Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto

Name: Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 cup Arborio rice; 2 cups vegetable broth; 16 oz. portobello mushrooms (quartered); ½ tsp salt; ¼ tsp black pepper

December 1, 2020Colie

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With 3 simple ingredients, you can make a delicious dinner in 20 minutes. You won’t believe how easy and tasty this Instant Pot risotto is.

What is Risotto?

Risotto is a cooking method that usually refers to rice. The method involves continual stirring to break down the starches in the grain to make the dish creamy. The cooking liquid like broth is slowly added about 1 cup at a time and as the dish is stirred the grain will absorb the liquid. This cooking method makes creamy soft grains. While Instant Pot risotto is not traditional at all, it is an easy shortcut to take!

Ingredients for Instant Pot Risotto

Arborio Rice– Arborio rice is the specific short grain rice that is used to make risotto. The starchy rice makes the risotto creamy, so you need this specific rice for classic risotto. You can find it with the other rice in the grocery store like this one.

Vegetable Broth– Since we’re not adding a lot of extra flavors into this dish, we want every ingredient to pack a punch! You can cook rice with water, but using broth will give the grains much more flavor. You can use chicken broth or vegetable broth for the vegetarians. If you want to learn more about making your own broth, check out this post! Broth will bring in some aromatic notes, and salt depending on the sodium content of your broth.

Mushrooms– Mushrooms are a great addition to risotto because they are packed full of umami flavor. By adding one vegetable (well fungus really), you get a great flavor to the dish! Mushrooms are mostly water, so when you cook them, they release their liquid. This mushroom liquid is another way the dish gets flavored well with so few ingredients.

Extra Flavor Enhancers

So obviously, with 3 ingredients plus salt and pepper, this is not the most decadent risotto recipe. This Instant Pot risotto recipe is all about ease and convivence! But, if you’ve got extra time or ingredients around, here’s some ways you could improve the flavor even more.

Optional Ingredeints

Shallot– Shallots are in the allium family with onions and garlic, and they are often used for aromatics in a dish. If you’ve never had a shallot, it has a more mild and sweeter flavor than a yellow onion. They add a really nice flavor to pasta and rice dishes, and I often swap them in for onion if I have some. For this recipe you could dice up a medium shallot at use the sauté function on the Instant Pot or just add it to the rice. A quicker option is to mix in onion powder to your broth for more flavor.

Garlic– Garlic is another aromatic that will add a nice flavor to your rice. You can buy pre-chopped garlic for ease, but the flavor doe snot compare to fresh garlic. Honestly, if I don’t want to chop garlic, I’d pick garlic powder over pre-chopped garlic. But, do whatever works best for you! You can sauté the minced garlic along with the shallot, or mix it in with the other ingredients.

White Wine– I love boozing up my rich dishes! Wine adds a really nice flavor that makes you feel like you’re eating at a fancy restaurant. You don’t need to buy fancy wine to cook with. Drink your good wine, and cook with the cheap stuff! Swap 1/4 cup of broth for white wine, and the alcohol will cook off leaving you with a nice depth of flavor in your rice.

Parmesan– If you eat cheese, a nice sprinkle of parmesan on top of this risotto finishes the dish perfectly. The bite from the cheese plus a bit more creaminess makes the risotto taste like you put so much work into the dish.

Serve this rice with your favorite protein and you’ve got yourself a fancy dinner that didn’t require any difficult cooking techniques. Check out the full recipe below!