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This mushroom crab risotto is packed with meaty sauteed mushrooms, and rich buttery crab for the perfect Italian inspired dinner!
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At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe – my goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.
I want each reader to walk away with a solid knowledge of each recipe, with all of the tips I’ve gathered from extensive testing of each recipe. I also answer questions my friends and family have asked about my recipes, to help everyone better understand the processes we use – and why!
My Favorite Mushroom Crab Risotto
I love to make risotto- it’s an easy, hearty dish that fills your belly and feeds your soul. Plus- risottos are deceptively simple and a breeze to throw together – they just require some stirring- which makes them ideal for a dinner party or a date, where you can stand over the stove and stir, but you don’t have to go through any complicated steps or worry about messing things up. Adding Crabmeat to this simple and rustic dish elevates it to a party-perfect showstopper in no time! This Mushroom Crab Risotto is one of our family’s favorite new dishes, and it will be one of yours, too!
Tips and Tricks
Many people think that risotto is a hard dish to prepare- but it’s actually super easy. The one thing you really need to do though is stir it. Stir, stir, stir- the thick consistency comes from the starch of the rice, which is released by frequent stirring. If you’ve ever made rice pilaf and stirred it a bit too much and it got gummy, it is the exact same process- except in this case we’re trying to get that thick, sticky, gummy texture.
To speed up your risotto, keep the stock you’ll be adding to the mixture in another pan on the stove, just under boiling. Adding cold stock to each addition slows cooking time down a bit- so keeping some warmed on the stove will shave 10 minutes or so off your cooking time- and it’s not much more of a mess. If you set the stock out on a warm countertop though (or your kitchen is warm) you can easily make this into a one-pot meal by not heating your stock. Just don’t add COLD stock, whatever you do! It will make this recipe take forever!
If your rice doesn’t thicken- just get to stirring!!
Lastly, for the crabmeat- here in Colorado the only “fresh” (non-canned) crabmeat I can get is found in my grocer’s seafood case- it typically comes in a plastic tub. This is either cooked or not- but crabmeat takes such a short time to cook when packaged like this, you really just want to add it at the end of the cooking process. Adding it too early will make your risotto overly fishy and make the crabmeat gummy. Add it just at the end!
I haven’t used canned crabmeat because I’m not a huge fan of it, but if you like it, go for it! You can also use this method with a pound of shrimp- or check out one of my other risotto recipes!
Other Delicious Recipes
Try these other delicious Sweet C’s favorites next!
Click here to see all our one pot recipes!
Mushroom Crab Risotto Recipe
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Mushroom Crab Risotto
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 8 oz cremini mushrooms, cleaned and diced
- 2 shallots, diced
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 ½ cups arborio rice
- ½ cup dry vermouth, optional
- 28 oz chicken stock, lower sodium is best
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 cup water
- 9 oz container fresh lump crabmeat, not canned
- ¼ cup green onions, diced
- Parmesan Cheese, optional
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pan or ceramic dutch oven over high heat.
- When oil is shimmery, add diced onions, mushrooms, and shallots.
- When vegetables are slightly browned, add butter and stir.
- Lower heat to medium-low, add rice, stir well.
- Let rice brown just slightly (think "toasted" for a little flavor)
- Add a little bit of stock and vermouth (optional!!)- just enough to keep the consistency liquid.
- Stir frequently until rice thickens.
- Add a more stock 1 ladle full at a time to keep the risotto barely liquid while cooking. Repeat stirring frequently until thickened and adding just enough stock to keep it from burning or becoming too thick.
- When your stock is gone, and the risotto has become thicker add the salt and pepper, taste and add more salt if necessary.
- If the rice is too crunchy for your taste, add a little water and proceed with the steps above. Risotto should be slightly al dente- just a slight, teeny crunch when bit. If you over cook the rice, it will become a bit gummy- but its all individual taste.
- Add crabmeat- if cooked, just at the end to warm it up. If using uncooked crab give it about 5 minutes to cook thoroughly. You don't want it overcooked or it will be gummy and fishy.
- When risotto is thick enough to not spread all over a plate, but not so thick you can shape it like mashed potatoes, it is ready.
- Garnish with green onions and fresh grated parmesan cheese, enjoy warm!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thanks for the recipe! I deglazed with some white wine in the beginning and added the mushrooms along the way (looked like you forgot to add that in cooking steps). I also used homemade crab broth. Turned out great! Lots of stirring tho. 😛
It is called mushroom and crab risotto and the picture clearly shows mushrooms but mushrooms are no where to be found in the recipe?
whoa- big whoops! Fixing.
Love a classic risotto but cannot remember the last time i actually made one. Thanks for the inspiration – I must make this recipe!