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This gluten free Instant Pot Brown Rice Risotto with Mushrooms is an easy recipe that can be made in any electric pressure cooker. It’s a simple dish that can be made for dinner tonight or for special occasions when you want to impress.
While this is not the traditional way to cook risotto, it is a way to enjoy the flavors and texture of risotto and still maintain a healthy lifestyle with whole grains. This easy mushroom risotto cooks quickly in the Instant Pot and is seriously delicious!
Why I love this Risotto
When I think of traditional risotto recipes, I think of standing in front of a stove and stirring for an hour… not fun. Also, traditional risotto is made with arborio rice, a superfine short grain white rice that is high in starch. To make it healthier, I used short-grain brown rice, but trust me guys this is still creamy and delicious, with no stirring.
Enjoy!
– Becca
Ingredients for Instant Pot Brown Rice Risotto with Mushrooms
- Olive oil
- Shallots: While a member of the onion family, shallots are milder in flavor and grow in clusters like garlic cloves.
- Mushrooms: Loaded with antioxidants and B vitamins, mushrooms are a vegetable you should be eating. Some of my favorite kinds for this recipe are cremini mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, or a mix of wild mushrooms.
- Asparagus: Help regulate blood sugar, are loaded with antioxidants, and can help stabilize digestion due to high amounts of protein and fiber.
- Chicken thighs: I prefer the way chicken thighs cook in the Instant Pot over breasts. Make sure to get boneless skinless thighs.
- Short grain brown rice: Short grain brown rice works well as a substitute for arborio. It is similar in texture and has a creamier texture than long grain.
- Chicken stock: I prefer homemade chicken broth for this recipe. It gives you some extra nutrients and a stronger flavor. However, if you purchase it, make sure it’s low sodium.
- Parmesan: Grab a better quality wedge of parmesan from the refrigerator section and shred it yourself. The shelf stable pre-grated variety does not melt nicely, and has additional ingredients to stop clumping.
How to cook this Instant Pot risotto recipe
- Set your Instant Pot to the sauté function and add olive oil to the bottom of the pot. Once your oil is hot, add the chopped shallots, sliced mushrooms, and chopped asparagus.
- Stirring frequently, cook until the shallots become fragrant and translucent. Transfer the veggies to a plate and set aside.
- Add your frozen chicken breast to the hot Instant Pot and sear on all sides. Turn off the Instant Pot, add black pepper, rice, and broth.
- Close and lock the lid and turn the pressure valve to sealing. Select High Pressure Cook and set the cook time for 25 minutes.
- Once the cooking time is complete, do a natural release of the pressure. This means don’t touch the sealing valve–just give it 15-20 minutes to slowly release on its own and finish cooking.
- Once the pressure valve drops remove the lid and shred chicken thighs with two forks. A stand mixer can be used to make shredding easier.
- Turn the Instant Pot to the saute setting and stir in cooked shallots, mushrooms, asparagus, and parmesan cheese.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes until the cheese is melted. Remove from heat and serve immediately. For meal prep, see the tips section for freezing and reheating instructions.
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Recipe Tips
- This recipe is incredibly versatile, you can swap veggies out for ones you like better than mushrooms and asparagus if you’d like.
- This recipe is delicious and hearty even without the chicken. If you don’t want meat in your parmesan risotto, leave it out. If you do this, I’d use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
- If you have trouble finding shallots, you can replace it with 1/4 cup chopped onion and a clove of minced garlic.
- This recipe is perfect for meal prep. Freeze any leftover risotto in individual serving sizes in an airtight container for up to 2 months. To reheat, microwave thawed serving for 2 minutes.
Healthy Eating Plans
Weight Watchers:
Using chicken breasts or thighs, each serving is 4 Points on the 2025 Plan.
21 Day Fix/Ultimate Portion Fix:
- For the entire recipe: 6 Yellow Containers, 3 Green Containers, 4 Red Containers, 1 Blue Container, 6 Teaspoons.
- Per ¾ cup serving: ½ Yellow Container, ¼ Green Container, ⅓ Red Container, ½ Teaspoons.
2B Mindset:
Add a side of vegetables for a complete lunch.
More healthy Instant Pot Recipes
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Instant Pot Brown Rice Risotto with Mushrooms
Approximate Serving Size: 3/4 cup
Servings 12 servings
This healthy Brown Rice Risotto is an easy Instant Pot recipe! Gluten free short grain brown rice with chicken, mushrooms, and asparagus pair together for a healthy dinner recipe.
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Equipment
- Instant Pot 6 qt
- Sealing Rings
- Kitchen Knife
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 shallot diced
- 1 lb mushrooms sliced. I used a gourmet blend, but baby bellas work as well
- 1 cup asparagus chopped
- 1 lb chicken thighs frozen, boneless, skinless
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 ½ cup brown rice short grain
- 5 cups chicken broth low sodium
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese shredded
Optional: salt to taste
Instructions
- Set your Instant Pot to sauté and add olive oil to the bottom. Once your oil is hot add chopped shallots, mushrooms, and asparagus. Stirring frequently, cook until the shallots become fragrant and translucent. Transfer the veggies to a plate, and set aside. 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 shallot, 1 lb mushrooms, 1 cup asparagus
- Add your frozen chicken thighs to the hot Instant Pot and sear on all sides. Turn off the Instant Pot, add black pepper, rice, and broth. 1 lb chicken thighs, ½ tsp black pepper, 1 ½ cup brown rice, 5 cups chicken broth
- Close and lock the lid and turn the pressure valve to sealing. Select Pressure Cook (high) and set the cook time for 25 minutes.
- Once the cook time is complete let the pressure release naturally. Once the pressure valve drops remove the lid and shred chicken thighs with two forks. A stand mixer can be used to make shredding easier.
- Turn the Instant Pot to sauté, and stir in cooked shallots, mushrooms, asparagus, and parmesan cheese. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the cheese is melted. Remove from heat and serve immediately. For meal prep, see the notes and tips section for freezing and reheating instructions. 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 226kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 95mg | Potassium: 375mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 130IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 1mg
Make This Recipe?
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This was so good, thank you for the recipe!
I omitted chicken and used canned mushrooms which worked fine. I was worried there was too much liquid after the rice cooked but it turned out perfect. I also added a little garlic powder and squeezed some lemon into the mixture as it sauteed at the end.
I just made this tonight. I feel like I did something wrong since it doesn’t have a lot of flavor. I used fat free chicken broth, so maybe that was it. It also needed a significant amount of salt, even though I bought the expensive parm reggianno. There was also way more liquid in the pot after cooking.
Did you use brown rice? And yes, the fat free broth could have caused that! :)
When I put this in the WW recipe builder, it comes out to almost 10 points a serving. Am I doing something wrong? I’m putting in raw rice as an ingredient, could that be doing it?
Hi Michelle!
I added it a few ways and explained the differences, I’m not sure what is different–are you using 12 servings?
This was delicious, and made a ton! I used long grain brown rice because that is what I had, and it turned out very well. It took way longer than I expected because the natural release took almost 40 minutes, but it was worth the wait! I’ll be making this one again!
Same time for frozen chicken breast?
Same time, it’ll just take longer to come to pressure.
This recipe is great after freezing!
I don’t have an instant pot is there a way to make this without one?
I have the same question….
You absolutely can, but I haven’t done it yet :)
1. Set your stove to sauté and add olive oil to the bottom of a large skillet. Once your oil is hot add chopped shallots, mushrooms, and asparagus.
2. Stir frequently and cook until the shallots become fragrant and translucent. Transfer the veggies to a plate and set aside (or grab another pan).
3. Add thawed and diced chicken breast to the hot skillet and sear on all sides. Add black pepper, rice, and 1/2 cup broth.
4. Allow the chicken to simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes, until it’s cooked through. Cook the rice at this time according to package directions.
5. Drain the extra liquid from the pan and add the cooked veggies along with parmesan cheese. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the cheese is melted. Add the cooked rice into the skillet.
6. Remove from heat and serve immediately.
This is such a great recipe! I absolutely love mushroom risotto!
Can I use fresh/defrosted chicken thighs? If so, do I need to change the cooking time?
No change in cooking time, but your pot will probably come to pressure more quickly!
mushroom risotto is my favorite!!! i’m so excited about this recipe!
SO yummy :) And filling!