Instant Pot Chicken and Mushroom Risotto

This recipe is for a beautiful rich and creamy Instant Pot chicken and mushroom risotto. Restaurant-style risotto made at home in just minutes – without standing over a hot stove stirring.

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How to make chicken and mushroom risotto in the Instant Pot

There’s nothing quite like a hearty risotto, and this Instant Pot Chicken and Mushroom Risotto is the perfect comfort food!

Pressure cooker risotto is my favorite type, ever since I leanred to make it in my Instant Pot. No need to stand and stir like with traditional risotto recipes, and you get a perfect creamy risotto in no time at all.

This easy recipe comes together in just a few minutes, and the Instant Pot does all the work for you. The result is a flavorful creamy risotto that’s packed with chicken and mushrooms. Serve this dish with a green salad (and maybe a glass of wine) for a complete meal.

For some more Instant Pot risotto recipes check out: Instant Pot Chicken and Pumpkin Risotto, Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto, or Instant Pot Tomato Risotto.

Scroll down for the printable card for this chicken mushroom risotto Instant Pot recipe or read on for all the details.

What do you need?

Pressure cooker

I use an Instant Pot to make this recipe, but you can use another electric pressure cooker or a multicooker with a pressure cook function.

Risotto rice

This recipe uses arborio rice. You can substitute another type of risotto rice if that is what you have, however, you should check the amount of liquid required for another rice to ensure that the rice-water ratio is correct. Add a little more chicken stock or water if required.

Tip: Do not rinse the rice before cooking! The starch in the rice is what creates the rich and creamy texture of risotto so you don’t want to remove this prior to cooking.

Chicken thighs

I use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. You can substitute chicken breast if you prefer (though chicken thighs add more flavor to the recipe).

Mushrooms

I generally use regular button mushrooms for this recipe. You can also use Portobello mushrooms. Fresh mushrooms are best.

Yellow onion

You can use red or white onions if that is what you have. If you have no fresh onions you could substitute onion flakes. Use approximately 3 tablespoons in place of a medium fresh onion.

Garlic

This recipe uses freshly crushed garlic cloves. Alternatively, you can use crushed garlic from a jar – use one teaspoon per garlic clove.

Thyme

As always fresh is best for herbs, but if you don’t have any fresh thyme to hand then you can substitute dried thyme instead.

Chicken stock

This recipe uses stock cubes and water. You can substitute liquid stock, chicken broth, or another type of stock concentrate if you lie. Just make the total volume the same as the water stated in the recipe.

You could substitute vegetable or stock if you dont have any chicken stock or broth.

Butter and olive oil

Olive oil is good for sauteing, butter adds more flavor. Skip the butter if you are dairy-free.

Parmesan cheese

I like to serve this risotto with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, or powdered Parmesan. For a dairy-free version, you could substitute nutritional yeast.

Arugula/ Rocket leaves

This risotto is great served garnished with arugula leaves, or with a side salad arugula. The spicy peppery taste of this salad leaf beautifully complements the rich creaminess of the risotto.

Feel free to skip it or substitute another type of salad leaf that you like. Baby spinach or kale are also both great.

How to make the BEST Instant Pot chicken risotto

This recipe is very simple to make. There are a few key steps to get right to make this the best chicken risotto out there:

1. Prepare the ingredients ahead of starting to cook.
2. Quickly brown the chicken and mushrooms, and saute the onions, garlic and thyme. This seals the moisture into the chicken keeping it juicy, and releases the flavours from the aromatic ingredients.
3. Add the rice to the pan (ahead of the liquid), and stir to coat the rice grains with the liquid in the pan.
4. Add the stock or broth and deglaze the pan. This just means gently scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to release any cooking residues into the stock.
5. Bring the stock to the boil, then cancel the programme. This starts the rice cooking and will help the pressure cooker to come up to fully pressure more quickly once you start pressure cooking.
6. Close and lock the lid, then pressure cook for 5 minutes.
7. Once the cook time is up, use the quick release option to open the Instant Pot spo the you don’t over-cook the risotto.
8. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese and arugula leaves.

Recipe Card

You may also like:

• Instant Pot Chicken and Pumpkin Risotto
• Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto
• Instant Pot Tomato Risotto
• Instant Pot French Onion Chicken