This quick and easy Instant Pot risotto is perfect for a weeknight dinner on the budget. Made with frozen peas, celery and Parmesan, it’s totally delicious and budget-friendly.
This Instant Pot risotto is super quick and easy and is perfect if you’re on the budget. Rice, celery, onion and frozen peas are all cheap yet nourishing foods and are often present in most kitchens already. The only thing that might make a dent on the wallet is the Parmesan cheese, but let’s face, it makes risotto into what it is – creamy, velvety, savoury goodness.
You can use this recipe as a template to use up other vegetables or ingredients. Diced carrots, mushrooms, leftover green beans or even diced beetroot, will all go well in a gorgeous risotto. I like to serve it with a simple green salad or steamed veggies on the side.
Leftovers can be turned into pan-fried rissoles or arancini balls, or you can add some tinned tuna or salmon to turn the cold risotto into nourishing fish cakes. Great for lunchboxes!
HOW TO MAKE THIS INSTANT POT RISOTTO
Risotto requires a special type of rice called arborio rice, which is a high-starch, short-grained rice that helps to give the dish that famous thickness and creaminess. I like to use organic arborio, such as this brand from Amazon, but you can use regular and cheaper risotto brands. Unlike regular white rice, DO NOT RINSE this rice before cooking or you will reduce the starch content and that’s what we need for a perfect risotto.
This recipe calls for 2 cups of stock. Essentially, it’s 2:1 ratio of stock to arborio rice for the pressure cooker recipe, so if you’re making a smaller batch or a larger batch, adjust the liquid accordingly. For a vegetarian version, use vegetable stock cube and water or ready-made stock. For omnivores, chicken stock works really well here.
You will find the full recipe down below but there are three simple steps to making this simple risotto:
Step 1. Saute the onions and butter (or olive oil) for a few minutes.
Step 2. Add the rest of the cooking ingredients and pressure cook on HIGH for 5 minutes with 5-minute natural pressure release.
Step 3. Stir in the cheese and lemon juice. Enjoy!
MORE INSTANT POT RISOTTO RECIPES
- Instant Pot Tomato Barley Risotto With Marinated Feta
- Instant Pot Beetroot Risotto With Goat’s Cheese
- Instant Pot Pea & Celery Risotto (Budget-Friendly)
- Instant Pot Risotto With Fennel & Asparagus
- Instant Pot Vegan Risotto With Green Veggies
- Instant Pot Butternut Squash Risotto
Instant Pot Risotto With Celery & Peas
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 3 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
This quick and easy Instant Pot risotto is perfect for a weeknight dinner on the budget. Made with frozen peas, celery and Parmesan, it’s totally delicious and budget-friendly. Gluten-free!
Ingredients
- About 25 grams / 2 tablespoons butter (or 3 tablespoons olive oil)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 celery sticks, diced into small cubes
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper (I used white pepper)
- 1 cup arborio rice (special risotto rice that is extra starchy)
- 1 cup frozen green baby peas
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
- Zest of 1/2 lemon (optional but nice)
- 2 cups vegetable stock (or chicken if you like, I used 1 vegetable stock cube and 2 cups water)
To finish
- 1 oz / 30 g Parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Press the Sauté key on the Instant Pot (it should say Normal, 30 mins). Add the butter (or olive oil), onions, celery, salt and pepper and sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring a few times.
- Add the rice, peas, garlic, stock and lemon zest and stir through. Press Keep Warm/Cancel key on the Instant Pot to stop the Sauté function. Make sure to scrape any rice kernels or vegetables off the inner pot walls.
- Place and lock the lid, making sure the steam releasing handle is pointing to Sealing. Press Manual, High pressure and set to 5 minutes. After 3 beeps the pressure cooker will start going.
- Once the timer goes off, allow the pressure to release for 4-5 minutes and then, carefully, use the quick release method to release the rest of the steam and pressure.
- Open the lid and stir in the Parmesan cheese and drizzle with lemon juice. Serve while hot with a side salad or veggies.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 555
- Sugar: 7.5 g
- Sodium: 1012.4 mg
- Fat: 11.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 6.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 98.5 g
- Fiber: 5.2 g
- Protein: 17.1 g
- Cholesterol: 27.6 mg
Keywords: Budget-Friendly, Rice
SAVE THIS RISOTTO RECIPE TO PINTEREST
Unbelievably fast and sooo good. 15 mins including prep and cooking. I didn’t have any peas so used beans instead. Was absolutely nom nom!!
★★★★★
Thank you! Glad you found a yummy substitute for the peas.
Ann can you please tell me how much liquid should I use to double this recipe?
Great recipe
★★★★★
This came out perfect! I omitted the celery and added some diced ham. Delicious!
YUM! Adding ham sounds delicious. So happy you enjoyed it.
I thought I clicked 5 stars. It is totally a 5 star recipe!
★★★★★
Fantastic!!! We love your feedback, and yes – pre-chopped veg is where it’s at for those easy recipes!
This is the first recipe that I have made in my instant pot. I bought pre-chopped onion and celery which made it super fast and easy. LOVED it!
★★★★
This was the very first recipe I made with my instant pot. I decided to double it–not advisable for a first-timer, I know–but it turned out great! I doubled everything except the lemon juice (I kept that the same). I sautéed for 6 minutes (instead of 4-5) and pressure-cooked on high for 4 minutes (instead of 5). It turned out rich and creamy; the whole family loved it, even the picky 11 year-old! I t did take me WAY longer than 20 minutes, though; I might have been a little slow with the new cooking method, but I think 20 mins is overly optimistic; there about 20 mins worth of chopping and grating alone here, not including cooking time. If you have your own personal sous-chef, then 20 mins is probably about right!
★★★★★
I am so happy it turned out great for you! Yes – it can be a lot of prep time and waiting for the pot to come to pressure, but we’re just accounting for “cooking” time. In any case, hopefully this winning family dish is make-again worthy. So awesome the kid loved it too! Happy pressure cooking, I hope you make many more stunning dishes.
Well, I’m impressed! This recipe was great! After rice and beef stew it was only my third recipe with my instant pot and I’m sold. It was easy, healthy, and came out creamy and filling. Great job.
★★★★★
I am so glad you enjoyed it!