Instant Pot Chicken Risotto Recipe – Easiest Way
Looking for tasty main dish Instant Pot recipes for easy dinners? This creamy risotto with tender chicken pieces is the ultimate “one-pot” perfect comfort food. If you’ve never had this northern Italian rice dish with its wonderful creamy consistency, you’re in for a treat! This pressure cooker risotto is one of our favorite dinner recipes.
If this is your first time cooking with Arborio rice, it’s simply a type of pearly white rice used in many rice recipes. It’s a short-grain rice used primarily in the preparation of good risotto.
Instead of making this dish the traditional way by standing with a wooden spoon over a hot stove or waiting hours on a slow cooker, grab your electric pressure cooker. Pressure cooking saves time and is one of the easiest ways to get a delicious meal on the table. Once you see how easy it is to make risotto this way, you may never return to the traditional method of constantly stirring over high heat again like the original Italian stove-top version calls for!
Do a quick release of the steam as soon as the cooking circle has finished. You want the rice to be al dente and if it sits in the pressure cooker too long, it will become mushy.
What Is Instant Pot Chicken Risotto?
Risotto is a northern Italian rice dish cooked with broth until it reaches a creamy consistency. Depending on the meal, the broth can be from meat, fish, or vegetables.
Risotto is one of the most common ways of eating rice in Italy and Italians usually served risotto as a first course before the main course. This recipe for chicken risotto is the main course meal, however. It pairs beautifully with a salad or steamed vegetables.
Print the recipe card with full instructions and ingredients for this delicious Instant Pot risotto recipe below!
For the wine, I recommend a Pinot Grigio, but you can also use a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc.
Instant Pot Chicken Risotto With Lemon Recipe
Looking for tasty main dish Instant Pot recipes for easy dinners? This creamy risotto with tender chicken pieces is the ultimate “one-pot” perfect comfort food. If you’ve never had this northern Italian rice dish with its wonderful creamy consistency, you’re in for a treat! This pressure cooker risotto is one of our favorite dinner recipes.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, extra virgin, divided
- ¼ cup butter, unsalted
- 1 pound chicken breast, boneless, skinless bite-sized pieces
- ½ red onion, medium, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 cup arborio rice
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 1 ¾ cup chicken broth
- 1 ½ cups Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 3 Tbsp parsley, chopped
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, additional to serve
- kosher salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Select the Sauté mode and adjust the Sauté setting to high. Add one tablespoon olive oil to the unit. Once hot, add the chicken and generously season with salt and black pepper. Sauté, stirring frequently, to brown chicken on all sides, approximately 3-4 minutes.
- Transfer the chicken to a plate with a slotted spoon and add the remaining olive oil and butter to the unit. Add the chopped onion, minced garlic, and dried thyme. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste, and stir to combine.
- Sauté onion mixture, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and begins to develop some color, approximately 4-5 minutes.
- Add the Arborio rice and “toast” for 1-2 minutes by stirring continually in the hot butter and oil. Add the white wine and deglaze the container by gently scraping with a spatula to remove any browned bits from the bottom.
- When the liquid is reduced by one half, press Cancel to turn the unit off. Return the chicken and any juices from the plate to the container and pour the chicken stock on top.
- Cover and lock the lid into place. Set the pressure release valve to the sealing position and then select the “Manual” pressure cook button on the high setting. Set the cook time to 6 minutes.
- At the end of the cooking time, do an immediate quick release of the remaining pressure. Once the pin drops and there is no more steam coming out, carefully open lid.
- Stir in the Parmesan cheese, fresh parsley, lemon zest, and fresh lemon juice. Season with additional salt and black pepper, if desired, and stir to combine.
- Cover and let sit for 4-5 minutes to allow any excess liquid to be absorbed creating a creamy texture. Remove the lid and give the risotto a quick stir before transferring to individual serving bowls. Serve this Instant Pot lemon chicken risotto immediately with additional grated Parmesan cheese on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
If this is your first time cooking with Arborio rice, it’s simply a type of pearly white rice used in many rice recipes. It’s a short-grain rice used primarily in the preparation of good risotto.
If you don’t have any garlic cloves on hand, feel free to substitute ½ teaspoon garlic powder in this instant pot chicken recipe.
For the wine, we recommend a Pinot Grigio.
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1 grams Amount Per Serving Calories 555Total Fat 21gSaturated Fat 8gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 11gCholesterol 100mgSodium 1128mgCarbohydrates 45gFiber 2gSugar 2gProtein 42gIf you’re looking for an easy weeknight dinner, no need to spend a long time with constant stirring! Just head to the grocery store, grab your ingredients, and listen for those Instant Pot beeps while whipping up this pressure cooker chicken risotto. Your family will be licking the bottom of the pot!
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