No more arm workout! This instant pot mushroom risotto with wheat berries is made entirely in the instant pot. It’s a rich, hearty and satisfying vegetarian dinner that you can easily whip up on a weeknight!

I consider myself someone who is fairly resistant to peer pressure. And yet, after years of seeing instant pot recipes everywhere and knowing in my heart of hearts we did not have room for another kitchen gadget, I succumbed and asked for one for Christmas.

And I have to admit, I actually kind of love it.

At first, I was simply using it to cook dry beans and whole grains on weeknights so we weren’t eating dinner at 9 pm. It’s great for that, but it’s so much more versatile, perfect for throwing together one pot meals on busy weeknights. As I have mentioned before, I am anti-slow cooker because I don’t think you get enough flavor in dishes without sautéing aromatics first (yes, I know there are slow cookers with a saute function but again, we’re working with limited storage here). What I love about the instant pot is that you can saute the veggies to start, then add in the rest of the ingredients before pressure cooking it into dinner yumminess. I’ve made soups, chiles, and the absolute best saucy chipotle chicken for tacos. And of course, this satisfying bowl of instant pot mushroom risotto, made with wheat berries and without an arm workout.

How to Make Instant Pot Risotto with Wheat Berries

This instant pot risotto made with wheat berries technically isn’t risotto, as it’s not made with rice, but it’s creamy and starchy and delicious so let’s go with it. Risotto is notoriously challenging to make - if you’ve watched more than one episode of Top Chef you know this to be true. To be honest, I’ve never made regular rice risotto in the instant pot and I’m sure it’s much better made the old fashioned way with plenty of elbow grease. Since whole grains take much longer to cook, and much more grease than my 37 year old elbows have left in them, I think using the instant pot is a wonderful short cut for risottos made with wheat berries, farro (aka farroto), and brown rice.

This instant pot mushroom risotto with wheat berries is simple to make. Start by aromatics in a mixture of butter and olive oil, a combination I love to use for flavoring purposes. Then add a mixture of sliced mushrooms and continue to cook until they have released their liquids and are lightly golden and tender. Stir in the wheat berries and toast slightly before deglazing with white wine. This means scraping up all the browned bits at the bottom with liquid, which picks up yummy caramelized flavor. When the white wine has cooked away, add broth, thyme, salt and pepper, secure the lid and cook for 30 minutes until the wheat berries are tender.

After cooking, rapid release the steam. This means pressing the pressure valve to release the pressure from the pot. Add the cream and parmesan and give it a good stir before serving garnished with additional parmesan and chopped fresh scallion.

If you haven't picked up an instant pot yet, here's the one that I use. You could also make this recipe in a pressure cooker, although the timing might be slightly different.

What Are Wheat Berries?

Maybe you’ve made it this far and you’re wondering wtf a wheat berry is? I appreciate you going for the adventure and sticking around! A wheat berry is a whole wheat kernel, the grain that wheat flour is milled from. Think of a wheat berry to wheat flour as a rice grain is to rice flour, or corn kernel to cornmeal.

If you’ve eaten farro before, wheat berries are almost exactly the same - it’s comes from a different kind of wheat. In fact, you can easily make this recipe with farro instead of wheat berries with no other substitutions. Both have a nutty flavor and chewy texture.

To make this recipe, I used Jovial eikhorn wheat berries, which were sent to me as part of a lovely little package from Jovial. Einkorn is a type of ancient wheat. It has a lower weight gluten, so some people with gluten sensitivity (however not celiac disease) can tolerate it.

What Type of Mushrooms Should I Use in This Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto Recipe?

Feel free to experiment with different types of mushrooms in this instant pot mushroom risotto recipe. But personally, I recommend using a mixture of cremini mushrooms and shiitakes. I like cremini mushrooms as a more flavorful, but still budget friendly stand-in for white mushrooms. Shiitake mushrooms are my favorite kind of mushroom, with a meaty, rich flavor and a little bit of a chew to them. You could also make this recipe with a mixture of rehydrated dried mushrooms.

Wheat Berry Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto

Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto Serving Suggestions

This instant pot mushroom risotto is hearty enough to serve on it’s own, but feel free to try the following pairings:

Top a bowl of wheat berry risotto with roasted chicken with crispy skin.
Serve with my maple miso glazed brussels sprouts or sweet and spicy roasted carrots.
The rich risotto pairs nicely with a fresh, side salad. Try my favorite chopped side salad or citrus arugula salad.
Stir in white beans at the end of cooking to add protein.
Top with a fried or poached egg.

If you like this instant pot mushroom risotto recipe, follow my whole grain recipes Pinterest board for more cooking inspiration.

This instant pot mushroom risotto recipe, images and text have been updated to give you the best possible content.

Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto with Wheat Berries

Serves 4-6ish

Ingredients:

1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoons butter
1/2 large yellow onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 cups wheat berries (I used Jovial einkorn wheat berries)
3/4 cup white wine
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup heavy cream or half and half
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 scallion, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

Heat olive oil and butter in an instant pot set to saute. Add onion and garlic and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, season with a pinch of salt and black pepper, and saute until tender and mushrooms have released their liquid, about 7 minutes.
Stir wheat berries into the instant pot and allow to toast for a minute until fragrant. Pour in white wine, scraping up any browned bits at the bottom, and stir constantly until the white wine is mostly absorbed. Add broth, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and stir to combine. Secure lid and set to 30 minutes of pressure cooking.
After 30 minutes, rapid release the steam. Stir in the cream and parmesan cheese until creamy. Season with additional salt and black pepper to taste. Serve garnished with chopped scallion.