Instant Pot Risotto Alla Parmigiana Recipe

Risotto may seem like quite a simple dish since it's basically rice cooked in broth, but it can be pretty time-consuming if cooked the standard way. As recipe developer Deniz Vergara describes the process, "With traditional risotto, you have to stir constantly for about 20 minutes as you slowly pour [in] hot broth." The reason for this is because the rice needs to absorb the liquid just a little at a time, something Vergara says is "very time consuming and high maintenance." By making risotto in an Instant Pot, however, she tells us it's "really easy to have a gourmet meal without all the fuss."

Apart from the use of the Instant Pot, however, this recipe is a really traditional one using nothing more than broth, a shallot, garlic powder, and Parmesan to flavor the rice and some half-and-half to give it a creamy consistency. It's important to use the proper rice, however. As Vergara explains, arborio is a high-starch rice, and when cooked, she says, "result[s] in a firmer, chewier, and creamier rice" than if you used any other type to make your risotto.

Once you've acquired the arborio rice necessary to make this risotto, the other ingredients should be pretty easy to lay your hands on and many of them may already be in your refrigerator or pantry. You'll need some olive oil and butter for cooking, a shallot, garlic powder, and salt to flavor the rice, broth to provide the necessary liquid to hydrate the rice, and some Parmesan cheese and half and half to finish off the dish.

Set your Instant Pot to sauté and set its timer to 6 minutes. Pour the olive oil into the pot and add 1 tablespoon of butter. Once the butter melts, cook the shallot until it's translucent. Stir the shallot as it cooks, but be careful not to let it brown! If it does, Vergara warns, "it will discolor your creamy white risotto and acquire too strong of a taste."

Stir the rice into the oil and butter along with the garlic powder and salt. Make sure it's entirely coated — as Vergara says, "It will have a nice sheen to it." Turn off the sauté setting, then pour the broth into the pot. Set the Instant Pot to cook on high pressure for 3 minutes. Once the time is up (which could take 8 minutes in all, counting the time for the pot to get up to pressure), do a manual steam release right away. If you delay the release, Vergara warns "the risotto will get mushy."

Once the Instant Pot has de-pressurized to the point where you can open it, stir the remaining butter into the rice along with the Parmesan and half-and-half. Your risotto is now ready to eat, although you can garnish it with chopped parsley and/or extra Parmesan cheese if you want to dress it up.

Vergara advises that leftover risotto can be reheated on the stove with some additional liquid (broth or half and half) to loosen it up a bit. She also suggests that it could be coated with breadcrumbs and deep-fried in order to make arancini.