Our Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot) Risotto includes some of your favourite spring veggies and it’s on the table in under 30 minutes! Even better, you can make this impressive dish on a very reasonable budget! During the time of publishing, the ENTIRE recipe cost less than $15!
Jan Scott
4-6
25 minTotal Time

Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups Arborio rice
- 1/3 cup white wine (optional)
- 4 cups chicken or veggie stock
- 3 lightly packed cups baby spinach leaves
- 1 cup frozen peas
- ½ pound asparagus*, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
- 1 cup diced ham
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 2 tbsp butter (optional)
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Turn on the sauté function of the pressure cooker and add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add in the chopped onion and sauté until almost translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the chopped garlic. The burner tends to get a little hot in sauté function, so turn it off for a minute or two if needed in order to prevent the garlic from burning.
- Add the remaining oil and the rice and stir continuously until the rice becomes translucent around the edges, but still has a white core. Pour in the wine if using (if not, deglaze the pan with 1/3 cup of your stock), stir and cook, letting it boil off.
- Add the stock and stir. Turn off the pressure cooker, and then turn on the manual setting. Cook on high for 6 minutes.
- When the time is up, do a quick release. Open the lid and it will look soupy. Add the peas, asparagus and ham to the pot and stir. Let it sit for one minute. Add the spinach and parmesan and stir again. It should look creamy, but if it’s still wet looking, cover it and let it sit for another minute or so. If you need to add more stock, do so. Stir in butter (if using) and check the seasonings, add salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Serve at once.
- *If you have thin asparagus, add it raw. If your asparagus is thicker, you may wish to steam it first or create ribbons using a vegetable peeler before adding to the instant pot.
Notes
*If you have thin asparagus, add it raw. If your asparagus is thicker, you may wish to steam it first or create ribbons using a vegetable peeler before adding to the instant pot.
Developed by Jan Scott.