• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Email
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
TVV-Logo-for-bright-bg

The Viet Vegan

Vegan. Feminist. Nerd.

  • Home
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
  • Recipe Index
    • TikTok Recipes
    • Instagram Feed
  • eBooks
  • Work With Me
    • Press

Instant Pot Vegan Butternut Squash Risotto

October 26, 2023 by Lisa Le Leave a Comment

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Only 10 minutes of active cooking results in this deliciously creamy and cheesy dairy-free butternut squash risotto in the Instant Pot!

vegan butternut squash risotto in a blue bowl topped with vegan parmesan

Lately I’ve been a big fan of quick dinners that I can set up in about 15 minutes and then come back to when it’s dinner time. I’ve made a mushroom rice cooker meal and a lentil and barley one, and they’ve both been big hits with my kid (who naturally is a fiend for rice). Unfortunately due to the mushy texture of risotto, Bean was not a fan. They don’t like oatmeal or Vietnamese rice porridge much either, so that tracks.

However, I was a big fan of this butternut squash risotto. It’s creamy, it’s quick, and it hits so many different savoury and tart notes in the best way. Hopefully with continued exposure, my kid will get on board with foods of this texture, despite eating (and LOVING) baby oatmeal for breakfast the first 6 months of eating solids.

Recipe Inspiration

This butternut squash risotto recipe was adapted from this version from Eating Well and this version from The Forked Spoon. Both versions are not vegan and also use white wine as a part of their recipe. But I derived the ratio of arborio rice to liquid and cooking time from both those recipes!

a bowl of golden risotto in a light blue bowl with a silver spoon.

Wine Substitution in Risotto

Whatever reason you may need to substitute wine in cooking, you can definitely omit it in a risotto recipe! Most others say to just substitute with more broth, but if that were the case, why add wine in the first place anyway?

While researching for this recipe, I found that the role of wine is to add complexity and acidity to risotto. This totally makes sense since cooked arborio rice is a one note flavour and texture. Typically for risotto, we add richer ingredients like cream, cheese, (or in this case, dairy-free cheese). The acidity of wine helps cut through the richness and keep you coming back for another spoonful.

The wine alternative for risotto is typically something else acidic. Since most versions of butternut squash risotto I found used white wine, I also wanted something light, fruity, and acidic. Apple cider vinegar worked perfectly in this recipe! But you could also add extra lemon juice towards the end if you don’t want both apple cider vinegar and lemon juice.

What to serve with butternut squash risotto?

When I was first testing this recipe, I was overthinking the different protein options to serve with this meal. Typically you’d see shrimp, beef or chicken served with risotto, but since I’m vegan, I don’t eat any of those.

I was thinking of adding beans or lentils, but it would add a lot of bulk and starchy texture to an already starchy dish. I thought about baking some butter beans so they’d be crispy, but ultimately what won out was soy curls!

Mostly out of convenience. This is a Set It & Forget It recipe after all! I added whatever BBQ sauce we had in our fridge to a pan of lightly fried rehydrated soy curls, and it went perfectly with this butternut squash risotto.

This recipe was sponsored by Violife Canada and developed for Instagram.

vegan butternut squash risotto in a blue bowl topped with vegan parmesan
Print Recipe

Instant Pot Vegan Butternut Squash Risotto

Prep Time10 minutes mins
Cook Time20 minutes mins
Additional Time20 minutes mins
Total Time50 minutes mins
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Vegan
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Lisa Le

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp dairy-free butter
  • 1 onion finely diced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 4 leaves sage stem removed and finely diced
  • 1 cup 190 g arborio rice
  • 1/4 cup 60 mL apple cider vinegar
  • 3 cups 750 mL water (or veggie broth)
  • 2 tsp 10 mL broth paste (omit if using veggie broth)
  • 2 cups diced butternut squash
  • 2/3 cup 160 mL dairy-free mozza shreds (I used Violife)
  • 1/3 cup 40 g grated dairy-free parm + extra for garnish (I used Violife)
  • 1/2 of lemon juiced

Instructions

  • Saute onions in dairy-free butter until translucent (about 2 minutes). Then add garlic, and sage, and stir for about 30 sec.
  • Add arborio rice and toast for about a minute or so.
  • Add apple cider vinegar, veggie broth, and diced butternut squash and stir to coat everything.
  • Close the lid and set to sealing, then pressure cook on high for 6 minutes, and let pressure naturally release (about 15 min)
  • Set pressure cooker back onto Saute, then add dairy-free mozza shreds and grated parm style wedge. Mix in to melt.
  • Add lemon juice and mix in, then serve immediately!
Spread the love:
error
fb-share-icon
Tweet
fb-share-icon

Filed Under: Dinner, Gluten-Free, Instant Pot, Recipes from TikTok, Set It & Forget It, Vegan recipes Tagged With: instant pot, risotto, set it and forget it

About Lisa Le

Lisa is the thirty-something, nerdy, procrastinating, feminist blogger and photographer behind The Viet Vegan. She loves spicy foods, noodles, and food in bowls.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome!

Lisa

Xin chào! Welcome to my food blog. Thanks for visiting, reading, and enabling my obsession with food and photography.

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

looking for something?

Get recipes straight to your inbox!

Subscribe

* indicates required

Recipe index sidebar

Soup Season eBook

Soup Season ebook cover
Vietnamese recipe index button

Vegan Fish Sauce

nuoc cham with vegan fish sauce bottle, surrounded by lime, garlic, and chili pepper

Footer

recipe index

Looking for something?

Find me in other places :)

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Find me on YouTube!

TVV logo

Copyright© 2025 · The Viet Vegan · All rights reserved

  • Recipe Index
  • Privacy Policy
  • Work With Me
  • Press