Instant Pot Risotto

How to make Risotto in the Instant Pot. Impress even yourself with this amazing homemade risotto where the pressure cooker does all the hard work!

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Instant Pot Risotto with Parmesan and White Wine

I stopped ordering risotto at restaurants because of this recipe. Risotto used to be such a foreign thing to make at home because in order to get it just right you had to get every step just perfectly including stirring the dish the entire time! No one has time for that at home….

Until the rise of the Instant Pot.

Risotto works in the instant pot because risotto gets its texture from one of two ways. It needs to either be stirred constantly or not touched at all. With the pressure cooker you can ensure that the arborio rice cooking doesn’t get touched at all.

So if you haven’t tried risotto at home, now is the time!

Equipment

There are many different types of electric pressure cookers, I myself have an Instant Pot, although any brand will work for this recipe. You can also use any size for this recipe, the size shouldn’t affect the outcome of the recipe. I use a 6 quart Instant Pot.

While you have your pressure cooker out on the counter you should also try making Instant Pot Orange Chicken.

Ingredients

• Butter – Unsalted and divided. You will use a little butter at the beginning and more to finish off the dish. Make sure it is unsalted, the last thing you want is a whole batch of super salty risotto.
• Onion – I prefer a sweet onion in this recipe which works just as well as a yellow or white onion as well, you could also use 1-2 shallots if you needed to. The one type of onion I would not use though is a red onion, that will throw the whole dish off.
• Garlic – A must for risotto in my opinion, you will want a few cloves minced well. If you are a garlic lover (or hater) you can adjust the amount of minced garlic in this recipe.
• Arborio Rice – Is a very specific type of rice. It is an Italian short-grained rice. Compared to other varieties of rice arborio rice is chewier and creamier due to the high starch levels. Because of this arborio rice cannot be substituted for other rices in this recipe. Luckily arborio rice is pretty commonplace at most grocery stores.
• White Wine – White wine a staple of risotto, before the rice gets cooked in broth you will cook the rice with the wine to make sure it gets all soaked in! As for choosing white wine I recommend using a dry white wine like a  Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or Chardonnay. In the end thought I think you should choose what you like to drink.
• Chicken Stock or Broth – Risotto takes quite a bit of liquid so you will use 4 cups of chicken stock or broth.
• Dried Thyme – In this classic recipe of a plain risotto I opted for some dried thyme for flavor but feel free to swap or add-in other seasoning if you see fit. You can also use fresh thyme you will just want to double the amount.
• Kosher or Sea Salt – To avoid an overly salty dish avoid using table salt and stick to either kosher or sea salt for this recipe. If you ever get nervous about the amount of salt add less before cooking because you can always taste it at the end and see if it needs more then.
• Black Pepper (optional) – If you want to offset any richness adding a little black pepper is a great way to go. I recommend using freshly ground black pepper if that is available to you.
• Parmesan Cheese – Lastly parmesan cheese, it would be complete without parmesan cheese! I highly recommend grabbing a black for this recipe and freshly grating it yourself, it is going to melt into the risotto so much better.

For a complete detailed list of the ingredients continue towards the bottom of the page.

Instructions

Turn the Instant Pot onto SAUTÉ mode. Add 2 tablespoon butter to the Instant Pot and let melt.

Add the diced onion and sauté 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute.

Add the Arborio rice and sauté for 1 minute, stirring frequently.

Add the white wine and deglaze the pot, scraping the bottom to make sure there isn’t anything stuck to the bottom of the pot. While continuing to stir, cook the rice until no liquid remains and has been absorbed into the rice, about 2-3 minutes.

Add the chicken stock, dried thyme, salt, and pepper to the pot. Stir everything to combine.

Cancel SAUTÉ mode. Put the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure the valve is sealed. Set the Instant Pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK mode for 5 minutes. 

Once the 5 minutes are done, QUICK RELEASE the steam valve and let the steam escape. Remove the lid carefully once the valve has dropped.

Add the remaining 4 tablespoon of butter and the grated Parmesan cheese to the top. Stir to combine everything. Let rest about 5 minute before serving.

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