Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto
by Chungah
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Easy no-fuss restaurant-quality mushroom risotto! A fool-proof recipe with the most perfect consistency every time. So creamy, so velvety!
Featured Comment
So freaking good. made it twice, once with the veggies and one without the peas and spinach. Will forever be on the menu as a special treat! So fast with the IP also, when you forget to make a starch it’s a perfect go-to.
Why you’ll love this instant pot mushroom risotto
- Restaurant-quality and affordable. Homemade risotto is incredibly budget-friendly, yielding restaurant-quality results (if not better) with a simple push of a button on your Instant Pot®, giving you complete control of all the ingredients.
- Ridiculously easy. This recipe is unbelievably easy – we’re talking no stirring, no babysitting, no fuss of any kind. The pressure cooker does all the heavy lifting for us.
- Fool-proof. Whether you’re a seasoned cook or it’s your first time making risotto, this is a fool-proof recipe that is impossible to mess up!
- Perfect consistency. The consistency of the risotto is simply perfect every single time – creamy, velvety, and al dente with a slight bite.
- Leftovers are even better. If you are graced with any leftovers, you can repurpose the extras into arancini (fried Italian rice balls!).
How to make mushroom risotto in the instant pot
- Sauté the aromatics. First, cook the garlic and onion in a 6-qt Instant Pot® until the onions are softened and translucent.
- Brown the mushrooms. Then really brown the mushrooms until tender with golden brown edges for a deeper, richer base.
- Toast the rice. Stir in the arborio rice until toasted.
- Pressure cook. Stir in the chicken broth (perfect for small portions) and thyme, pressure cooking for 6 minutes on high with an immediate quick release to avoid overcooking the risotto.
- Add the greens. Stir in the butter, spinach, peas, and Parmesan, seasoning one last time with salt and pepper.
- Serve. Serve warm, garnished with additional Parmesan.
Pro tip
Toast the arborio rice first.
This will bring out all the rich, toasty, warm, nutty flavors in the risotto.
Tools For This Recipe
6-qt Instant Pot®
Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto: Frequently Asked Questions
What mushrooms are best here?
Cremini, baby bella, chanterelles, shiitake, or oyster mushrooms are all great options. You can use an assortment or just one variety.
Can I use fresh herbs instead?
Absolutely! But because dried herbs are often more potent and concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. For example, 1 tablespoon fresh thyme = 1 teaspoon dried thyme.
What can I substitute for the spinach?
Arugula or shredded kale are both excellent options.
Why does my risotto look soupy?
After opening the lid, the risotto may look soupy but with a few stirs (and a little bit of rest), the residual starch will help thicken the risotto naturally to its final creaminess.
Can you halve the recipe?
Yes! I have had much success halving the recipe by halving all the ingredients except decreasing the arborio rice to 1/3 cup and decreasing the cook time to 5 minutes.
Can I make this vegetarian?
Sure! Swap the chicken broth for vegetable broth.
Is risotto freezer-friendly?
Risotto will not hold up very well in the freezer and can result in a grainy texture when reheated.
Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto
Easy no-fuss restaurant-quality mushroom risotto! A fool-proof recipe with the most perfect consistency every time. So creamy, so velvety!
Video
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup arborio rice
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 cups baby spinach
- ¾ cup frozen peas, thawed
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
Instructions
- Set a 6-qt Instant Pot® to the high saute setting. Melt 2 tablespoons butter; add garlic and onion, and cook, stirring often, until onions have become translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Stir in arborio rice until toasted, about 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in chicken broth and thyme. Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 6 minutes. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions.
- Stir in spinach and remaining 2 tablespoons butter until the spinach has wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in peas and Parmesan until heated through, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Serve immediately.
Equipment
Notes
- Use a variety of mushrooms. This recipe uses cremini mushrooms for convenience and simplicity but feel free to substitute baby bella, chanterelles, shiitake or oyster mushrooms, using an assortment or just one variety.
- Do not rinse the rice prior to using. Typically it is recommended to rinse rice under cold water to remove any excess starch. In this case, the excess starch is essential to risotto, providing its creamy consistency. Removing the starch (washing the arborio rice) can lead to gummy risotto.
- Deglaze with a splash of wine. Add a splash of dry white wine (pinot grigio or chardonnay) to deglaze the bottom of the pot. This helps prevent the dreaded burn signal while also adding deep flavor by lifting up all the browned bits (fond) and bright acidity to the risotto.
- Freshly grated Parmesan goes a long way. Pre-packaged shredded cheese contains anti-caking agents that can hinder their ability to melt smoothly. Freshly grated cheese is always best, melting more smoothly and evenly, and creating a far superior creamy risotto.
- Let it rest. The risotto may look soupy initially but allow it to rest for 2-3 minutes before stirring frequently. It will thicken as it sits, transforming into restaurant-quality creaminess.
- Make it vegetarian. Vegetable broth can be used for the chicken broth.
- Stir in more stock with leftovers. When reheating leftovers, stir in more broth as needed as the rice will continue to soak up the broth.
Did you make this recipe?
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Turned out well. Doubled the recipe with no problem. Only thing is the thyme is kind of overpowering. That’s the only thing I didn’t like about this recipe
Hi there. I would like to double the recipe too – what size Instant Pot do you have? I have a 6qt – will doubling everything fit?
Great tasting and easy way to make risotto! Also love that it’s easy to veganize with vegan cheese and veggie broth.
I made this as my first instant pot recipe. It was SO good, lots of compliments!
My husband is going to love coming home to this! I wanted to make risotto so bad but because you have to babysit it, I am scared my 6 month old will decide that’s when he needs me. So happy I found this recipe, Fool proof!
I made this recipe a second time and added 1 lb. cubed chicken breasts just before the mushrooms. No other changes to the recipe, and it was once again fabulous! Thank you for the excellent recipe.
I want to do this; did you have to alter the cooking time at all?
I just left another review for this recipe and saw my original. Sorry I missed your question! No, I made absolutely no alteration to the cooking time.
I love the idea of this and am going to try it tonight but I have a question, to double the recipe how would you change the amount of stock and the cooking time? I find with stovetop risotto it is hard to do a larger batch and get the same rice texture
Thanks for the great recipe
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
This is delicious. I doubled it and my family of four only left one serving behind. I served it with a green salad and my crew loved it and everyone went for seconds. Thank you!
I made this today. it was the first recipe I made in my InstantPot. It tasted lovely but I had the message “burn” and some was stuck to the bottom of the pot and I followed the recipe to the letter. Please can you confirm the measurement size of “1 cup” – mine was 250ml and I wondered if I should have put more fluid to stop the burning? It says it is for 6 but I thought the amounts were really only enough for 4. Perfecct as a starter for 6 though.
1 cup = 236.588 mL. 🙂
I left the spinach and peas out, but it was OUTSTANDING. Restaurant quality.
Thank you!
I made this for dinner tonight. I didn’t have any spinach but none the less it was amazing. I used to make risotto on the stove, stirring, stirring, stirring. This is so much easier and the results were delicious. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Recipe is great! Can I double it to make a huge pot for Christmas Eve–would the cooking time be the same??
Unfortunately, we cannot answer with certainty without further recipe testing. Please use your best judgement when making modifications and please keep in mind that the Instant Pot has a limit as to how much fits inside so that it still cooks properly.
This was delicious; however, if you are looking for the soft, rich and creamy texture from the stir-add-stir method, this is not it. I may add a bit more liquid and increase the instant pot time a bit next time. I followed the recipe exactly and it was really good, but it was more like a moist rice texture than a creamy risotto texture. Still, so easy and delicious that I will play around with it a bit to see if I can improve the texture a bit. The flavor balance was perfect.
Yummy, took suggestions and added a half cup of whie wine and a couple cups of rotiserrie chicken and left out spinach. Hmmmmm thanks or the recipe. What a quick and easy meal. My husband had thirds!
Made this last night and everyone wanted more! Will be making this a staple in our house.
Amazing!
This was my first attempt at using our Instant Pot. The risotto turned out delicious. We didn’t have all the additional ingredients so it was super basic (butter, garlic, chicken broth, arborio rice, white wine, salt and pepper). My husband is from Italy and makes an amazing risotto that takes lots of time and energy. This was quick and easy!!
Made this last night for the boyfriend. We both loved it. Creamy, delicious and perfect with the peas 🙂
Damn delicious!!! This is literally the first thing I made in an Instapot I picked up on clearance as an impulse buy at Target. The rice cooked perfectly, I didn’t have to stand there and stir it and watch it like traditional cooking methods. I’ll make this again and alter it with other things in place of the spinach, mushrooms and peas – what a great base recipe. TOP NOTCH!!!!
Good heavens, this was fantastic! I followed the recipe exactly, and it. is. divine. Thank you!
Perhaps because of the size of the pot- mine is 8 quart, I had to add another 1.5 of stock and bring it back to pressure and cook for an additional six minutes to get the rice cooked. It needed a LOT of salt and when the seasoning hit the right level, it was very good with a squeeze of lemon and some fresh parsley on top. Next time, I would put some white wine in once the onions are soft and cook that down before adding the rest of the ingredients. Not sure all cremini is the right plan. Maybe two kinds of mushrooms?
How would the cooking time be affected if I halved the recipe? Thanks!
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
I made this twice over the weekend. I made changes the second time around based on previous reviews. Subbed out 1/2 c. of water for 1/2 c. of dry white wine and used 1/3 cup of grated parm instead of 1/4 c. Both ways were delicious – though I prefer the changes – and the risotto cooked perfectly.