Pressure Cook

Instant Pot Risotto

by:
March 19, 2021
4.6
8 Ratings
Instant Pot Risotto
Photo by Mark Weinberg
  • Prep time 10 minutes
  • Cook time 25 minutes
  • Serves 4 to 6
Author Notes

Risotto is delicious in a classic Italian sort of way—it only requires a few high-quality ingredients and some patience to turn plain rice into a deeply flavorful and creamy dish. While I’m willing to seek out good ingredients, I lack the patience required to make risotto on a day-to-day basis. And I want risotto more than once or twice a year, I want it monthly. Sometimes weekly. Enter my friend the Instant Pot.

As a cookbook author for said appliance, I’ve tested just about everything in the popular pressure cooker, some of which work and some…don’t. I’ll be the first to admit the Instant Pot can’t do everything, but what appliance can? Sure, it’s good at dried beans, stock, oatmeal, big tough meats. It even makes a mean cheesecake. But my favorite dish to make is hands down, Instant Pot risotto. It’s almost as good as attentively made stovetop risotto with a fraction of the effort and one dirty pot. Be still my heart.

This recipe is a simple version with a little extra Parmesan cheese, vibrant green spinach, and perky lemon, but there are endless opportunities for tweaking. Serve it as an impressive side or top with some crisp, crumbled bacon or a poached egg to make it a main dish. Leave out the greens and lemon and top with whatever strikes your fancy. A combo of tender cooked shrimp, fresh sweet corn, and basil is a summertime feast, while winter squash with roasted garlic and sausage is a wintry comfort. Roast a small bunch of beets and grate them into the risotto for a vibrant hue, garnishing with creamy feta or goat cheese. I’m even known to make breakfast risotto from time to time, the creamier cousin of savory oatmeal.

For the best possible results, use really good broth. Since almost nothing evaporates in a pressure cooker, whatever flavors you put in are what you’ll get when it comes out. Homemade chicken or vegetable broth are best. You can add a drizzle of cream at the end for extra richness, but it’s by no means required. For a nuttier, whole grain take, use short-grained brown rice and up the pressure cooking time to 25 minutes.

It’s worth noting that this recipe isn’t necessarily faster than the stovetop method. In all honesty, lots of things aren’t faster in the Instant Pot, contrary to the name. However, it’s much less intensive—sauté the onion and garlic directly in the pot, add the rice and broth, and let it go. While it’s coming to pressure and cooking, you can make the rest of your meal or you can drink a glass of wine and dance around the kitchen. I’ve done both. Add the cheese and give it a quick stir to make up for lost time and boom, it’s done. The finished dish will serve four hungry adults as a main or six as a side, but you can halve the recipe for a generous dinner party for two.
—Laurel Randolph

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine (like Sauvignon Blanc)
  • 2 cups short-grained white rice (like Arborio)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
  • 5 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
  • 5 cups packed baby spinach
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
  • 1 tablespoon salted butter
  • 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
  • 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Directions
  1. Take the lid off of the Instant Pot and turn on the sauté function, using the “normal” or “medium” setting. Once hot, add the oil followed by the onion. Sauté for about 3 minutes, or until the onion is mostly translucent. Add the garlic and sauté another minute, until fragrant.
  2. Add the wine and stir. Let simmer for about 3 minutes, or until the alcohol smell has dissipated and the liquid has reduced by half. Turn off the sauté function.
  3. Add the rice and salt and stir. Add the broth, making sure all of the rice is submerged, and secure the lid.
  4. Cook at high pressure (using the “manual” or “pressure cook” setting) for 6 minutes. Once the timer goes off at the end of the cook time, make sure the keep warm function is turned off and use a natural release for 5 minutes (leave the pot alone) followed by a quick release.
  5. Once the pressure has released, carefully remove the lid and add the spinach, cheese, butter, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Stir well to break up the rice, wilt the spinach, and make the mixture nice and creamy.
  6. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and/or lemon juice as needed. Serve topped with more Parmesan.
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3 Reviews

Wendy
Wendy January 1, 2023
Double the butter, double the cheese, and add a pinch of nutmeg - delicious!
 
Sherie
Sherie May 10, 2022
Good! Pay attention to the recipe comment “adding salt and/or lemon juice as needed.” I tasted and added a bit more lemon peel and zest. The Lemon really makes the taste pop. I predict this will become a standby in my kitchen.
 
Crockett
Crockett October 1, 2021
I recently moved, and have been trying to use up scraps of this and that.
I had some fresh spinach, some sliced baby portabellas, and a cup and a half of Arborio rice. It all came together in my imagination -- risotto!

I am used to preparing risotto the traditional, time consuming way, and everyone who eats it seems to like it. But today I did not have time to go through all that for a leftover cup and a half of Arborio rice. So I went hunting on the internet and found this recipe. Being a traditionalist, I was skeptical. But, DANG! It came out perfectly -- very creamy, and bursting with spinach and mushroom slices. Plus I had shrimp to add.

I am a skeptic no more. This recipe took less than a quarter of the time, and the results are absolutely creamy-delicious. Five stars!