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? 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
Looking for other great Instant Pot recipes? Try these:
Excellent recipe! I am fairly new to the InstantPot community so this was super simple. Before adding the milk and cheese I added 1lb of ground chicken that I had seasoned with taco seasonings. It made for an awesome chicken taco mac n cheese! Will definitely be using this again.
JUST made this, yummy!
I have made this upwards of 10 times now since finding the recipe. It is a perfect lazy dinner addition. I mix with premade BBQ pork for a quick and tasty dinner. It keeps well in the fridge and re-heats nicely. I’ve tried a variety of different cheeses in different amounts and every time it’s amazing. Such a time saver and honestly one of my favorite instant pot recipes I’ve found. My husband asks for it once a week and his picky palette is hard to please.
Great job!
I just made this for my 13 year old son for lunch. It was ready, start to finish in 10 minutes total! AND… my son said “this might be the best mac and cheese I have ever eaten!” as he went back for seconds. I used cheddar and parm. He just finished and said “whoooo that was great!” Thanks for the recipe – it will be used many times in the future!
Nichole, This is a great recipe! Have you ever tried with zucchini noodles? This in a low carb format could be my new favorite thing! Any tips for using zucc noodles or cauliflower?
Thank you!
This is the first time I can’t give 5 stars for a Salty Marshmallow recipe. I did the initial cook time of 5 minutes with the QR and the noodles weren’t done along with having a lot of broth left. Did another 5 with the QR and they were perfect. Followed all the other ingredients and my family loved it! It was delicious. Any idea why my noodles weren’t cooked?
Hi! Sorry that happened, it’s hard to say why. Macaroni noodles should never take 10 minutes in the instant pot at all. I’m wondering if there was a sealing issue the first time that you cooked the noodles? Sometimes if there isn’t a proper seal, that can happen.
So delicious! Used homemade chicken and veggie stock, whole milk, sharp cheddar, mozz, and a little cream cheese. Excellent!
We love this mac and cheese. The kids are always excited when they know it’s on the menu. Thank you!
This was a hit. I used one cup gouda , one cup mild cheddar and one cup of an italian mix of mozzerella asiago and parmesan. Even my picky eater loved it. So simple too.
Can I use shell pasta instead of elbow pasta?
I just did this and had to cook for 9 minutes in total but jt was delish!
This was delicious! I used whole wheat macaroni and only needed about 1/4 cup of the milk since there was a little liquid left in the pot after cooking. I love a crunchy topping on my Mac and cheese so I added some cooked broccoli and poured it into a casserole dish and covered it with a panko crumb, cheddar cracker mix with a little butter, broiled until brown. Thanks for a great recipe!!
Delicious, will be my go to recipe for mac & cheese. The nutrition doesn’t list the carbs. Any idea how many carbs? .
I love this recipe I use it all the time. I am making it again tonight but I’d like to double the recipe. Do you think that’s a problem I have a 10 quart pot. Your opinion would be great thank you
Fantastic- family loves it
soo good and fast.
AMAZEBALLS!! I FOLLOWED RECIPE, EXCEPT I USED COLBY JACK INSTEAD OF CHEDDAR. DEFIN A KEEPER!!
My favorite Mac and cheese recipe! Our family loves it. I don’t like hot sauce, but you can’t tell it’s in there. It adds great flavor.
100% THE BEST and easiest mac and cheese recipe I have EVER made. Salty Marshmallow recipes are consistently a hit…I can finally stop looking for a mac and cheese recipe now that I have this one. Thank you!
Used 3 C of Colby jack cheese, 1/4 Cgrated Parmesan, 1 bouillon cube 4 C water, 1/2 tsp hot sauce, no salt, manual on high 6 minutes natural release 10 minutes, no milk needed came out well.
Is there anyway to do this in a crockpot or a regular pot?
Yes, I have a one pot stove top version here https://thesaltymarshmallow.com/one-pot-mac-and-cheese/