This creamy, flavorful Instant Pot Pumpkin Risotto recipe is easy to make and tastes delicious alongside your favorite autumn inspired main dishes. Pumpkin Risotto in your pressure cooker requires no stirring! This hands off recipe is gluten-free, vegetarian and packed with healthy ingredients without compromising taste.
Table Of Contents
Instant Pot Pumpkin Risotto is a creamy and comforting dish that combines the earthy flavors of arborio rice, pumpkin, and a rich broth. It's a popular fall and winter dish, perfect for warming up on chilly evenings. This delightful dish balances the sweetness of pumpkin with the savory goodness of risotto. It's often enjoyed as a vegetarian main course or a side dish for meat and fish.
I remember the first time I made risotto on the stove. It felt like the stirring was never going to end and by the time it did, I was so tired of this very hands on side dish that I swore I'd never make risotto again. Until I found and fell in love with the Instant Pot!
You'll love making pumpkin risotto in your pressure cooker because you don't have to stand over a stove stirring, and stirring. With the Instant Pot, just saute the vegetables, add the rice, pumpkin and seasonings and let the pressure cooker do the work for you. You're just going to love this hands-off way of cooking risotto!
Once October and November are in full swing, so are the pumpkin recipes- Instant Pot pumpkin chili and Instant Pot Pumpkin pasta are definitely worth trying next!
Ingredients
- Arborio rice
- Pumpkin puree: this recipe is made with pumpkin puree, either canned or homemade.
- Dry white wine: choose a wine such as Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc. While you can use cooking wine, I highly recommend using a real wine for the flavor benefits.
- Grated parmesan cheese
- Vegetable broth: or chicken broth.
- Onion: I prefer red onion, but sweet onion and yellow onion are both great to use too.
- Garlic: I love using roasted garlic cloves, but fresh minced garlic cloves are perfectly fine.
- Seasonings: dried parsley, dried thyme, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, salt and black pepper. If using fresh herbs, use 3 times as much.
- Butter
- Extra virgin olive oil
Step-By-Step Instructions
This recipe as written in the recipe card at the end of the post, yields 6 cups of cooked risotto.
- Set the Instant Pot to saute on high or normal for 7 minutes. Add extra virgin olive oil and diced red onion. Saute, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes. Add the minced garlic cloves, dried thyme, dried parsley, salt, pepper, nutmeg and pinch of cinnamon. Saute 1 minute more.
- Add the arborio rice and toast for 2 minutes stirring frequently. Pour in the white wine and stir until wine completely evaporates, about 1 minute.
- Turn off saute and pour in vegetable broth. Deglaze the pot to release any stuck pieces of food. Add the pumpkin puree and mix well.
- Close and seal the pressure cooker lid. Set to pressure cook / manual on high for 6 minutes. Quickly release the pressure when finished.
- Open the lid and stir in butter and grated parmesan cheese. Top with fresh parsley for serving, if desired.
How To Store
Store pressure cooker pumpkin risotto in the fridge for up to 7 days. It's freezer-friendly for up to 6 months.
What To Serve With Pumpkin Risotto
Some delicious options for serving pumpkin risotto are:
- Green salads, such as house, cobb or Caesar.
- Sauteed spinach and other greens like kale.
- Roasted or steamed vegetables, like broccoli, asparagus and green beans.
- Breads: this would be wonderful with a side of homemade garlic bread, cheese bread and Italian bread.
- Grilled chicken: choose simple chicken recipes, such as herb roasted chicken and others with simple marinades to compliment the savory flavorful risotto.
- Fish: risotto pairs wonderfully with grilled or baked salmon, white fish, bacon-wrapped scallops and shrimp, among others.
Variations
Instant Pot pumpkin risotto can easily be made to fit certain diets or to suit your taste preferences.
- Vegan: skip the butter and grated parmesan cheese at the end. Substitute with vegan butter and vegan cheese. Make sure that the dry white wine you've picked is vegan.
- Different Herbs: sage is a great herb for seasoning pumpkin and squash. Rosemary works well in this recipe too. You can mix these into the risotto or serve topped with fresh sage leaves or rosemary sprigs.
- Different Cheeses: top pumpkin risotto with goat cheese, feta cheese or asiago cheese in addition to or instead of parmesan cheese.
- Add seasonal toppings: for some crunch to your risotto, top with crushed almonds, pecans or walnuts. Or mix in dried cranberries or fresh pomegranate seeds.
- Other Squash: follow the recipe but use butternut squash puree or acorn squash puree instead of pumpkin.
- Fresh Pumpkin: you can also use pumpkin chunks, butternut squash squash chunks or acorn squash chunks rather than puree. Add them to the recipe when you would add the canned pumpkin.
Tricks To Making Perfect Instant Pot Risotto
To get perfect, flavorful creamy pumpkin risotto follow these 2 tips:
- Use the correct water to rice ratio. For every 1 cup arborio rice, use 2 cups of liquid.
- Use the correct cooking time. Arborio rice pressure cooks in 6 minutes with a quick release of pressure. This makes a risotto that is creamy, yet the rice still has a structured texture. Rice cooks much quicker in a pressure cooker than it does on the stove top. You don't want to overcook the rice and have it turn to mush or undercook it and have it turn out hard.
Recipe FAQs
Arborio rice is a traditional and commonly used rice variety for making risotto, but it is not the only option. Other short-grain rice varieties like Carnaroli and Vialone Nano are also suitable for making risotto. These rice varieties have a high starch content, which is essential for creating the creamy texture that is characteristic of a good risotto.
For every 1 cup of dry arborio rice, you need 2 cups of water or other liquid.
Recipe
Instant Pot Pumpkin Risotto
Equipment
- pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup red onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- pinch ground cinnamon
- 2 cups arborio rice
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree
- 3 tablespoon butter
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to saute on high/normal for 7 minutes. Add extra virgin olive oil and diced red onion. Saute, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes. Add the minced garlic cloves, dried thyme, dried parsley, salt, pepper, nutmeg and pinch of cinnamon. Saute 1 minute more.
- Add the arborio rice and toast for 2 minutes stirring frequently. Pour in the white wine and stir until wine completely evaporates, about 1 minute.
- Turn off saute and pour in vegetable broth. Deglaze the pot to release any stuck pieces of food. Add the pumpkin puree and mix well.
- Close and seal the pressure cooker lid. Set to pressure cook / manual on high for 6 minutes. Quickly release the pressure when finished.
- Open the lid and stir in butter and grated parmesan cheese. Top with fresh parsley for serving, if desired.
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