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
First time making this. Delicious and so easy! I intended on adding peas at the end but didn’t have any so went with our old stand by, frozen broccoli. I totally forgot to add the milk which was fine. And I also added 4oz of velveeta because I just happened to have it and thought it needed more cheese. Lastly I also added some paprika & onion powder as well. Creamy & delicious
Very good!!! I added steamed broccoli at the end. Can’t go wrong with ham cheese and broccoli!
What kind of hot sauce do you recommend?
I love Cholula hot sauce!
Can this be made in a 3 quart instant pot?
Tried this tonight and it was sooo easy and sooo delicious. I kept thinking there had to be more to it. Nope. Just as quick as boxed Mac and cheese but much better and so versatile. The only thing I can complain about is there wasn’t any left! Lol. Instant family favorite, pun intended. Thank you!
This is the 5th time I’ve made this, we love it! There is just the 2 of us and this freezes very well. I love to take the frozen portions with us when camping for a quick and easy delicious meal.
Excellent!
I made this for dinner tonight. Amazing! We loved it and I’ll make it again!
Do you drain water after you are done making noodles or keep the water in
Do you cook or warm up the ham first? Or could I put it in with the noodles? I haven’t used my instapot much …
Hi! You should be using fully cooked ham for this recipe. So, you don’t need to cook it at all first 🙂