I love the idea of risotto and have long considered making my own – but the very idea of stirring constantly and adding more liquid for close to an hour just doesn’t work for a weeknight side dish for my busy family. Traditional risotto is the kind of dish you order at a fancy restaurant for that reason: it’s tricky and high-maintenance.
Finding an Instant Pot recipe I could tweak was a game changer. It’s risotto made easy. Thanks to the Instant Pot, with no stirring required, I’m now free to tackle the other parts of the meal. This is one of my all-time favorite Instant Pot dishes and the one I make most often.
The tiny bits of carrot and zucchini “confetti” in this dish add a little color, but they’re so small that even picky eaters don’t mind. Throwing it all in the food processor for chopping speeds things along even more. It’s comfort food all the way!
Instant Pot Garlic Confetti Risotto
Ingredients
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 Tbsp butter
1 cup raw carrots, shredded or finely chopped (about 1-2 peeled whole carrots)*
1 cup zucchini, shredded or finely chopped (about 1 medium)*
dash of white wine
2 cups Arborio or medium grain rice
4 cups chicken broth or stock
salt
pepper
garlic powder
Cooking Instructions
- Using the saute function on the Instant Pot, saute garlic in butter until fragrant. Add shredded carrot and zucchini and saute for 1-2 minutes until slightly softened.
- Add dash of wine and rice. Saute 1-2 more minutes until alcohol has evaporated and rice is lightly toasted.
- Add chicken broth and seasoning, according to preference (I use about 1 tsp salt, pepper and garlic powder to start – you can add more seasoning after cooking has completed). Stir to mix completely.
- Seal the lid according to the appliance directions. Set the Instant Pot on the manual setting for 12 minutes.
- Quick release (by turning the sealing valve) after cooking time has completed. Stir to get an even consistency.
NOTES
- *When I’m in a hurry, I skip hand shredding the vegetables. I cut the carrot and zucchini into 1-2″ chunks and toss them in my mini food processor for easy chopping. It creates more of a confetti effect. This is perfect for picky eaters, since it allows the vegetables to hide.
- Need more flavor? Add finely chopped onion in addition to (or in place of) the garlic. As written, the recipe is fairly mild and there’s room to make it your own.
- I use Winking Owl wine from ALDI in this recipe – it’s affordable and works great!
- The carrot and zucchini blends well with this dish and makes it hard to spot (or taste!), but if you are not a fan, you can leave them out. Sometimes I’ll double the carrot if I don’t have zucchini on hand. If you’re leaving out the veggies, hold back a little broth or substitute about 1-2 cups of another chopped vegetable: chopped mushrooms, asparagus, butternut squash, roasted tomatoes, broccoli, fresh corn, etc. (Note: if you use frozen peas, add them after cooking to avoid ugly peas. Stir frozen peas into warm risotto for the best results).
- This risotto recipe is naturally gluten-free. Use a plant-based butter substitute (like Earth Balance) to make it dairy-free.
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