Instant Pot Risotto
Finally a shortcut to achieving creamy, perfectly cooked Risotto at home - with the trusty Instant Pot! This is one of my all time favourite meals and it is infinetly customizable to suit your family's taste. Don't like mushrooms? Leave them out and opt for peas instead. Serve with seared chicken, salmon, or shrimp, or go vegetarian and leave it as is! The options are limitless :)
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Risotto:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 medium yellow onion finely chopped
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 1 pound mushrooms, cleaned and sliced optional
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 cups Arborio Rice
- 3/4 cup white wine or substitute more chicken broth
- 1 tsp coconut aminos or soy sauce
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 cup finely grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 2 tbsp cold butter cubed
- 1 cup frozen peas (if not using mushrooms) optional
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Optional Protein:
- 4 portions boneless skinless chicken breasts, salmon, or shrimp
- olive oil
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Optional Garnishes:
- 1/4 cup fresh chpped green herbs (parsley, dill, thyme, basil, or scallions would work welll)
- handful finely grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese or soft goats cheese
- drizzle olive oil extra virgin
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- lemon wedges for squeezing
Instructions
For the Risotto:
- Set the Instant Pot to Saute mode. Melt the butter and olive oil. Add the onion and celery, and saute until translucent, 6-8 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms and saute until softened, another 5-7 minutes.
- Add the garlic and arborio rice and stir for a minute until the outer layer of the rice turns translucent.
- Add the white wine and stir continually until the alcohol smell is gone and the wine is mostly evaporated/absorbed, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in the stock and coconut aminos. Turn off saute mode. Secure the Instant Pot lid and cook on manual pressure for 5 minutes. When the 5 minutes are up, perform a quick pressure release by tapping the pressure valve to venting. If serving with protien, prepare your meat while the risotto pressure cooks.
- Once the pressure is released, remove the lid (it will look watery at first, do not worry!). Add the frozen peas, if using, and stir the risotto continuously for an additional 1-2 minutes until creamy and slightly loose but not watery (the rice will continue to absorb liquid as it sits so you want to leave it slightly looser than you might think). If your risotto has gotten too stiff, you can add some more broth to loosen it up.
- Add the Parmesan, butter, lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir until well incorporated, taste and adjust seasoning by adding sea salt and fresh ground pepper, more butter, Parmesan, or lemon as needed. Keep covered with lid until ready to serve (best if served right away).
Optional Protein:
- While the risotto is pressure cooking, cook your protein. Season the protein generously with olive oil, sea salt, and fresh ground pepper. Sear in a hot cast iron pan, flipping once, until cooked through. For more detailed instructions, see my Perfect Pan Seared Chicken or Pan Seared Salmon recipes.
Optional Garnishes:
- Serve the risotto topped with the optional protein, and any optional garnishes you wish to add. I like a sprinkle of fresh herbs, a drizle of olive oil, fresh grated Parmesan (soft crumbled goat's cheese is also very good!), and fresh ground pepper. Eat immediately!
Notes
*To prepare this on the stovetop instead of the instant pot, follow steps 1-4 in a large shallow saucepan on medium low heat. Have the broth on a low simmer in a small saucepan. Add the broth to the rice 2 ladlefuls at a time, every 2-3 minutes (after each portion of broth has absorbed) as you stir continuously the rice on low heat. Continue until all the broth is used up and the rice is just cooked through, and creamy (should take about 15-20 minutes). Pick up at step 7 and garnish as directed.