Instant Pot Chicken Risotto
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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!
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 are interested:
Did you know?
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
As 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 off the saute function. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well.
Lock the lid into its position and cook under pressure on manual mode for 3 minutes. When finished, wait 7 minutes before manually releasing the pressure.
To make this pressure cooker chicken risotto as close to the Italian version, I stirred in butter and grated Parmesan cheese. Those two ingredients should not be omitted as they give this risotto a ton of flavor.
Finally, I sprinkled some chopped chives over it because I had some leftovers in the fridge. This is however, completely optional so if you don’t have it, don’t worry about it!
Which rice is good for risotto?
Now the Italian short-grain rice (such as Arborio) is the best option obviously. However, I made this 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.
Tips for making chicken risotto
You can use store-bought or homemade stock/broth (I have a recipe for 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 it is cooked and after the butter and Parmesan has been added. It’s better to add more salt at the very end rather than end up with a dish that is way too salty. I also noticed that bouillon cubes make saltier stock than ready-made stock.
Don’t overcook 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.
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!
Watch how to make instant pot risotto
Instant Pot Chicken Risotto
Ingredients
Risotto:
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion (medium)
- 7 ounces button mushrooms (200 grams)
- 1 pound chicken breast , diced (440 grams)
- 2 cups risotto rice (400 grams), see note 1 & 2
- 4 cups chicken broth , see note 3
Seasoning:
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons dried rosemary
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Other:
- 1.5 ounces unsalted butter (45 grams)
- 3 ounces parmesan cheese (90 grams), see note 6
Optional:
- fresh chives
Instructions
- Finely chop the onion. Turn on the pressure cooker and press the SAUTE function. Adjust to high. Pour in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add the chopped onion. Saute until translucent. Add cleaned and sliced mushrooms. Saute for about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, dice the chicken. Combine all the seasoning ingredients and season the chicken pieces.
- Take out the sautéed vegetables, pour in the remaining olive oil and add the chicken pieces.
- Quickly brown the meat. Turn OFF the saute function and deglaze the pot with some of the chicken stock. Throw the onions and mushrooms back in, as well as the chicken. Add the rice and chicken stock/broth and give everything a good stir.
- Cover with the lid and lock it into its position. Turn the vent to the SEALING position. Press the MANUAL button (pressure cooking) and adjust the time to 3 minutes. When the cooking is finished, wait 7 minutes before releasing the pressure manually.
- Stir in the butter and grated Parmesan. Taste it and add more seasoning if needed. Sprinkle with finely chopped chives (optional) and serve.
Video
Notes
- This recipe works also with sushi or paella rice. Each had a slightly different texture by the end of cooking. However, they all were cooked through so if you don’t have risotto rice, they would both be a great substitution.
- Two cups of risotto rice weighs about 14 ounces/395 grams.
- Chicken Stock or broth (any will work just fine) might have different amounts of salt added so I recommend seasoning the risotto at the very end, after you have already stirred in the butter and Parmesan. It might or might not need more salt.
- This recipe was developed for a 6-quart/6-liter Instant Pot pressure cooker.
- The amount of time needed for the pot to come to the pressure and time needed to release its pressure is not included in the overall cooking time. Count with an extra 20 minutes.
- Parmesan can be substituted with Grana Padano or Pecorino. The amount you add is simply up to you but I don’t recommend omitting it – add at least 2 ounces/60 grams.
- This recipe can be easily halved.
- I used dry-ingredient measuring cups for all cup measurements in this recipe.
- Make sure to cut the chicken breasts into same-size pieces. This will cook all of them equally without some being undercooked or overcooked.
Can you use chicken thigh instead of breast?
Yes, you can!
Can this recipe be made with boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts? It’s all I have on hand
Yes, it can!
Can you make this recipe with barley instead of rice?
Hi Natalie. Barley takes longer to cook so the chicken would be way over-cooked. I have a separate recipe for Instant Pot Barley Risotto if you would like to try it. Hope this helps.
This has become one of our “regular rotation” meals that I make almost weekly. My family loves it! I one-and-a-half this recipe in my 8qt Instantpot for my family of 7 (so 3 cups of risotto) and keep the liquid to rice ratio very close to 2:1 (slightly less liquid, about 5.5 cups instead of 6) and it comes out very nicely. I find this to be an incredibly versatile recipe also – I omit the mushrooms but add a couple cups of chopped veggies when I add the chicken, and sometimes stir in chopped spinach with the butter and cheese. I often forget to pull the chicken out of the freezer ahead of time so I just put it straight in frozen and add an extra 2 minutes to the pressure time. It’s trickier to season the chicken but it still comes out great, and I just pull the chicken out, shred it and mix it back in. A perfect quick meal when you don’t have a plan and it’s suddenly 5pm.
Thanks so much for finding time to leave such a detailed comment, Erin. Hope you try some other recipes from our blog! Happy Cooking! :)
I added Mascarpone cheese instead of butter and Parmesan cheese. It was wonderful.
Thank you for your feedback, Rose. Happy Instant Pot Cooking!
Just made this risotto recipe omg it’s a winner here
Hi Donna. I am glad to hear you loved it! Happy Instant Pot Cooking!
Looking forward to trying this. In your notes you mentioned halving this recipe, but how much do you increase the liquid if doubling this recipe? I have an 8qt and a big family. Still trying to figure out how to best increase recipes for the instant pot to feed my family.
Hi Erin. With doubling the recipe I found that the liquid is a bit off and sometimes it was a bit liquid-y while other times it was not. I would double everything and if it turns out too liquidy, you can just leave it on SAUTE for longer (you will probably have to stir it a lot). It will get creamy once you add butter and parmesan so it will help it kind of thicken as well. I hope this helps.
Any thoughts on using cauliflower rice instead of actual rice? How do you think it would change the cooking times? Thanks!
Hi Lindsay. I am afraid I have no idea. Never tried cooking cauliflower rice in an instant pot. Sorry!
Any suggestions on making it less dry? I looooved the flavors but it just came out really dry.
Hi Courtney. This instant pot chicken risotto should definitely not turn out dry. Did you change something in the recipe? If you didn’t it should actually turn out pretty moist. You can add more stock to make it moister but don’t add too much. Try with an extra 1/4 or 1/3 cup to see if it helps.
I really enjoyed this dish! A few things I did differently just based on availability of produce, I used whole mushrooms instead of button. My only complaint about the recipe would be the serving size. I’m always cooking for 1, and 2 cups of risotto for me makes way more than 4 servings, I’d say it’s closer to 6-8! So I’ll be eating risotto all week haha, not a bad thing but I should have maybe only used 1-1.5 cups and then less broth, maybe only 3 cups. I’ll definitely make again, though!
Thanks for your feedback, Jenna C. Sorry about the portion size. When I developed it I felt like 1 cup of rice would not feed 4 people as a main (we love risotto). I guess when you serve it with some side dishes it surely is a lot :). Have you tried freezing some of it? It is worth giving a shot.
it was 116° here yesterday and there was no way my husband was going outside to BBQ and I was not about to turn on the oven. I came across your recipe and it is the quickest and easiest chicken risotto I’ve ever made and the DH raved about it. I didn’t have mushrooms so eliminated them and added some frozen peas at the end and left them for a few minutes to thaw in the hot risotto. Thank you for this easy, delicious meal.
Thanks so much for finding time to leave the feedback, Kathy! It’s great to hear you enjoyed this recipe.
After cooking for 3 minutes, you mention waiting 7 minutes before releasing. My IP only has a dial for cooktime. Would i just let it continue cooking or set it to warm before manually releasing?
Hi Megan. You set timer to 3 minutes. When the time is up, IP beeps and if you don’t release the pressure manually right away, it starts counting time until you press cancel. So you just wait to see nr. 7 on the dial and then release the pressure. You won’t be setting anything to warm. Hope this helps.
Delicious!! Chicken ended up overcooked for me at the end, but I think I just don’t really know how to “brown” chicken correctly so my fault.
I added broccoli just to get more vegetables in there.
This was popular, will definitely have it again!
Served it with a side dish of roasted tomatoes, and it went really well together.
Thanks so much for your feedback, Lauren! Hope you try some other instant pot recipes from our blog! Happy Instant Pot Cooking! :)
I’m new to instant pot and never made risotto on a stove top so I can’t compare but this recipe was so easy and so good. Used 1 chicken breast and pressure cooked 5min, chicken was a little overcooked so next time I’ll shorten a cook time a bit. Thank you for sharing. oh green onion instead of chives works just fine.
Thanks so much for your feedback, Aya!
This has become a family favorite recipe. Fun to make and delicious.
Thanks for your feedback, David!
I usually cook my risotto on the stove top well not anymore , this was the best risotto i had ever tasted. Thank you for sharing your recipes
Thank you so much for your feedback, Millie! I am so happy you enjoyed it. It’s such a tasty dinner with minimal effort when done in instant pot :)
Woooow!! What a great recipe!!! So delicious, thank you
This was SO FABULOUS!
I use a container of mirepoix instead of onions. Saves me from smelling like an onion for hours, nothing to cut up, just dump it in, (plus the carrot and celery bits just add flavor).
And i used Italian seasoning, rather than separate rosemary etc. That might work better for those who have cut out the rosemary, easier.
I also used a hunk (I have no idea what it’s called) of black oyster mushrooms from my farm share, just the caps, not the stems or base (whatever that’s called).
THIS WILL BE A REPEAT RECIPE FOR ME!
AND EASY TO REHEAT IN MICROWAVE WITH A BIT OF WATER ADDED. LOVED LOVED LOVED IT!
Hi Mary. Thank you so much for finding time to write feedback and also letting our readers know about your substitutions! Happy Instant Pot Cooking :)
Delicious! I halved the recipe for just my husband and I and it was the perfect amount for us. I used arborio rice and it cooked perfectly in the time guidelines given. Creamy and comforting!
Thanks so much for your feedback and rating, Jaime! Hope you try some more recipes from our blog :)
Oh. My. Goodness. This is my favorite full meal made in the 🥷 so far.. I used to make a lot in my old multi cooker and I thought that was easy but oh my days! This was so quick! I used this recipe …. but I added garlic , spinach, sweet corn and peas and omitted the mushrooms (because they’re vile) and I didn’t have any rosemary 😉😋 my toddler first reaction was “mmm soooo yummy! Deeeeelicious!
Thank you!
Thank you so much for your feedback, Nicole! I am so happy to hear that. Thanks for letting our readers know that it also works with substitutions.