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:
We would need to double this. 1 adult 4 kids killed off the entire pot. With only 2 getting seconds.
Hi Nichole.
I made your recipe today, and it was a hit!!! I only had half and half left so I used that, but no other substitutions. Thank you for such a simple yet tasty recipe!!!
Happy thanksgiving ?
Has anyone made this with shells instead of macaroni elbows? Not sure if I need to add a minute to the cook time. Help!!
I’ve made it with all kinds of pasta, add a minute, it won’t hurt. This recipe is my new favorite!
I have. I generally add one minute to my cook time for alternative pastas. Good luck!
Any thought on how you might adjust this for a regular crockpot? My mom doesn’t have an instapot.
I would cook on low for 3 to 4 hours, then stir in cheese, you may need to adjust liquid, but it would be a trial and error.
Total hit with the teenagers! Turns out great every time even doubles well. Thanks!
Nice one. This is the second thing I’ve cooked in my IP and I felt confident enough to make a couple of adjustments. I used medium shell pasta instead of elbows, and added about a loose cup of chopped garlic chives on top of the pasta and broth before cooking. The pasta and chives cooked perfectly. I skipped the milk because there was some liquid left, and used sharp cheddar, cream cheese, and sour cream as the dairy. I also sauteed some ham on the stove and stirred that in at the end, but I bet I could have done that in the IP before adding the pasta and broth right on top. This will be a standard this winter.
Would the cooking time remain the same if I were to cut the recipe in half? I don’t want all this mac & cheese at once, but this recipe sounds fabulous!
This recipe is delicious! Any tips for doubling it?
Enjoyed making this recipe. It was easy. I was able to double the recipe in my 6 quart instant pot. Definitely needed more salt and pepper when I ate it but did not add extra at the time I made it since I knew kids would be eating it. I also dumped the whole thing in aluminum pan (was taking to a house warming party with 25+ guests) and sprinkled cheese over the top (shallow layer) and broiled it for a couple of minutes to get a nice crust. I think you could even add a breadcrumb crust if you wanted. Texture was nice and cheesiness was just right… not too much, not too little. I measured my cups by ounces (8 oz = 2 cups grated).
Hi there! Did you double the pasta and the cooking liquid? 32 oz of pasta and 8 cups of liquid?
Hi! Did you adjust the cooking time when doubling? I’m making this today and wanted to double check.
This is the first IP recipe I’ve ever tried and I’d love some feedback on what I did wrong.
Doubled the recipe, kept the cook time at 5 minutes. Used freshly shredded cheddar, mozzarella, and pre-shredded parmesan cheese.
When I released pressure, I basically had mac n cheese soup – SO MUCH LIQUID left! I spooned some of it off, but when I added the cheese (a little at a time), it was just big stringy globs – is this because of the mozzarella? I stirred until it seemed melted. I added very little whole milk because there was so much liquid still in the pot.
The flavor was really good so I’d like to try it again…any suggestions?
Hi! Sorry you had issues. You should have some liquid left, and make sure you give it a good stir. Instant Pots/Pressure cookers can vary so much, so maybe less liquid next time would be best. Yes, like I talk about in the recipe, mozzarella is more “stringy” so you can leave it out and use all cheddar/parmesan or your fave cheese. Hope that helps! 🙂
Mine looked soupy and gloppy when I first opened the lid and added the cheese … I think stiring for a few minutes is key to make sure the liquid distributes and the cheese melts thoroughly. I, too, doubled the recipe and it looked like a lot of liquid was sitting on top but it all absorbed in once I stirred.
I had the same thing happen! I used an online ounce to cup conversion calculator and it told me 16oz was 2 cups. Then I get to the bottom of the recipe and it says to use 4 cups. ? My mac was SO watery. Also my cheddar was stringy before I even added mozzarella, and it balled up to form chewy cheese globs.
When adding the chicken broth to the instant pot, add enough to just cover the macaroni. When I make the recipe as stated, the broth just barely covers the macaroni, but when I doubled the recipe, I noticed that there seemed to be a lot more broth, so i just took some out until the macaroni was just covered. Hope this helps!