Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto

Name: Pressure Cooker Mushroom Risotto
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 ½ pounds mushrooms (cleaned and thickly sliced); Salt and black pepper (to taste); 1 medium yellow onion (finely chopped); 2 medium cloves garlic (finely minced); 1 ½ cups risotto rice; ¾ cup dry white wine; 2 teaspoons soy sauce; 1 quart vegetable broth (chicken works, too); 1 ounce finely grated Parmesan cheese (plus more for serving); 2 tablespoons cold butter; Handful finely minced parsley

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4.78 from 18 votes

Jump to Recipe 12/02/20 | Updated: 12/02/20 | by Nora

Simplify dinner tonight with this Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto! It’s full of delicious flavors and so easy to make in the pressure cooker – no endless stirring required!

frontal view of white plate with mushroom risotto

It’s always the same story, over and over again: You need dinner on the table, and you need it now. Enter your pressure cooker… And this easy mushroom risotto!

It involves a little prep in the beginning, but then it cooks itself – all in one pot, no endless stirring needed.

If you want, you can serve it with some crispy garlic parmesan chicken, but it’s entirely optional. And if your family refuses to eat a meatless meal, but you’re short on time? Well, throw in shredded rotisserie chicken when it’s done cooking. Easy peasy.

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!

ingredients for instant pot mushroom risotto with text labels — Ingredients for Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto: Mushrooms, broth, risotto rice, butter, olive oil, soy sauce, parsley, salt & pepper, onion, garlic, white wine and Parmesan cheese.

Ingredient notes

Broth: Either chicken broth or vegetable broth work best here.
Mushrooms: I used brown button mushrooms, but feel free to use white mushrooms if that’s what you have on hand. You can also use a mix of different mushrooms for a more interesting flavor – my kids will only eat button mushrooms though, so that’s what I use.
White wine: If you avoid alcohol, then just use more broth in place of the wine. It will change the flavor a little, but it’s still delicious. If you need a wine recommendation, see the FAQs further down the post.
Rice: I strongly recommend using a rice intended for risotto. See the FAQs further down in the post for specifics.
Soy sauce: The soy sauce may look weird as a risotto ingredient, but it’s there to help bring out all the amazing flavor from the mushrooms. Don’t worry if you don’t have any on hand, just leave it out. It’s a detail, not a main ingredient ?

How to make mushroom risotto in the Instant Pot

Start by pressing the “sauté” button on your instant pot. Let it heat for a minute, then add the olive oil and the mushrooms (1) and cook them until they’re softened (2).

collage of photos to show sautéing mushrooms and onion in instant pot

Add the diced onion and garlic (3) and cook for another minute, until softened (4).

Then, add in the risotto rice (5). Keep stirring for 2 minutes, until the rice is starting to look a little translucent around the edges (6). Make sure you don’t burn it in this step!

collage of steps to show how to sauté rice for risotto

Then, deglaze the pot with white wine and soy sauce (7). This just means you pour the white wine and soy sauce into the instant pot and simmer it down while scraping the bottom of the pot to release any browned bits. Finally, stir in the broth (8).

Now your risotto is ready for pressure cooking. Place the lid on the pot, seal it (9) and choose “pressure cook” on “low” (!) for 5 minutes. As soon as the time is up, follow your manufacturer’s instructions for releasing the pressure manually (10) – I always place a tea towel over the valve to keep it from splattering everywhere.

collage of steps to show how to pressure cook risotto

Now your risotto should be cooked, but still a little soup-y (11). Set the instant pot to “sauté”, stir well and cook for another 2 minutes without a lid (12).

Once the rice is cooked just right, switch off the instant pot and place the parmesan and butter on top of the rice (13). You’ll want to push them into the rice and cover them, but not stir in completely (14) at this point.

collage of steps to show finishing a mushroom risotto in the instant pot

Loosely cover the pot with the lid (do not seal!) (15), let sit for 2 minutes, then add the parsley and stir very well (16).

Serve immediately, or the risotto will lose its amazing texture!

overhead view of instant pot with mushroom risotto

Recipe tips

Cook the mushrooms until they release their juices, and then a bit longer until most of the juices have evaporated again. It will take a little time, but it’s worth it for flavor and texture.
The rice mustn’t burn when you sauté it, otherwise it will stay crispy.
If your risotto is still extremely soupy when you open the pressure cooker, remove a ladle or two of broth and see if that improves the texture (this has only happened to me once when I accidentally used long grain rice instead of risotto rice, but you never know!).

Risotto FAQs

How long does it take to make a risotto?

And why make it in the instant pot/pressure cooker?

Bare cooking time for a stovetop mushroom risotto is around 30-40 minutes.

The reason you’re making this in a pressure cooker or instant pot isn’t so much about the time, though… It’s more that you don’t have to do so much stirring!

This gives you a cooking time of about 20 minutes – and the final 5 are totally hands-off! So you can use that time to rinse your chopping board and knife, wipe down the counter and start with that glass of wine I mentioned earlier.

How do you make creamy risotto?

Usually, you make a creamy risotto by stirring it a lot while cooking. This will release the starch from the rice and make a nice and thick, creamy sauce around the grains.

With the instant pot, you only stir right at the very end, after opening the cooker. Boiling the remaining liquid while stirring for 1-2 minutes is all you need – no babysitting needed, no burnt rice because you had to go disrupt a fight after 10 minutes, just creamy goodness.

What kind of rice is used to make risotto?

The most common type of Italian short grain rice for risotto is Arborio. You should be able to find it in any larger grocery store. There is also Carnaroli and Vialone Nano, but they are usually harder to find (and more expensive).

If you have an insane craving and absolutely no risotto rice available, you can try using a short grain rice if you have that. I have made risotto with brown rice before, it’s different but still fine. The only thing you need to vary is cooking time. Just take what your rice package says and divide it by 3. That’s your instant pot cooking time!

What kind of white wine is used to make risotto?

I recommend using a dry white wine here. I used Pinot Grigio, but have also used Sauvignon Blanc in the past.

If you have Chardonnay at home, make sure it is unoaked. Oaked Chardonnay is much richer and sweeter, while unoaked is crisper and lighter. You definitely want to go for crisp and light in risotto.

overhead view of tables cape with plate filled with mushroom risotto

Serving suggestions

I always like to add a salad with a balsamic dressing on the side! Sometimes I make sautéed green beans or roasted asparagus to go with it, too.

If you want to serve a protein with the risotto, my marinated steak recipe is perfect! For chicken, I recommend my balsamic marinated chicken.

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PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.

Printable recipe

Recipe first published on 10/10/2017. I updated the photos, post and video on 12/02/2020 to make it more helpful. The recipe has stayed the same.

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