Instant Pot Chicken Risotto

Instant pot chicken risotto is a hassle-free alternative to the original Italian stove-top version. No need to be standing by the pot, stirring constantly!

Jump to Recipe

All you have to do is saute the veggies, brown the chicken quickly, add the rest of the ingredients and let the Instant Pot do its magic. It’s that easy!

Now I am not sure whether you have noticed but I do cook with chicken a lot which means that I make a lot of pressure cooker chicken recipes as well. Here are some of them in case you were interested:

Did you know?

According to Wikipedia risotto is a northern Italian rice dish that is cooked to a creamy consistency. It does not really matter what kind of broth you use (chicken, vegetable, fish) but you have to use it to make it the Italian way. The key is adding it at stages, ladle by ladle while stirring constantly.

Well, this is not your traditional Italian risotto so there won’t be any stirring and broth adding happening. Just to clarify things.

How to make Instant Pot chicken risotto

Like I’ve already mentioned, the process is simpler than when making traditional Italian risotto but the result is pretty close to the original if not the same!

Start with sautéing the onions and mushrooms in your Instant Pot. Then quickly brown the diced and seasoned chicken. You can leave the onions and mushrooms in just push them to the side/edge of the pot while browning the chicken. Or you can take them out so you have more space for the chicken pieces.

Just so you know, this can be done in reversed order too – brown the meat first, take it out, saute the onion and mushrooms), etc…

When done, turn of the saute function. Add the rest of the ingredients and give everything a good stir.

Lock the lid into its position and cook under pressure on manual mode for 3 minutes. When finished, wait 7 minutes before releasing the pressure manually.

How to make Instant Pot Chicken Risotto step 1

To make this pressure cooker chicken risotto as close to the Italian version, I stirred in butter and grated Parmesan cheese. Guys, those two ingredients should not be omitted as they give this risotto a ton of flavor.

At last, I also sprinkled some chopped chives over because I had some leftover in the fridge. This is however, completely optional so if you don’t have it, don’t worry about it!

How to make Instant Pot Chicken Risotto step 2

Which rice is good for risotto?

Now the Italian short-grain rice (such as Arborio) is the best option obviously. However, I made this Instant Pot chicken risotto with paella rice (the same type I used to make Paella Valenciana) and I find this type of rice suitable for risotto as well. I also tried using sushi rice which turned out great as well.

All in all, try to look for short-grain rice in case you can’t find any of the ones I mentioned above.

Instant Pot Chicken Risotto topping with parmesan cheese

Tips for making Instant Pot chicken risotto:

You can use store-bought or homemade stock/broth (I have a recipe for instant pot chicken stock on the blog, if interested. Just note that it has almost no salt in it so the risotto will definitely need more seasoning). Bouillon cubes are also an alternative.

Note that every broth/stock (bouillon…) product is different and also has a different amount of salt added. For this reason, it’s best to season this risotto after being cooked and after the butter and Parmesan have been added. It’s better to add more salt at the very end rather than ending up with a dish that is way too salty. I also noticed that bouillon cubes make saltier stock than ready-made stock.

Don’t over-cook the meat when browning it. If you do, it will turn dry after you finish the whole cooking process.

You can use diced pork or turkey as well. Both needed 6 minutes to be cooked (and pressure released after 7 minutes).

This instant pot chicken risotto tastes best when eaten right away.

Guys, this is a very easy risotto recipe.

Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Chicken Risotto

I have quite a few Easy Instant Pot Recipes on the blog so if you need some inspiration, have a look. They are all tried and tested!

Want to see how to make Instant Pot Chicken Risotto? Watch the video!

Print Pin

4.91 from 114 votes