Risotto is one of those recipes that I think people dread the idea of trying to make. I honestly just think there’s a lot of misconception about how it’s supposed to be cooked. I’m not saying I’m an expert in the methods of cooking risotto, truly; coming up with this recipe was actually my first time really exploring the dish and the research I did beforehand helped tremendously to set my expectations about the true ‘difficulty’ of this dish.
I’ve also got two methods for this recipe that can appeal to the person who wants to go the traditional, stovetop route and prove they can make a quality, delicious risotto, along with the easy, stress-free Instant Pot method for those of us who just want to eat and enjoy risotto without ANY of the perceived hassle.
I personally think that each method has its place: the Instant Pot is perfect for regular risotto consumption – it’s got good texture, it’s easy to make, and with an Instant Pot you can set it and forget it and end up with a warm, delicious, starchy meal. I use Arborio for this method because using fancier risotto rice in an Instant Pot feels both wasteful and honestly just a little too shameful.
I’ll admit, I’m pretty impressed with how well the Instant Pot does at making a very solid risotto with almost no effort, and after making it multiple times I’d have a hard time arguing that you should do it any other way unless you have to. It seems a bit watery when you first release the pressure and remove the internal pot, but after giving it a good stir and little it sit for just a couple of minutes, it thickens up and looks and tastes very similar to the stovetop method.
The stovetop method is unfortunately the more ‘respectable’ method, and I can say that it does come out a bit more creamy and starchy than the Instant Pot method. I would reserve this more labor-intensive cooking style for special events where I wanted to impress, likely using a more expensive high-starch-content rice like Carnaroli or Vialone Nano rather than the cheaper, less starchy Arborio rice and using a chardonnay to deglaze my pan the first time around (serving what’s left to my guests – chardonnay is the best white wine to pair with mushroom dishes!).
On that note, you definitely need a high-starch-content rice (one of the three I’ve mentioned above). You can try to make risotto with a regular rice like Jasmine or Basmati, but you’ll just end up with something mushy rather than that creamy, rich, puffy and slightly chewy texture we all love about risotto. Arborio is going to be the most economic while still having good texture, where Carnaroli & Vialone Nano are very expensive but are noticeably better than Arborio.
For the stovetop folks, here are you tips:
- Make sure you have a large enough pan, with a good amount of surface area for the rice to actually get in contact with the bottom of your pan, rather than piling up.
- Use a hot vegetable stock. If you don’t, every time you add more broth, you’re going to be cooling the risotto down every time you add more, slowing down the cooking time and setting yourself up for crunchy rice.
- While I’m providing a measurement for the stock to keep available while stirring, just have a good amount on hand so you can add as need and keep it cooking until it reaches the right texture.
- Only toast your rice for a minute. I’m the least informed about this tip, but I’ve heard that over-toasting your rice can create a harder shell or coating on the outside of the rice kernels, making it harder for them to absorb the stock and resulting in crunchier, undercooked rice.
- You want a slow, gentle bubble of a simmer as the rice is cooking, just enough to provide a little bit of movement in the rice as your stock reduces.
- Gummy rice will come with cooking your rice at too low a heat for too long, so again, aim for that gently simmer and a little bit of movement in the rice with your hot broth.
- Perhaps the biggest misconception is that you have to constantly stir risotto while it’s cooking. If you have your pan with good surface area and it’s set to the right heat, you just need to stir it every few minutes to check on it, make sure nothing is sticking, and know when you’re ready to add more stock to your pan.
So all those bullets are simply to say, have a good-sized pan, keep your heat at a gentle simmer, keep your broth hot, and make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of your pan (the same as you would cooking in all of my other oil-free saute recipes).
For either method, when it comes to taste, this recipe is:
- Pleasant
- Creamy
- Mushroom-y
- Rich-feeling
- Soft and chewy without being mushy
And that’s all I’ve got! It’s a great, simple recipe to add to your arsenal, and after making it a few times you should be an expert and can impress the people who still think risotto is difficult to make by whipping it up, stress-free for a dinner date or special event, or just turning on your Instant Pot and making it to scarf down yourself or even store it for weekly meal prep – though I think we can all agree that risotto is tastiest when fresh!
If you try out this recipe, please share it with me by commenting here or on my YouTube channel, or even tagging me in a photo on Instagram @plantsnotplastic. Enjoy!
Mushroom Risotto (Stovetop & Instant Pot!)
Equipment
- medium saucepan
- large saute pan
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 4.5-7 cups vegetable broth [note#1]
- 1 large shallot finely diced; sub 1 yellow onion or 1 leek
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 stalk celery finely diced
- 16 ounces white or cremini mushrooms cubed
- 2 cups Arborio rice sub Carnaroli or Vialone Nano rice [note #2]
- 1 tsp dried thyme sub 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
Stovetop (see cooking tips in notes)
- While doing your prep and sautéing, warm 7 cups of vegetable broth in the microwave or a medium saucepan over a low heat; turn off once bubbling to prevent too much from evaporating.
- Over medium heat, saute shallot, garlic & celery until soft, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add mushrooms and cook until water has released and cooked off, about 8-12 minutes.
- Add rice and dried thyme, stir and cook for an additional minute, then deglaze the pan with 1 cup of vegetable broth [note#1]
- Begin stirring in reserved vegetable stock one cup at a time and waiting until it has almost completely absorbed before adding the next, stirring continuously until rice is cooked through and creamy. Stirring constantly while the risotto is cooking is essential for producing it's signature texture!
- Season with salt & pepper and serve.
- Enjoy!
Instant Pot
- While doing your prep and sautéing, warm the vegetable broth in the microwave or a medium saucepan over a low heat; turn off once bubbling to prevent too much from evaporating.
- Directly in your Instant Pot on the Sauté setting (or over medium heat if using a stovetop pressure cooker), sauté shallot, garlic & celery until soft, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add mushrooms and cook until water has released and cooked off, about 8-12 minutes.
- Add rice and dried thyme, stir and cook for an additional minute, then turn the Instant Pot off (or turn off the heat on your stovetop pressure cooker) and deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup of vegetable broth [note#1] and stir well to remove anything stuck to the bottom.
- Add the remaining vegetable broth, cover with the pressure cooker lid and set the cooker to manual, high pressure for 5 minutes [note#3].
- Once Instant Pot or pressure cooker has come to pressure and 5 minute timer has gone off, release the pressure using the quick release (using an oven mitt) right away, and remove the pot insert (or the pressure cooker from the heat) to prevent the rice from overcooking.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- While you can just substitute water for most of my recipes, with something like a risotto where you aren't making your own broth (as a opposed to a soup or stew) the vegetable broth is necessary to get really good flavor. You can sub the 1/2-1 cup of vegetable broth first used to deglaze your pan with a chardonnay or other white wine. Just make sure to cook off the alcohol smell before moving on to the next step (if you are using the Instant pot, leave the Saute setting on until the alcohol has cooked off).
- You definitely need a risotto-specific rice to make risotto (at least in my opinion). Lower starch content rice like Jasmine or Basmati will just end up mushy rather than that creamy, rich, puffy and slightly chewy texture risotto is known for. I have tested all three types of high-starch-content rice, and tend to just use Arborio because it's the most affordable. The other two are much more expensive but will result in an even creamier, richer risotto. I would personally only use Carnaroli or Vialone Nano if I was really trying to impress someone because they are so dang pricey!
- While risotto typically needs to be stirred continuously to produce the starchy, creaminess risotto is known for, this is not necessary in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker because the pressure will naturally agitate the rice while it's cooking. It will not be quite as starchy as stovetop, but it still comes out great for much less effort.
- Use a large enough pan with good surface area, so the rice can actually get in contact with the bottom of your pan, rather than piling up.
- Use a hot vegetable stock. Using cold or lukewarm broth will cool down the risotto every time you add your broth to the pan, slowing down the cooking time and resulting in crunchy, undercooked rice.
- Keep extra hot stock available while stirring, just have a good amount on hand so you can add as need and keep it cooking until it reaches the right texture.
- Only toast your rice for a minute. Over-toasting it can create a harder shell or coating on the rice kernels, making it harder for them to absorb the stock and resulting in crunchy, undercooked rice.
- Aim for a slow, gentle bubble of a simmer as the rice is cooking, just enough to provide a little bit of movement in the rice as your stock reduces.
- Avoid cooking your rice at too low a heat for too long to avoid it becoming gummy.
- Perhaps the biggest misconception is that you have to constantly stir risotto while it's cooking. If you have your pan with good surface area and it's set to the right heat, you just need to stir it every few minutes to check on it, make sure nothing is sticking, and know when you're ready to add the next round of stock to the pan.
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