Instant Pot Mac and Cheese – This macaroni and cheese is every family’s favorite comfort food pasta recipe made easy in the Instant Pot! You can have creamy, mouthwatering, homemade mac and cheese for dinner in about 10 minutes!
Have I mentioned lately that I’m kind of in love with my Instant Pot? Although, I do love our classic Baked Mac and Cheese too! If you have been following me on Instagram you’ll know that I’ve documented my daily trials and errors using the thing. I was so skeptical of even getting one in the first place, and now, it’s pretty much all I want to use for cooking at all! It takes a lot of the in-between steps out of making simple recipes. Like this mac and cheese, the pasta cooks in just enough liquid, with no need to drain! If you’re looking for more amazing Instant Pot dinners definitely try out this Instant Pot Jambalaya it’s out of this world!!
My family absolutely LOVED this macaroni and cheese. Well, I did too. The flavor was absolutely perfect and it was super creamy, just like a good mac should be.
I made this recipe in my 8 quart Instant Pot, and it will definitely work just fine if you have a 6 quart as well. It makes a whole lot by the way. Yay for leftovers!
There was enough for my family of four to eat this as a main dish with a side salad for supper. Then, my kids took some for lunch in their thermos to school the next day. Even after that we had enough left to use up as a side dish later in the week!
How to Make Instant Pot Mac and Cheese:
- For the best flavor, I recommend using chicken broth as your cooking liquid. I used low sodium chicken broth. If you don’t have low sodium, leave out the extra addition of salt, then salt as needed when serving.
- Use seasoning! I add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and hot sauce to this before cooking. Don’t worry, the hot sauce does not make this spicy at all. It just adds an additional layer of flavor that’s amazing.
- Use a combination of cheeses for the best taste. I use a mixture of sharp cheddar, mozzarella. When you add the cheese, make sure to stir continuously so that it all melts in really well and you aren’t left with clumps.
- Don’t use canned milk. I used regular 2% milk, and I recommend that or whole milk for best results. Most of the recipes I saw for Instant Pot mac and cheese used evaporated milk which I am not a fan of at all.
Enjoy!
~Nichole
Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 16 Ounces Uncooked Elbow Macaroni
- 4 Cups Chicken Broth
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
- 1 Teaspoon Hot Pepper Sauce
- 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- 1/2 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
- 1/2 -1 Cup Milk
Instructions
- Add the uncooked macaroni, chicken broth, butter, hot sauce, garlic powder, pepper, and salt to the Instant Pot.
- Place the lid on the pot and set to sealing. Cook on manual function, high pressure for 5 minutes. Then, do a quick release.
- Add the milk, then the cheese to the pot in 3-4 handfuls, stirring in between each addition until smooth and creamy. Season as necessary to taste.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Looking for other great Instant Pot recipes? Try these:
Anyone have experience leaving out the pepper sauce and using dry mustard?
This recipe is very flexible. Just consider it a good base recipe for the process of using the Instant Pot, and adapt away. I like the recipe as-is, but I have highly deviated from the recipe by merging it with other popular recipes online, by adding in thyme, nutmeg, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, and other cheeses. It’s always worked well. I add in the Dijon as a last step, after melting the cheese.
Just finished it for supper. Its my now go-to Mac and cheese recipe. I did change it by adding onion and changed the garlic to dry mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Turned out better than my bechemel baked version. Yum!
I haven’t commented on a recipe before. I’ve had mixed luck with my instant pot. Just have to say I made this exactly as directed and it was AMAZING. Thank you so much.
Made this recipe twice now…easy and delish!
What would
You do to double the recipe ?
Hi,
This looks amazing! I am making it for a pot luck at work. Would it be possible to double the recipe?
Thanks,
Amy
My kids loved this recipe, sooo yummy…i just wanted to know how many grams for each serving. You said 8 servings, but I measure my food before i eat so it would be very helpful if j knew how many grams.
Thank you
One serving size of the pasta is 2 oz or 56 grams…not sure if that helps!
Absolutely amazing! So flavorful and creamy and simple to make. I didn’t have any hot sauce so used some szechuan peppercorns instead. The macaroni was al dente. You could add an extra minute to the cooking time if you wanted the macaroni a little more melt-in-your-mouth.
Made this for first time today, 1/2 recipe, will definitely make again. Added some cooked ground chicken & onions after I made it. Mmm mmm good.
Can I use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth?
Yes! 🙂
Just a note that I used Better Than Bouillon vegetable Base in this recipe and it was WAY more flavorful than even the chicken base was and we loved it that way as well!
This was delish and very creamy, just the way my wife likes it….