Instant Pot Orzo Recipe with Mushrooms & Leeks

Instant Pot Orzo Recipe with Mushrooms & Leeks

Looking to make your next pasta recipe an Instant Pot recipe? Here’s a pro-tip from Barilla Executive Chef Lorenzo Boni: before you cook the pasta or sauce, you should first sauté the non-pasta ingredients, such as vegetables and proteins, inside the Instant Pot with olive oil, salt and pepper. Doing so will yield a more flavorful final result.

For instance, when making this Barilla Orzo recipe, be sure to sauté the oil, garlic, thyme, leeks and mushrooms in the Instant Pot for five minutes before adding the pasta and the water. This way, the aromatic flavors of these ingredients will already be released and ready to marinate the overall recipe while this pressure cooker orzo pasta is being cooked.

Orzo with Mushrooms and Leeks in an Instant Pot

Ingredients:
1 box Barilla Orzo
1 leek, sliced
3 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
8 oz. mushrooms (oyster, Portobello or domestic), sliced
1 tsp. thyme, chopped
3 cups water
1 tbs. Italian parsley, chopped
2 tbs. butter
½ cup Parmigiano cheese, grated

Directions
1. Sauté mushrooms in Instant Pot with oil, garlic, thyme and leek for 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper and then turn off the Instant Pot.
2. Add the orzo pasta and water to the Instant Pot and close the lid and valve. Set time to 7 minutes and cook at the low-pressure setting.
3. Depressurize the Instant Pot by opening the valve. Once it has fully depressurized, carefully open the lid and stir in the parsley, butter and cheese into the pasta before serving.