmesan cheese (get the good stuff from the deli section.. not the stuff that’s shelf-stable, please and thank you)
- Onions, chopped up finely
- Garlic, as much or as little as you like!
- Butter (just a couple tablespoons)
- Arborio rice (not basmati or jasmine)
- Homemade or store-bought stock
More on arborio rice: arborio rice is plump, short to medium grain, with a high starch content. This is what makes it the perfect rice to use when you’re making risotto. Ideally, you want to use rice that has a higher starch content because that’s what gives risotto that ultra creamy texture that it’s known for. This reminds me, when you’re making risotto, don’t rinse your rice! <– This. Other than risotto, I almost always rinse, but not here. Don’t do it!
More on the stock: I like to make my own stock for shrimp risotto. Every time I buy a pound of shrimp, I’ll remove the shells and pop them into a zip-top bag and store it in the freezer until I have enough to may stock. For the stock, I use the peels from two pounds of shrimp, a few sprigs of parsley, black peppercorns, smashed garlic cloves, and sometimes I’ll add a bouillion cube in there to give it a little more flavor!
Other tips to make the best shrimp risotto:
- Always prep everything ahead of time! The French call this mise en place and I call it a necessity for recipes like this one and my homemade gumbo. It’s so important to have everything prepped, measured, and ready to go. Trying to chop the parsley while the rice is soaking up the broth isn’t going to be a great idea here!
- Be patient and enjoy the task. The broth is going to take its own sweet time, better to accept that it’s the boss and let it do its thing!
- Finish your risotto with a knob of good butter. I can’t tell how big of a difference it is when you finish a risotto with butter! Not only does it add a little more luster to the whole thing. The butter also makes that texture so much more rich and delicious!
- Set a timer. I like to set a timer for 20 minutes right when I start adding the stock. This helps me keep an eye on how long it’s been without having to think about it.
- Put on some good music, pour yourself a glass, grab a wooden spoon and stay by the stove!
And there is it!
Something different to put together for dinner tonight or over the weekend. This homemade mushroom parmesan shrimp risotto was a home run for us, and I hope you love it as much as we do! 🙂
If you like this shrimp risotto recipe, you might also like:
- Weeknight Instant Pot Risotto
- Garlicky Orzo Shrimp Scampi with Asparagus
- One Pot Creamy Mushroom Pasta
- Deliciously Easy Cacio E Pepe (and just 3 ingredients!)
Mushroom Parmesan Shrimp Risotto
Ingredients
- 5½-6 ½ cups seafood or shrimp stock or chicken stock homemade or store-bought see notes
- 8 ounces mushrooms sliced baby Bella or porcini
- olive oil as needed
- 12 ounces large shrimp peeled and deveined
- ⅛- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ cup white onion minced
- 2-4 cloves garlic minced
- 1¼ cup arborio rice
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¾ cup parmesan cheese grated
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons parsley chopped, plus more
Instructions
- MUSHROOM: In a medium saucepan, heat the stock over medium heat when it starts to simmer, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and let it hang out there. In a large sauté pan, add a small drizzle of olive oil to the skillet, along with the mushrooms and sauté them over medium-high until they start to develop some color, about 3-4 minutes. Season them with a big pinch of salt and pepper, remove to a plate.
- SHRIMP: Add another small drizzle of olive oil to the skillet along with the shrimp. Season them with a big pinch of salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Stir and let them cook for just a minute or until they start to curl up like a ‘c’ shape. Remove to the same plate as the mushrooms, set aside.
- RISOTTO: Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the same sauté pan set over medium heat and add the onions to the pan and season them with a big pinch of salt and let them cook for 3-4 minutes then add the garlic and let cook 30 seconds before stirring in the arborio rice. Allow the rice to toast for just 1 minute, then add a 1 cup of the warmed stock and push the mixture around in the pan with a wooden spoon. Set a timer for 20 minutes as soon as you add the broth. When most of the liquid has evaporated from the pan, add another ½ cup of stock, stir, and continue this process until the timer goes off. Test the rice at this point and see if it needs to be cooked longer, you can let it go for another 5 minutes or until the arborio rice has cooked and is soft and creamy. You may not end up using all the broth, it just depends on how much the rice soaks up! I needed about 6 cups.
- FINISH: Stir in the butter along with the grated parmesan cheese, add the sautéed mushrooms, the shrimp, and the parsley. Cover and let the risotto hang out for about 5 minutes so the flavors have a chance to blend. Serve topped with additional parsley and with lemon wedges.
Notes
- Homemade stock: Combine the peels of 2 lbs. of shrimp, 8 cups water, 1 chicken bouillon cube (or the equivalent of better than bouillon in teaspoons) a few sprigs of parsley, 1 teaspoon peppercorns, 2 cloves garlic along with a big pinch of salt in a medium saucepan. Allow the stock to come to a gentle boil, then lower the heat and let simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the stock through a strainer and place back in the saucepan over low heat.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
Turned out beautifully! One of my guests said, “I’d be happy if this was served to me at a restaurant.” Which of course, was meant as a fine compliment.
What I like about the recipe is the process of preparing the mushrooms, then the shrimp first and simply adding them at the end. This made the flavors of the mushrooms and shrimp pop.
I also really appreciated the suggestion of setting a 20 minute timer for the active time cooking the risotto. I’ve made risotto occasionally for many years without timing, but for me this 20 minute timer was a game changer as I wasn’t constantly wondering, “Is it done?” I only tested the risotto once, just at 15 minutes, and it wasn’t ready yet. But magically, it was ready right at 20 minutes. Thank you for sharing your expertise and delicious recipe.
I made the mushroom shrimp Parmesan risotto and it was fabulous! Can you make this dish ahead of time? I am throwing a large dinner party and want to know if it would be ok to make it several hours ahead of time and warm in the oven before my guests arrive.
I made this for the first time tonight and I didn’t have red pepper flakes. I substituted them with a little creole seasoning and also substituted a half cup of stock for a half cup of dry white wine (barefoot Pinot Grisio)… Omgs it was FIRE!! You can do so much with risotto! Thank you for sharing!
I made this for the first time tonight and I didn’t have red pepper flakes. I substituted them with a little creole seasoning and also substituted a half cup of stock for a half cup of dry white wine (barefoot Pinot Grisio)… Omgs it was FIRE!! You can do so much with risotto! Thank you for sharing!
Absolutely delicious. We’ve used this recipe several times always comes out perfect. Thank you .
Gr8 recipe and so easy to follow…I added a little more parmesan cheese..and at end baby spinach and rocket…
Amazing!!!
I dont think I’ve ever commented after using a recipe before. But , wow! I am just finishing up this recipe now and it’s already amazing. (Just letting it simmer all together)
Don’t hesitate!! Make this! (I used 3 cups of Campbells chicken and white wine broth)
Also skipped in onions.
This was spectacular. Made as written. Fast, easy, tons of flavor, restaurant quality. Perfect with some roasted broccoli on the side. Thank you!
Too much of a Parmesan flavour for us, drowns out any other flavour, was lacking and disappointing.