When it comes to risotto, my favourite is definitely a mushroom risotto. If you love a classic mushroom risotto like me, this black garlic mushroom risotto with miso takes those rich, earthy flavours up another notch. It’s creamy, deeply savoury and packed with umami, with a subtle caramel-like sweetness from the black garlic. This recipe combines chestnut and shiitake mushrooms with white miso, black garlic and butter before folding everything into creamy Arborio rice. I also use the shiitake soaking liquid in the risotto so none of that mushroom flavour goes to waste.
Better still, this is a mushroom risotto without wine, making it an easy alcohol-free alternative to traditional risotto recipes. Serve it as a comforting meat-free dinner or pair it with your favourite protein for something a little more substantial.
Why You’ll Love This Black Garlic Miso Mushroom Risotto Recipe
Combining black garlic with miso guarantees a flavour party. This recipe is absolutely packed with umami. The earthy mushrooms pair beautifully with the salty-savoury miso and slightly sweet, caramelised flavour of black garlic. It’s a fantastic twist on classic mushroom risotto, where the black garlic and miso give a familiar comfort-food dish an Asian-inspired spin without overpowering the mushrooms. Moreover, unlike many traditional risotto recipes, this mushroom risotto is made without wine, making it alcohol-free and halal-friendly. Instead, the shiitake soaking liquid and stock provide plenty of flavour.
What Does Black Garlic Taste Like?
Black garlic has a completely different flavour from fresh garlic. Instead of being sharp, pungent and spicy, it tastes mellow, sweet and deeply savoury, with subtle notes reminiscent of caramel, molasses, balsamic vinegar and dried fruit. Its texture changes too. Black garlic cloves are soft, sticky and almost paste-like, which makes them easy to mash into sauces, butter and marinades. In this risotto, I mash the black garlic into melted butter so its rich flavour coats the mushrooms and blends evenly into the rice.
Although it starts life as regular garlic, black garlic develops its dark colour and distinctive flavour through a controlled ageing process involving heat and humidity. The result is much gentler than raw or roasted garlic, but with plenty of umami depth. That sweet-savoury character pairs especially well with earthy mushrooms and miso, which is why it works so nicely in this mushroom risotto. It adds complexity without overpowering the other ingredients.
In the UK, you can find Black Garlic at the likes of Waitrose or higher-end/gourmet shops. Alternatively, it is also available on Amazon.
Can you substitute regular garlic for black garlic?
Not directly. Fresh garlic will give you a much sharper, more traditionally garlicky flavour and won’t provide the same sweetness or caramel-like depth. If possible, I’d recommend using black garlic for this recipe rather than treating the two as interchangeable.
Best Mushrooms for Mushroom Risotto
| Mushroom Type | Flavour Profile & Role |
|---|---|
| Chestnut / Cremini | Earthy, savoury and readily available; makes a great everyday risotto base |
| Shiitake | Stronger umami flavour; dried shiitake also produces flavourful soaking liquid |
| Oyster | Delicate, slightly sweet and tender |
| Maitake | Deep, woodsy flavour and great texture |
| Portobello | Rich and meaty; chop into smaller pieces |
| Mixed Wild Mushrooms | Adds more complex flavour and texture |
My pick: I like combining chestnut mushrooms with dried shiitake because you get both texture and a particularly intense mushroom flavour without needing expensive wild mushrooms.
How to Make Black Garlic Mushroom Risotto with Miso at Home
Ingredients You Need
- Arborio Rice – an Italian short-grain rice specifically for cooking risotto. Its high starchy nature is key to creating that creamy texture in a risotto. Use good-quality rice and do NOT wash the rice.
- Black Garlic
- Miso Paste – white miso preferred as it’s milder and wouldn’t overpower the black garlic flavours.
- Mushrooms – I’m using a combination of Chestnut Mushrooms and rehydrated Shiitake Mushrooms.
- Stock – chicken or vegetable stock
- Double Cream / Heavy Cream
- Cooking Oil
- Onion
- Salt & Black Pepper – to taste. Do always taste test before adding as miso and stock are already naturally savoury.
- Red Chilli Flakes (optional)
- Butter
- Chives – for garnish
- Italian Hard Cheese – grated
Cooking Tips for Making the Perfect Creamy Mushroom Risotto
- Don’t rinse the rice – you want to retain the surface starch.
- Toast the rice first – cook it for around 1–2 minutes before adding liquid.
- Keep your stock warm – cold stock repeatedly drops the temperature of the rice.
- Add stock gradually – allow each addition to mostly absorb before adding more.
- Don’t cook until completely dry – finished risotto should be loose and creamy rather than stiff enough to sit in a mound.
- Taste the rice rather than relying solely on cooking time
- Season at the end – miso, cheese and stock all contain salt, so it’s much easier to add salt than rescue an oversalted risotto.
Can You Make Mushroom Risotto Without Wine?
Absolutely. While many traditional risotto recipes use white wine after toasting the rice, you don’t need alcohol to make a flavourful risotto. In this recipe, the liquid from soaking the dried shiitake mushrooms adds extra depth before the stock is gradually incorporated. Miso and black garlic provide even more savoury complexity, so the risotto certainly doesn’t lack flavour without wine.
Common Recipe FAQs
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Ingredients
- 8-10 Dried Shiitake Mushrooms
- ½ cup Water
- 1-2 tbsp Cooking Oil
- 1 large Onion finely chopped
- 1 tsp Red Chilli Flakes optional
- 1 cup Arborio Rice
- ½ tsp Salt to taste
- 750 ml Chicken/Vegetable Stock
- 2 heaped tbsp Butter
- 4 cloves Black Garlic
- 250 g Chestnut Mushroom / Cremini Mushroom
- 1½ tbsp White Miso
- 4 tbsp Double Cream / Heavy Cream
- ⅓ cup Mozzarella Cheese shredded
- 10 g Chives finely chopped, for garnish
- Togarashi Japanese Chilli Pepper optional, to taste & for garnish
Instructions
- Rehydrate the dried shiitake mushrooms by soaking them with ¼ cup of water for 30 minutes until softened. Reserve the mushroom water.
- Heat cooking oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute chopped onions and red chilli flakes (if using) for 5-10 minutes until softened. Season with salt.
- Add Arborio Rice. Saute for 2 minutes until toasted.
- Stir in the reserved mushroom water. Cook for a minute until the liquid is absorbed.
- Add in a quarter of the chicken/vegetable broth. Stir occasionally until the liquid's absorbed. Repeat for the remaining broth until creamy and the rice has an al dente texture.
- In a separate pan, melt butter over medium heat.
- Add black garlic cloves into the pan and smash them until blended with the butter.
- Add the shiitake mushrooms. Saute for 2 minutes and then add the chestnut mushroom. Cook for 5 minutes until the mushrooms are softened.
- Stir in miso paste and season with a pinch of Japanese chilli pepper if using. Saute for 2 minutes.
- Add in the double cream and stir to combine.
- Transfer the mushroom mixture into the risotto base, add in Mozarella cheese and mix to combine.
- Garnish with chives and more Japanese chilli pepper if using. Serve warm.
Notes
- There is no need to wash the Arborio Rice before cooking. Unlike other regular varieties of rice, Arborio Rice does NOT require washing beforehand.
- Black garlic is an aged version of regular garlic. However, the two are NOT to be used interchangeably as their flavour profiles are significantly different.
- When making the risotto, stirring is required only to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot. No need to stir constantly throughout the entire process.
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Delicious! Will absolutely make again. 6/17/25 My 1st attempt at risotto. I made the following tweaks:
1. Sub parmigiana Reggiano for mozzarella for a more authentic flavor and savory notes to balance black garlic sweetness
2. Sub fresh white button mushroom for chestnut – wasn’t able to source
3. Sub heavy cream for double cream – wasn’t able to source
4. Cook arborio rice longer – personal preference (check pasta doneness before taking off heat – ours needed more stock and time to eliminate the al dente bite)
Remaining ingredients and instructions followed to the letter.
Thank you ET FoodVoyage! Excellent use of black garlic.
Hey Sarah, thanks for leaving such a lovely comment and I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Hi,
This is a fantastic post for black garlic miso mushroom risotto with good recipe and instruction. Thank you for share this recipe with us.
Thank you so much, Luis! So pleased to hear that you enjoyed the recipe 🙂