My Italian Wedding Risotto is a cozy Instant Pot risotto with aromatic veggies, bite sized meatballs, and lots of buttery Parmesan cheese.
Italian wedding soup + risotto = a match made in heaven!
I was inspired to make Italian wedding risotto by an email I got recently from Food & Wine calling out their 25 most popular recipes of the year. This gorgeous dish grabbed my attention and got me salivating on the spot. While I didn’t end up using their recipe, it inspired me to create my own version using my basic Instant Pot 6 minute risotto as a starting point. This unique risotto turned out great, I anticipate making it a lot in the future for company, or a cozy meal for two (Valentine’s Day is coming up!)
The Instant Pot takes one of the most tedious of recipes and makes it in 6 minutes ~ hands free! You will thank me for introducing you to this method if you haven’t tried it. It’s worth getting an IP just for the risotto alone.
what’s Italian wedding risotto?
Italian wedding risotto is a riff on Italian wedding soup: a simple rustic dish made with aromatic veggies, tiny pastina (acini de pepe pasta,) shredded greens, and bite sized meatballs.
No, they don’t serve it at Italian weddings! The name derives from an historic Neapolitan soup called minestra maritata or ‘married soup.’ It refers to the marriage of ingredients in this peasant style soup that uses leftover meats and inexpensive leafy greens like cabbage, chard, chicory, endive, escarole, and lettuce.
My Italian wedding risotto recipe has all the same elements as the traditional soup, except that we’ve substituted starchy arborio rice for the pasta, and cooked it up risotto style. Perfecto!!
what you’ll need (plus substitutions)
Be aware that this is a very simple rustic dish ~ there aren’t a lot of fancy flavors or techniques involved here, and that’s its charm. I admit that the meatballs take a few minutes to put together, but they are so worth it!! The rest of the risotto’s a cinch.
for the meatballs
- ground beef and Italian sausage meat
- the mixture of meats gives the perfect flavor and texture to these juicy meatballs. You can use just about any ground meat you like, including chicken or turkey.
- breadcrumbs
- I used Japanese panko breadcrumbs, but regular breadcrumbs will do.
- egg
- egg helps bind the meat together and keeps the meatballs moist.
- Parmesan cheese
- adds tons of flavor! Other hard aged cheeses can be used such as Romano or Asiago.
- garlic
- fresh garlic is essential in these meatballs. Only use dried garlic if you have to.
- salt and pepper
for the risotto
- arborio rice
- arborio rice is unique and there is no substitution for its pearly shape, firm bite, and the super starchy/creamy way it cooks up. Arborio rice is higher in a starch called amylopectin, which activates during cooking and results in a thick creamy texture surrounding each grain. Look for it right next to the regular rice in your supermarket. Personally I’ve found that imported Italian arborio has better texture than US brands, but experiment and judge for yourself.
- olive oil and butter
- I love to combine these two flavors!
- onion, celery, carrots
- the traditional aromatic vegetables in Italian wedding soup.
- chicken broth
- escarole or baby spinach
- bitter escarole is traditional in Italian wedding soup, but other greens can be used like spinach or kale. Slice them into thin ribbons and use as little or as much as you like and remember, big handfuls of greens shrink down to almost nothing when they hit the heat.
- Parmesan cheese
- or any nice hard aged Italian cheese you love.
the easy way to make your meatballs (you can do it ahead)
I use my stand mixer with the regular mixing blade to blend my meatball mixture. It does a great job of getting everything evenly combined and my hands are spared the whole raw meat situation. (Yes, you still need to roll the meatballs, but this helps a lot, trust me.)
the easy way to cook your meatballs (broil them!)
I pop them onto a baking sheet and broil them ~ it takes just a few minutes and they turn golden brown in no time. I do shake the pan a few times to cook them evenly and make sure they get done through (160F in the center.) This avoids messy stovetop splattering, and gives them great caramelization. Just keep them warm in the oven while your risotto cooks.
how to make your Italian wedding risotto in the Instant Pot
if you love risotto, you need to get yourself an Instant Pot. It will pay for itself countless times over with the endless restaurant worthy risottos you will make.
- Plug the machine in and press SAUTE. Press the SAUTE button until the screen reads NORMAL. This is the medium level of heat.
- Add olive oil, butter, and salt, then your aromatic veggies (onion, celery, and carrots.) Sauté them for a few minutes, stirring almost constantly.
- Add the arborio rice and sauté for a minute or so longer, stirring constantly.
- Press CANCEL, and stir in your chicken broth.
- Close and lock the lid. Set the vent to SEALING.
- Press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 6 minutes.
- When the machine beeps that it is done cooking ~ don’t do anything for an additional 5 minutes.
- Then turn the vent to VENTING. When the pressure has released, open the lid.
- Give the risotto a stir, then stir in the cheese and the chopped greens. Add a bit of additional stock, if desired.
- Serve asap topped with the meatballs and more cheese!
tips and variations
To make ahead: risotto is not a make-ahead friendly meal, it’s best eaten right away. But the Instant Pot only takes about 15 minutes from start to finish for this risotto.
Make the mini meatballs ahead of time: refrigerate them and then broil while the risotto is cooking. You can even make a double batch of the meatballs and freeze them. This makes future Italian wedding risottos insanely quick!
Make it gluten free using gluten free breadcrumbs.
What to serve with Italian wedding risotto: a simple green salad and a crusty loaf of bread is ideal. If you want to get more elaborate:
- Chopped Italian Salad Recipe
- Fennel and Citrus Salad with Fennel Vinaigrette
- Rainbow Chard Salad
- Caesar Salad
- Cherry Tomato Focaccia
- Sage Focaccia Bread
- Rosemary and Olive No Knead Focaccia Bread
How to reheat leftover risotto: you can gently warm leftover risotto in a saucepan on medium low heat. Add more broth to loosen it up. You can also microwave individual servings.
more risotto!
- Instant Pot Wild Mushroom Risotto
- Saffron Risotto with Roasted Asparagus
- Instant Pot Cheddar Risotto with Fresh Sage
- Tomato and Parmesan Risotto
- 6 Minute Instant Pot Lobster Risotto
- Instant Pot Rosé Risotto and 9 other Rosé Recipes
Italian Wedding Risotto
Equipment
- Instant Pot Pressure Cooker I use this one.
Ingredients
meatballs
- 8 ounces ground beef (I used ground sirloin)
- 8 ounces sweet Italian sausage meat (if you can't find loose sausage meat you can remove the meat from casings.)
- 1 large egg, lightly whisked
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs. I used panko.
- 1/2 cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp coarse salt
- 1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
risotto
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp coarse salt
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, cut in small dice
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and cut in small dice
- 1 rib celery, cut in small dice
- 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
- 2-3 handfuls escarole, kale, or baby spinach, cut in thin ribbons
Instructions
to make the meatballs
- Lightly oil a baking sheet.
- Put all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer (you can also do this by hand.) I like to break up the meat as I add it, to give the machiner a head start.
- Blend the meatball mixture gently until everything is thoroughly mixed, but don't over mix or mix on a high speed. You don't want to toughen the meat.
- Roll the meatball mixture into 1" sized balls and place on your lightly oiled baking sheet. You will have about 30 meatballs. Set your oven rack to the second from highest level, and broil the meatballs for about 5-6 minutes, until they are golden brown and cooked through (165F in the center.) I give them a stir or a shake once or twice so they cook evenly. Cover with foil and set aside. You can also keep them warm in the turned-off oven.
for the risotto
- Plug the machine in and press SAUTE. Press the SAUTE button until the screen reads NORMAL. This is the medium level of heat.
- Add olive oil, butter, and salt, then your aromatic veggies (onion, celery, and carrots.) Sauté them for a few minutes, stirring almost constantly.
- Add the arborio rice and sauté for a minute or so longer, stirring constantly.
- Press CANCEL, and stir in your chicken broth.
- Close and lock the lid. Set the vent to SEALING.
- Press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 6 minutes.
- When the machine beeps that it is done cooking ~ don’t do anything for an additional 5 minutes.
- Then turn the vent to VENTING. When the pressure has released, open the lid.
- Give the risotto a stir, then stir in the cheese and the chopped greens. Add a bit of additional stock, if desired, and taste to adjust the seasonings.
- Serve asap topped with the meatballs and more cheese!
I always wonder how to measure shredded Parmesan. What is the weight of 1/2 cup?
A rough estimate is 50 grams, but with a meal like this it isn’t crucial, you can add more or less to taste.
Great stuff and so different 🙂
I don’t use an IP but love the idea of this twist on risotto. I basically added the sauteed meatballs, veg, parm and an extra cup of broth to my regular risotto. It was a big hit, thanks so much for the inspiration.
Are you saying you need 6 cups of chicken broth if cooked on the stove? Trying this tonight.
Yes, you might even need more, so sometimes I’ll thin it with water towards the end just to stretch it. The final amount depends on your rice.
Thanks!
Don’t have an Instant pot so I made Ina Garten’s oven risotto and then just stirred in the meatballs and spinach at the end. Super easy and delicious. Thanks for the inspiration!
This was incredible! Great comfort food. I loved using the instant pot for the risotto.
Thanks so much, I’m so passionate about Instant Pot risotto!
This looks so delicious, I cannot wait to make it!