Ham & Cheese Instant Pot Pasta is so creamy, cheesy, and delicious! One of our favorite Instant Pot recipes for a quick family pleasing dinner!
My Instant Pot Mac and Cheese has become one of the most popular recipes around here! We love how easy it is to skip the box and have a cheesy and filling pasta on the table fast. Since you guys love the mac & cheese so much, I wanted to do another pasta in the pressure cooker, but make it with meat so that it’s more of a meal. We love ham, and I always keep a package of diced ham in my fridge, but you can make this with leftover ham too!
Ham & Cheese Instant Pot Pasta:
As you can see, I did change this up a bit from my regular macaroni and cheese. We used rotini, and I’m loving how it really stays firm to the bite. I tested several different times on this to get it right, and the rotini really holds it shape and texture well. I used a large package of the smaller diced ham, cubed is fine too. Instead of several shredded cheeses I used cheddar only, along with cream cheese and sour cream. It’s super creamy and really has a nice seasoned flavor!
How To Make Instant Pot Ham & Cheese Pasta:
- Simply add your rotini right to the bottom of your Instant Pot.
- Pour over the chicken broth, water, hot sauce, and seasonings.
- No need to stir. Place the lid on the pot and set the valve to sealing.
- Cook on manual/high pressure for 5 minutes, then carefully open the valve and do a quick pressure release.
- Open the pot and stir in the diced ham, cream cheese, and sour cream.
- Next, stir in the milk and the shredded cheese. Stir in the cheese 3 handfuls at a time, stirring in between each addition.
Serve this with your favorite veggies! We love to have it with a simple green side salad. If you’d like it’s also great with the Best Green Beans or even Oven Roasted Carrots!
Enjoy!
~Nichole
Ham & Cheese Instant Pot Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 16 Ounce Box Rotini
- 2 Cups Chicken Broth
- 2 Cups Water
- 1 teaspoon Hot Sauce*
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Mustard
- 1 Pound Diced Ham
- 4 Ounces Cream Cheese, Softened
- 1/4 Cup Sour Cream
- 2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 1/2 Cup Milk
Instructions
- Add the uncooked rotini along with the chicken broth, water, hot sauce, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and ground mustard to the pot.
- Place the lid on the pot and set the valve to sealing.
- Cook on manual, high pressure, for 5 minutes, then do a quick pressure release.
- Carefully open the pot and stir in the diced ham, cream cheese, and sour cream.
- Next, stir in the milk, then add the cheese 3 handfuls at a time, stirring in between each addition until smooth.
Notes
If you are using gluten free or quinoa pasta chick pea etc for these recipes how much time would you cook it for? ( even if you haven’t used it) to prevent it from getting all mushy? It’s hard to tell & Mine always comes out mushy?? Also read it’s hard to cook gluten free pasta with sauces comes out gluey
Hi! I haven’t tried it with any type of chick pea or gluten free pasta. But, if it’s coming out mushy, I would say shave 1-2 minutes off of the cooking time and that should help.
Easy, quick, and tasty! I added green beans after adding the shredded cheese and let it steam through. Delicious. Thank you!
Made this with some deli ham I had left over. Huge hit!
I got a burn notice on my instant pot and I even added a little extra broth to make sure the noodles were covered .Not sure what I did wrong?Luckily when I took the top off the pot the pasta tasted done even though it had not gotten up to pressure .I followed the rest of the recipe and it turned out ok:)
Hi! Sorry that happened to you. It sounds to me like it might have been an issue with the seal on your pot, especially if it never came to pressure. Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I’m new to using the Instant Pot. I followed the directions, but my pasta was a little undercooked.
You can add an extra minute to the cooking time if you like softer noodles. That should help 🙂
I was super excited to try this recipe but unfortunately will have to try again. We got a burn notice and half of my pasta was mush or burnt and the other have was raw. We have a celiac in our family so I’m not sure if maybe it was an issue with the instant pot and gluten free noodles or what.
Quick and very flavorful! Sharing with the family to try and n their own pots!
Great comfort food. Was delicious. A keeper recipe ?
Tried this last night and it was a hit!! quick and easy! Another quick favorite for the family. THANK YOU for sharing
Can you make this recipe without an instant pot?
Easy very good recipe for all family. You can even add veggies like brocoli (has to be pre-cooked.
I, myself, do not enjoy cream cheese so I put more frank’s red hot sauce inside, and i love it like that, the hot acidic taste clears the sour cream cheese taste that I have trouble enjoying! Will make again « for sho »