Instant Pot Macaroni & Cheese
Instant Pot macaroni and cheese is an easy, fuss free way to make the classic dish you know and love. With this recipe, you’ll never go back to making mac n cheese any other way!
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Who doesn’t love a big bowl of ooey, gooey macaroni and cheese?
It’s a favorite in my house with all of us.
I love it as a side or as a main course.
And thanks to the Instant Pot, it’s easier than ever to make the best mac ever!
You’ll be serving this to your family on repeat.
Ingredients
To make this you’ll need:
- Pasta– The recipe calls for rotini but you could use any other tube noodle like penne, elbows or even ziti if that’s what you have on hand.
- Chicken broth– Adds so much flavor. If you are vegetarian you could substitute vegetable broth.
- Cheese– This uses a mix of cheddar, mozzarella and colby jack. Feel free to experiment with the cheese or use your favorite. Don’t use pre-shredded cheese for best melting.
- Seasonings– Hot sauce and dijon mustard give this so much flavor.
- Milk– Try to use whole milk or even half and half over a lower fat variety.
- Butter
How to Make
Making mac and cheese in the Instant Pot is a snap!
To do it, just add the pasta to the inner liner of the pot.
Then pour in the broth.
After you’ve poured the broth into the liner, press down the pasta to make sure as much is covered in the liquid as possible.
Then pressure cook the pasta for 5 minutes on high pressure.
After it cooks, quick release the pressure and remove the lid.
Give the pasta a stir then add in the cheese, milk, butter and seasonings.
Stir it well to combine.
After you stir together all the ingredients, let everything rest for a couple of minutes.
The sauce will thicken during this time.
Then dish it out into bowls, serve and enjoy!
Storing Leftovers
If you have any leftovers (which is highly unlikely because everyone will love this so much!), you can store them covered in the fridge.
To reheat, microwave until warm.
Tips and Tricks
- You can sub half & half for the milk, if needed.
- For maximum creaminess, avoid low fat milk.
- Feel free to can change up the cheeses – this is the place to experiment! Just make sure they’re all good melting cheeses.
- I highly recommend using freshly shredded cheese, as it doesn’t have any wax coating that prevents even melting.
Other Easy Instant Pot Pasta Recipes
Instant Pot macaroni and cheese is the best way ever to make creamy mac n cheese that you and your family will love.
Make it the next time you need a quick and easy comforting meal to serve.
Looking for other easy Instant Pot pasta recipes?
Try these:
- Instant Pot Salsa Chicken
- Instant Pot Creamy Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
- Instant Pot Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes
- Instant Pot Cheesy Ground Beef & Rice
If you’ve tried this INSTANT POT MACARONI AND CHEESE, or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more
Instant Pot Macaroni & Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 lb rotini pasta
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
- 1- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3/4 cup shredded colby jack cheese
- 1 tsp hot sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 3/4 cup milk
- 2 tbsp butter
Instructions
- Add the pasta to the pot, then pour in the broth. Press the pasta down, as needed, so as much as is possible is submerged beneath the broth.
- Cook the pasta for 5 minutes on high pressure.
- Quick release the pressure, and once possible carefully remove the lid and stir the cooked pasta.
- Add in the cheeses, milk, butter, and seasonings, stirring to combine.
- Let everything rest for 2-3 minutes- this will allow the sauce to thicken.
- Stir again to combine everything, and then ladle into bowls and serve.
Nutrition
This post may contain affiliate links. As an amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See my full Disclosure Policy for details. As always, all opinions are my own.
Made this for dinner tonight and it tasted fine, but was grainy. I followed instructions. Why might this happen? I used whole milk and grated my own cheese using the combination you suggested.
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear this happened, Susan. Did you add the cheese all at once to the hot, bubbling pasta mixture? If so, that can cause the cheese to break down too quickly and result in a grainy texture. I’d suggest mixing it in slowly, in small amounts. I’d try stirring in the cheese roughly 1/4 cup at a time, until it’s all been incorporated. That should prevent it in the future.