Bacon and Mushroom Risotto made easy in your Pressure Cooker. Adding New Mexico Chile powder brings a Southwestern kick and compliments the nutty flavor of Arborio Rice. A meal in itself, or a side dish for your favorite entree.
Cooking Risotto In An Instant Pot:
Pressure Cooker Risotto is so easy it’s hard to believe that risotto’s reputable creamy luxurious texture isn’t compromised by a six minute pressure cook.
Not to mention the absence of the custom of standing over the pot and stirring…and stirring. I’m hooked and look forward to more risotto creations from my pot.
Scientifically there’s something about a pressure cooker and its results on rice that seems to make it softer, stickier and the flavor seems better. The Instant Pot website says that “cooking under pressure or at higher temperature starch in rice gelatinizes to the maximum degree. This is why pressure cooked rice has a softer and stickier grain texture in comparison to boiled and steamed rice at normal pressure”.
I also noticed a more desirable texture when I cooked pasta in the Instant Pot. My Chicken Chipotle Mac and Cheese seemed to simply melt in my mouth, in a very favorable and flavor-able way.
The Inspiration for This Bacon Mushroom Risotto :
This recipe is obviously inspired by my recent trip and my obsession with New Mexico chile powder. Not to mention that everything is better with smoky bacon.
New Mexico Chile Powder is a treasure to have in your pantry, you can sprinkle it on about anything. Potatoes, omelets and of course in soups.
When I first started using this beautiful rust colored powder, it was mainly saved for my Hatch Green Chile, Colorado Style. But if you think outside the box, the uses for New Mexico chile powder are endless. Point in case with this recipe, where a traditionally Italian dish gets a dose of Southwestern love.
The Flavor Profile of This Recipe:
The woodsy flavor of shiitake mushrooms are a great partner for the earthy rich flavor of the chile powder. Smoky bacon adds a layer of unforgettable flavor.
And that creamy aborio rice brings the whole dish together for an exciting version of risotto. The Chimayo Chile Powder brings a beautiful tinge of heat. A single teaspoon worked perfect for our palate, add more or less depending on your tolerance for spice
Chimayo Chile Powder can be hard to come by, so if you don ‘t have any, use a pure chile powder substitute a New Mexico powder or Ancho for this recipe. I hope you give this Instant Pot Risotto a try and let me know what you think.
Tips For Success
- Use a good quality arborio rice, a high starch, short grain rice. I always grab a bag of Lundbergs which is readily available at most markets.
Instant Pot Bacon and Mushroom Risotto
How fun to have an easy weeknight risotto recipe, and especially one that’s spiked with Southwestern heat. This is also a gluten free recipe.
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Mexican Chicken Soup
- Mexican Chorizo Instant Pot Pinto Beans
- Instant Pot Chipotle Mac and Cheese
- Instant Pot Scalloped Potatoes with Green Chile
And if you’re feeling nostalgic, you won’t want to miss this old fashioned Broccoli Cheez Whiz Rice Casserole. So old-fashioned that there’s no Instant Pot required. The reason I’m mentioning it, is because it’s the most popular rice dish on my site.
And if you love Mexican Southwestern food as much as we do, why not browse my Mexican Southwest Recipes category. You’ll find a ton of spicy love. Including the most popular recipe on my site, Hatch Green Chili, Colorado Style.
If you liked this recipe, please leave a star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I always appreciate your feedback and hearing how everything went.
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Instant Pot Bacon and Mushroom Risotto
Ingredients
- 6 ounces Bacon chopped and cooked to crispy stage
- 1 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 small shallots minced
- 4-6 large Shiitake Mushrooms cleaned and sliced
- ¾ cup arborio rice
- 1 teaspoon pure chile powder such as Chimayó or ancho
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock placed in a Pyrex measuring cup and heated in microwave
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- In a fry pan, cook the chopped bacon until crispy stage. Drain on paper towels and set aside.
- Set the Instant Pot to Sautee. When hot, add oil and butter. Add mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes, add the shallots and cook, stirring constantly for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the rice, chile powder and bay leaf and stir until rice is nicely coated., stirring for 1 minute. Add the warmed chicken stock.
- Press the cancel button. Close the lid to the Instant Pot. Put the lid on, lock, and set the pressure release valve to ‘sealed’. Press ‘pressure cook on high, and set the timer for 6 minutes.When the timer beeps, release the pressure and open the pot.
- Stir in the cheese, cream, cooked bacon pieces and a little more butter if you'd like. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
Made this twice now. It’s so good!!! Looking forward to more posts.
Thank you so much for letting me know Kimberly. I’ve just had surgery, so haven’t spent much time in the kitchen. I’m missing my Instant Pot projects.
Hey Lea Ann, Looking forward to making this recipe! Thank you for sharing! Is the recipe correct at 8 Shitake or were the 4 mushrooms listed twice? Colleen
Such a fun, delicious way to change up risotto!
Thank you so much Barbara. We really thought it was good.
Thank you Barbara!
I fear I’m officially a chile head. I didn’t know how long the ristra would last – I was hoping a few years.