Instant Pot Parmesan Risotto is perfectly creamy, cheesy, and absolutely delicious. It's a no-stir risotto recipe that is so easy to make in the Instant Pot! All it takes is a few ingredients to make this delicious creamy risotto for lunch or dinner.
I'm still amazed that you can make risotto in an Instant Pot. And honestly? This Instant Pot Parmesan Risotto is the best risotto I think I've ever had. It winds up being so flavorful and beautifully creamy.
This recipe for Instant Pot Parmesan Risotto is so quick and easy to make too. Dangerously easy. And it just uses simple ingredients that I have lying around most of the time. I used a 6 Quart Instant Pot to make the cheesy risotto.
Ingredients:
- Butter - You'll need butter both for sautéing the ingredients in at the start and then for adding to the risotto at the end.
- Onion and garlic - I use yellow or white onion. And then of course there is garlic. I used 3 medium cloves for this recipe.
- Arborio rice - This is the type of rice used in risotto. It's typically kind of starchy, which helps give risotto it's creamy, starchy texture. I find this type of rice in the rice section of my grocery store. Surprise, surprise. Right where you think it would be!
- White wine - use any dry white wine you want. I used a Pinot Grigio.
- Dried thyme - There are two types of thyme in the spice aisle - ground thyme and dried thyme leaves. You don't want ground thyme for this recipe. You want the dried thyme leaves.
- Chicken stock or broth - This will help add a lot of flavor to the dish. You can use homemade stock if you have it, but I typically get a carton at the store. You can also use veggie stock if you're vegetarian.
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese - I highly recommend using freshly grated Parmesan. From a wedge of Parmesan cheese you have.
- Parsley - I like to use freshly chopped parsley to garnish. It's optional though. It just adds a touch of flavor and color to the dish.
What is an Instant Pot?
If you're looking at this recipe, you probably know what an Instant Pot is! But if not, it's a pressure cooker that allows you to saute and then pressure cook whatever you're making.
It's known for making delicious stews, soups, tender meat, and in this case, Instant Pot parmesan risotto!
How to serve:
While the cheesy parmesan risotto is delicious served as is, here are other ways our readers have served it:
- Topped with fresh herbs like fresh parsley or fresh thyme
- With green beans and red pepper flakes
- With chopped spinach and chili flakes
- With asparagus and smoked salmon or cooked shrimp
- Served with sliced chicken breast on top
- With cooked salmon on top
Recipe tips:
- One thing to always remember with the Instant Pot is that it always takes time to come to pressure. So when you set the timer for 5 minutes, it will take an additional 5-10 minutes to come to pressure before it starts counting down.
- When you take the lid off the pot, the risotto will look liquidy. However, once you stir it, it will come together nicely.
- This risotto is great served on its own, but you can also top with chicken, shrimp, or scallops. It's also delicious served with a salad.
How to make the Instant Pot risotto:
Melt butter in the pot, then cook the minced onions, then add minced garlic, and then add rice to the pot.
Add white wine to deglaze and stir.
Add the chicken broth and seasonings. And then set on manual mode for five minutes.
Quick release and remove the lid. Add the additional butter and the Parmesan cheese and stir together to combine.
Serve and enjoy!
More Instant Pot recipes to love:
Instant Pot Parmesan Risotto
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoon butter, divided
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups Arborio rice
- ½ cup white wine
- 4 cups chicken stock or broth
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¾ cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Instructions
- Prep the ingredients. Dice the onion and mince the garlic.
- Turn the Instant Pot onto SAUTE mode. Add 2 tablespoon butter to the Instant Pot and let melt.
- Add the onion and saute 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute.
- Add the Arborio rice and saute for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the white wine and deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom to make sure there isn't anything stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Hit the CANCEL button on the Instant Pot.
- Add the chicken stock, dried thyme, salt, and pepper to the pot. Stir everything to combine.
- Put the lid on the Instant Pot and set on MANUAL mode for 5 minutes. Once the 5 minutes are done, QUICK RELEASE the steam valve and let the steam escape. Remove the lid carefully once all the steam has stopped escaping the valve.
- Add 4 tablespoon butter and the grated Parmesan cheese. Stir to combine everything. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with chopped parsley and more Parmesan cheese if desired.
Notes
- One thing to always remember with the Instant Pot is that it always takes time to come to pressure. So when you set the timer for 5 minutes, it will take an additional 5-10 minutes to come to pressure before it starts counting down.
- When you take the lid off the pot, the risotto will look liquidy. However, once you stir it, it will come together nicely.
- This risotto is great served on its own, but you can also top with chicken, shrimp, or scallops. It's also delicious served with a salad.
Taylor
I LOVE risotto, but hate making it, UNTIL NOW. This recipe is amazing and so easy! This will be on rotation in our household for sure. Going to try reducing the butter next time though.
Jennifer
This was delicious. My daughter said it was the best thing I made in a long time. No more slaving over the stove . I did omit salt since the parm cheese is salty enough. Also when finished I only added 2 tablespoons of butter, not 4.
Khearra
This was the exact question I had before I make it (about reducing the butter). Thanks for sharing that!!
Shari
This was awesome!!! Thanks for sharing
Heidi Primeaux
I did this in my InstantPot. Sautéed the bacon til crisp, added the onion and cooked until done, Added white wine and garlic and scraped. Added 2.5 cups Arborio and sautéed until the wine was mostly absorbed. Added one box of chicken stock (about 4 cups), 1 cup pumpkin and two whole sprigs of thyme. Stirred. Pressure cooked for 5 minutes and then quick released. Stirred in butter, honey, and Parmesan and cracked black pepper. Topped with fresh thyme and served with seared scallops. Freaking AMAZING and so easy! Thanks for the inspiration!
foodbanjo
Your version sounds delicious! Adding the pumpkin is a genius idea!
Jennifer Rehkopf
I have made this several times now, amazing. And fool proof. I always mess up risotto on the stove! Thank you for this gem of a recipe!
April Bertram
This recipe was so delicious! I doubled it, used shallots instead of onions (added 4 tbsp butter), used 3 tablespoons of minced garlic and added 16 ounces of slice baby Bella mushrooms. Everyone raved about it. It was so easy! I can’t wait to make it again. I have a 10 quart pressure cooker.
Lindsey
How long did you cook it for since you doubled the recipe?
Jaime
Has anyone tried doubling this for a crowd? Would cook times change?
foodbanjo
This is a great question! If you're doubling the recipe, you actually may need to reduce the cook time by a minute or two. Yes, reduce.
The reason behind that is if you have more food in the pot (it's fuller), or you use an 8 quart Instant Pot because you have more food, it will take longer to come to pressure. As the Instant Pot comes to pressure, it's cooking the food a bit. So instead of taking 5-10 minutes to come to pressure, it may take 10-15 minutes or so.
So to keep it from being overcooked, you'll want to cook the risotto for 3 or 4 minutes instead of the 5 minutes the recipe calls for.
I haven't tried doubling this one myself, so I'm not sure if 3 or 4 minutes is best (I'll try next time I'm making this, because doubling this recipe sounds great!) I hope it works out for you! Let me know if you try it and how it works!
Claire Simpson-Graves
I’ve made this 3 times and it’s perfect every time. Thank you!
Sandy
I had to make a few substitutions, I used 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar in place of white wine, 2 tablespoons of onion powder as I was out of onion and sushi rice in place of aborio rice. Even with substitutes it turned out delicious.
foodbanjo
I'm so glad you loved it, even with the substitutions! Especially good to know that the sushi rice worked! I hadn't tried that before.
Lily
Came out perfect. So good and all of my family enjoyed it too!