Spinach and Goat Cheese Risotto in the Pressure Cooker {Instant Pot}

Creamy Italian rice, with tangy goat cheese, bitter-sweet spinach, and crunchy pecans– a wonderful vegetarian meal! Make this spinach and goat cheese risotto in the pressure cooker and dinner will be on the table in 20 minutes!

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If you were to ask me what kitchen utensil I couldn’t live without—I’d say the pressure cooker.  Dinner on the table takes one-third of the time as with regular stove-top cooking. More vitamins remain in pressure cooked vegetables, and then there’s creamy Italian risotto lickety-split!

Have you heard the stories about pressure cookers exploding their contents all over the kitchen ceiling? My family has a blown-lid tale to tell as well.

That didn’t stop my mother from cooking corned beef and cabbage in a pressure cooker every St. Patrick’s Day, or teaching me the merits of steaming artichokes in 2/3 less time. Beans such as pintos, chickpeas, black beans, white beans and beets cook in record time in a pressure cooker, especially at our 7000 feet above sea level.

Lorna Sass, author of several cookbooks about pressure cookery, is my pressure cookery mentor. I learned a lot from her Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure, my pressure cooker bible.

I own 3 pressure cookers–my newest is an Instant Pot. The first pressure cooker I bought is an Italian-made jiggle-top. My newer Swiss model, by Kuhn-Rikon, is second generation, with backup mechanisms to prevent buildup of excess pressure.

Arborio Rice

Risotto is made with a short and fat-grained white rice, Arborio. It’s the starch of this rice that gives risotto the creamy texture. Do not rinse the rice or the starch will be lost.

** If you don’t own a pressure cooker, you’ll need more veggie broth, for a total of 5 1/2 to 6 cups. Ladle in the stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring all the while (about 40 minutes,) until the rice is creamy and tender.

Make it a fabulous week–get in the kitchen and cook risotto!

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5 from 4 votes

Spinach and Goat Cheese Risotto in the Pressure Cooker

Risotto--easy and quick in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time20 mins

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Vegetarian

Keyword: risotto, pressure cooker, spinach

Servings: 8 servings.

Author: Letty | @lettyskitchen

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic , minced
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 3 1/2 cups hot vegetable broth
• 12 ounces spinach leaves , washed and stems removed, chopped in 1-inch pieces
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 4 ounces soft goat cheese
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans

Instructions

• In a pressure cooker, heat the olive oil over medium flame.
• Add the onions and garlic. Cook and stir until the onion is soft.
• Add the rice, stirring to coat with the oil, cooking for a minute or so.
• Pour in the wine and cook and stir until the wine is almost all absorbed.
• Add 3 cups of the vegetable broth.
• Close the lid and over high heat bring the cooker to high pressure. (This is when jiggle-top cookers make lots of noise. On my Kuhn-Rikon, 2 red rings are visible on the pop-up valve.)
• Lower the heat, making sure to maintain the high pressure, and cook for 4 minutes.
• Reduce the pressure by the carrying the cooker to the sink and running cold water over the lid.
• Stir in the spinach and continue to cook over medium heat, uncovered, stirring constantly, about three minutes.
• The spinach should be well wilted and the rice tender to your bite, but with chewy texture.
• Add more broth, stirring, if the rice seems to need a bit more cooking.
• Season generously with black pepper.
• Stir in the lemon juice. Crumble the goat cheese and stir that in.
• Season with more pepper and salt if needed.
• Serve garnished with pecans.

Notes

Form cold leftovers into rice cakes and cook in a skillet with plenty of olive oil.

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