These mushroom arancini are filled with mushroom risotto, stuffed with mozzarella cheese, breaded, and fried until golden!

These mushroom arancini are a clever way to use up leftover risotto!

Recently I shared my recipe for mushroom risotto, which I deliberately doubled, to satisfy my arancini cravings the day after.

Growing up in Sicily, snacking on this glorious street-food was a MUST, especially because Messina, the city where I was born, is famous for its arancini *and cannoli*.

If you go to Sicily, make sure you cross the Strait of Messina on a ferry boat to Reggio Calabria, or vice-versa.

Not only it's a magical experience, but they sell the best arancini right on the ferry boat.

There's nothing better than overlooking the Mediterranean sea with a warm fried rice ball in your hands.

Now, making Sicilian arancini from scratch can be a little intimidating, so here's a smart way to recreate them at home. Use leftover risotto to make arancini!

Even though it doesn't follow the traditional recipe specifically, it delivers the same delicious flavor!

For this seasonal version, I used saffron and wild mushroom risotto as a base, but any of your favorite risotto recipes will do.

I made arancini with salmon & peas before and were just as delicious as these!

Mushroom arancini ingredients

This mushroom arancini balls recipe uses the most simple ingredients.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Mushroom risotto: Allow it to cool before starting the recipe, or make it the night before.
• Mozzarella: If you use fresh mozzarella, pat it dry with kitchen paper before use.
• All-purpose flour: You can also use Italian 00 flour. To make gluten-free arancini use rice flour.
• Eggs: I use medium-large eggs.
• Ppanko breadcrumbs: Although you can use any breadcrumbs you have at hand, I recommend panko breadcrumbs for extra crispy results!
• Vegetable oil: For frying the arancini balls, I recommend sunflower or peanut oil.

How to make wild mushroom arancini

Making these crunchy and cheesy balls couldn't be easier.

STEP 1. Form tiny risotto balls.

Make tiny balls with the mushroom risotto ( preferably refrigerated overnight, so the rice is nice and sticky).

I like to stuff a small piece of mozzarella cheese into the center of each ball, but you can definitely skip this step if you like.

STEP 2. Coat with the breading mixture.

Roll each ball first in beaten eggs, then into breadcrumbs.

I use panko breadcrumbs, as I feel it gives a better, lighter and crunchier consistency than other kinds.

But any breadcrumbs you have at hand would do the job.

To make gluten-free arancini, I usually opt for brown rice breadcrumbs and substitute regular all-purpose flour with rice flour.

Although it's not strictly traditional, you could also use this homemade breadcrumbs for additional flavor.

I use it all the time for making chicken cotolette and it's delicious!

STEP 3. Fry them until crispy perfection.

Traditionally you should deep-fry arancini.

Even though you don't need a large amount of oil, to make the whole recipe lighter, you could try to air-fry the arancini or bake them in the oven instead.

Once cooked, serve them straight away nice and hot!

How to store arancini

For best results, I recommend always storing your arancini uncooked and fry them right before serving.

• Freezer: Place cooked rice balls in a tray covered with parchment paper and store in the freezer for 30 minutes, then transfer the balls into an air-tight container or ziplock bag and store in the freezer up to one month. 
• Fridge: Store in an air-tight container and keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

These little golden fried risotto balls are simply delicious! Perfect for an Italian aperitivo or as a starter for a dinner party.

More Sicilian recipes to try

• Sicilian Pasta alla Norma
• Orange Olive Oil Cake
• Sicilian Lemon Granita
• Traditional Sicilian Caponata {Vegan+GF}
• Eggplant Spaghetti Sandwiches - Sicilian Doppiette di Melanzane

Did You Try This Recipe?

Please let me know how you liked it! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #thepetitecook!

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Recipe

This post was originally published in November 2016 and updated with more info.