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:
Made it exactly as described and it was a big hit with everybody – especially the kids! Will definitely be making this again! I was hesitant to add the hot sauce, but I used Texas Pete and it had a great flavor!
This gets a 5 outta 5 from me, couldn’t be simpler. Didn’t have Mozzarella, so used Provolone instead (along with the shredded Cheddar and Parmesan) Used the lower end amount of milk, and I actually found when putting the handfuls of cheese in that I only needed half the cheese before it reached a perfect consistency (for me). So now I know for next time. This goes straight into the rotation. Thanks for posting it.
If you are using a pasta that doesn’t expand, then double the amount of dry pasta used (at least). I was planning to cut the recipe in half, so I started with 4 oz of dried corn fuselli. I was suprised when the pasta was still swimming in liquid after the milk and cheese. I remembered that some pastas expand more than others. I quickly cooked up another 8 oz of dry corn pasta (using 12 oz altogehter) and added it to one-half of the liquid ingredients and spices. That was the right ratio.
This is my second time making this. The kids love it. The only change I did was used half chicken broth, half water. I thought the mozzarella cheese would make it stringy but craft makes a “creamy melt” mozzarella now and it works out perfectly.
Made it as the recipe called, and it was delicious! My toddlers devoured it, and there was still enough for a couple adult main dishes with a little leftover for lunch tomorrow. This was super fast, easy, delicious, and will be totally customizable. I’m going to play around with spices and meat/veggie add-ins next time. Thanks!!
Can this recipe be made in a crockpot?
I’ve never had good luck with mac and cheese in the crockpot.
I’ve made this twice. The first time it was a little bland, so I added more garlic powder plus some ground mustard. I used half the amount of milk, and it was good. I also used Monterey Jack instead of mozzarella the second time. I finished it by baking it off in a casserole dish with some ritz cracker crumbs mixed in melted butter because I love mac and cheese like that. I serve with sides of steamed veggies for me and cooked ground beef or sausage for my husband. This recipe is a keeper!
Oh soooo gooey and delicious. I recommend holding the butter until after the pasta cooks so the vent doesn’t clog and spew butter all over the place. I left out the milk and increased the liquid from 4C to 4.5C. Wonderful people pleasing recipe.
Amazing! If I double the recipe do I need to double the cooking time?
I would say no. I halved the recipe, but I still cooked it for five minutes.
Did you double it?? I have it on our menu this week to feed a big group and need to double and am curious on cook time!
I see you asked if they doubled it, and now I’m asking you .. lol! Just wondered how it went if you did. 🙂
You can’t go wrong with this recipe! Hands down the best homemade Mac and cheese ever. Works with any cheese, even the bagged stuff comes out fine. I even screwed it up by using water instead of chicken broth and it was amazing. I like it creamy so I use just over a cup of milk, and four cups of cheese. My picky “box-only” kids devour this.