Fragrant with yellow saffron spice, this creamy saffron risotto is a delicious bright dish you will love! With toasted almond crunch and tart-sweet dried currants, it’s loaded with striking flavors and exotic flair.
Guess what? Italian Arborio rice cooked in the pressure cooker has the same creamy risotto quality it has when cooked traditionally! No difference. What once seemed so daunting and time-consuming has become my easy and quick way to cook this special rice.
About pressure cookers:
I confess, I’ve never made risotto without a pressure cooker. It’s the easy quick way to creamy risotto.
No pressure cooker? Make risotto the old-school way, stirring and adding broth ½ cup at a time. But I’m saying, once you’ve used a pressure cooker for risotto, you’ll never go back.
About Saffron:
Saffron is the world’s most expensive spice. Handpicking and drying saffron is extremely labor intensive. It takes approximately 14,000 tiny flower stigmas to yield an ounce of the pungent gold!
It takes very little saffron to turn simple creamy risotto into this comforting, aromatic, and colorful risotto. Just say yum and pull out your pressure cooker. or Instant Pot for the quick and easy.
Saffron Risotto with Almonds and Currants recipe notes:
- Pressure-cooked risotto with vegetables is one of our favorite weeknight dinners. You’ll want to try this recipe for bok choy risotto.
- For a simple easy broth, mix powdered vegetable broth (affiliate link) with hot water.
In Italian cuisine, saffron-tinged risotto is fairly common, known as risotto all Milanese.
Here, with added almonds and currants, saffron risotto leans a different way. Serve with a cooling tangy cucumber yogurt salad and chutney for a glamorous yet simple meal. When rhubarb is in season, make my favorite homemade chutney.
This recipe first appeared on Pressure Cooking Today.
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Saffron Risotto with Almonds and Currants
Ingredients
- ½ teaspoon saffron threads
- 2 tablespoons hot milk (dairy-free or dairy)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 1 ½ cups Arborio rice
- 3 ½ cups vegetable broth or water (see note)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon honey or sugar
- ⅓ cup coarsely chopped almonds
- ⅓ cup dried zante currants
Instructions
- Crush the saffron. Add it to the hot milk and set aside to dissove the saffron.
- Heat the oil in pressure cooker pot over medium flame. Stir in the onions and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the rice, stirring to coat with oil. Add the vegetable broth, dissolved saffron and milk, salt, honey, cinnamon stick, almonds and currants.
- Lock the lid in place and cook on high pressure 5 minutes. Quick release the pressure.
- The rice should be tender but a wee chewy, with a creamy texture, moist but not runny. After releasing the pressure, the risotto will likely be a bit soupy—cook and stir a few minutes, but not too long, so the risotto keeps it creamy texture and sheen.
- Remove the cinnamon stick. Serve immediately.
Notes
- For quick and easy broth, mix powdered vegetable broth with hot water. If using water, not broth, add ½ teaspoon more salt.
- No pressure cooker. Follow directions up until sealing the lid on the pressure cooker. Instead, stirring constantly adding the broth ½ cup at a time, always keeping the rise wet. When the rice is creamy and al dente, finish per the recipe.
This looks delicious. GREG · 27 August, 2016
Ahhh shucks. Thank you Greg! · 29 August, 2016
Is that ½ teaspoon of saffron threads which is then crushed or ½ teaspoon crushed threads, because that’s a lot of difference! · 27 July, 2025
David,
Thank you for asking. It’s 1/2 teaspoon threads before crushing. · 5 August, 2025