Extra creamy, totally comforting and utterly delicious creamy instant pot mac and cheese takes less than 15 minutes from start to end! Plus everything made in one pot.
Dump everything into your instant pot, set the timer and walk away. Fast! Easy! So GOOD! Quick dinner on a busy weeknights or lazy weekends!
Mac and cheese is for all cheese lovers American classic comfort food! On days when you crave for comfort food and want something that you can fix quick this recipe is all you need!
Seriously dreamy, creamy, cheesy, ooey gooey – we are talking the best kind of mac and cheese made in instant pot! What if I told you, you can satisfy your cheesy craving in 10 minutes with this instant pot macaroni and cheese? Sounds good right?
Note : if you are looking at the above pic and thinking it’s not creamy, no it is creamy, trust me! Look at the video. The result of leaving a bowl of macaroni and cheese sit for a very long time to get the shots done, it looks that!
It’s not just cheesy creamy mac and cheese but a flavor packed mac and cheese. And yes we are still keeping the flavors of amazing cheese to shine in the dish!
Kids approved! Nothing beats that! This is MY KIDS APPROVED mac and cheese instant pot recipe. But if you have a real fussy eaters at home who wouldn’t touch the food on plate even if it’s macaroni and cheese whenever you sneak in some extra flavors, feel free to leave out the flavors that I am going to suggest in recipe below.
I have heard of kids who wouldn’t take a bite if there is teeny weeny pepper powder in their pasta! Or let’s say nutmeg powder or even the taste of sharp cheddar taste.
If that’s your family, go ahead and swap ingredients that fit your family taste or leave out any ingredients that might not suit your palate.
But before you do that, I highly recommend you to give one try with all the amazing flavors added to pasta. You never know, your super fussy kid could demolish this!
Mac and cheese has an emotion connected with many. Those boxed stuffs made it to dinner plate many days and many nights. Like any mother, I hesitate to feed my kids those boxed stuffs. I’m okay with it once in a while, but not often.
Like with anything and what I often say homemade is always the best. Plus you can totally customize it. Skip the box and make this super-fast, super easy one pot mac and cheese at home.
Mix and match different types of cheese, make it different each time. You’ll never get bored.
I recently joined IP bandwagon and there is no looking back since then! You can cook dishes that otherwise would take hours in just few minutes. It’s so much easy to use too. So if you haven’t bought an Instant Pot yet, I’d say it’s time you own one soon. You won’t regret it.
Let me just say this is the best one pot mac and cheese I ever made and fastest easy homemade mac and cheese I ever made. And yes, you can cook the pasta in a pot itself.
Instant pot surely simplifies the task of making homemade mac and cheese. I have already made mac and cheese for my kids thrice in my Instant Pot already. It’s become out new weeknight regular. Life is easy!
The only effort you have to put in is grating the cheese. 3 different cheese. That’s it! The rest of the magic happens in the Pot. Because everyone needs a good, go-to easy homemade mac and cheese recipe.
This perfect one pot mac and cheese can be served as main course or as sides with delicious salad, choice is yours.
How To Make Creamy Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
Cook-everything-in-one-pot-including-the-pasta. No draining required. You’ll have perfectly cooked pasta with the amazing flavors of cheese. Plus we are taking the flavors of this instant pot macaroni and cheese to a new level.
Because we love to have as much flavor as possible in our version of easy homemade mac and cheese.
Add macaroni and pasta along with all the seasoning (if using) in Instant Pot. Close the lid set the timer to 4 minutes with “pressure cooker” setting (in old Instant Pot use manual setting).
No need to sit and keep an eye, the pot does it’s magic and you can walk off to get your cheese grated. Always grate cheese just before you want to use.
Once cooking time is up, do a manual pressure release. Be careful while manual pressure release, the pot splutters with starch content from the pasta.
Open the lid, stir in cheese and evaporated milk into the pasta. Viola creamy cheesy easy homemade mac and cheese is ready!
What Is The Best Cheese To Use
It’s important to use the best combination for great mac and cheese recipe. Its important to use pungent cheeses such as
Sharp cheddar mixed with
Gruyère,
Fontina,
Brie,
Gouda,
Monterey jack,
Swiss,
Provolone,
Gorgonzola,
Parmigiano Reggiano.
Tips to make THE BEST Mac n Cheese
- Good Italian Brand Pasta – Use good Italian brand of Elbow macaroni to get the best consistency and result.
- Do not overcook pasta – Do quick release the pressure (be careful while releasing the pressure manually, the starch will splutter through the valve, use kitchen towel or a wooden spatula, secure your hands).
- Cheese Mix – Use a mix of cheese that works best for you. Sharp cheddar with a mix of any white cheese is what I found to work best. Mix and match the cheese to get perfect mac and cheese.
- Fresh Grated cheese – Don’t buy grated cheese, as it has added flours to it to keep it from sticking and does not melt well. Be sure to freshly grated cheese. It gives you super creamy cheesy mac n cheese.
- Adding creamy ingredients – add all the creamy ingredients only after pasta is cooked, in the end.
- Super creamy mac n cheese – To get super creamy Mac and Cheese, stir in evaporated milk. Evaporated milk is real cow’s milk that has been boiled for long time so removes all water content in it and reduces to creamy texture. Adjust the amount with texture and taste.
- Flavor it up – a simple mix of spice blend of pepper powder, onion powder, garlic power, ground yellow mustard, hot sauce (if you like a mild kick) works in harmony with mac and cheese flavoring it up a little but definitely not over powering. Cheese adds saltiness to the dish, be careful when you add salt.
What To Do With Left Over Macaroni and Cheese
With mac and cheese is best when made fresh and served fresh. But if you end up having left over mac n cheese you can refrigerate it for 24 to 48 hours. I wouldn’t recommend storing beyond that. The strachiness in the pasta will soak all the fluids and longer mac n cheese sits, harder it is going to turn.
How To Reheat Leftover Macaroni and Cheese
Allow pasta to sit on counter for 10 – 15 minutes after you remove from fridge. Add milk from few tablespoons to a cup depending on the texture of your pasta. Stir in and place it microwave and reheat it for a minute. Remove half way to stir it once again.
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Other favorites pasta recipe that we believe you’ll love –
Creamy Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 lb Elbow macaroni
- 4 cups chicken stock (use water if you want to make it vegetarian)
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter (I love mac n cheese rich. Cut the amount of butter if you think it's a lot of butter)
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 pinch Salt (adjust as per taste)
- 2 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 2 cups Cheddar (freshly grated)
- 1 cup Mozzarella (freshly grated)
- ½ cup Parmesan (freshly grated)
- 1 cup evaporated milk (adjust and add extra if needed)
For Garnish
- parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
- Add macaroni, water, butter, all the seasoning to instant pot. Like I said, you can play around with the flavors to find a mix that you really like. Cover lid. Set it to “pressure cook” and adjust timer to 4 minutes. If using old Instant Pot use “manual setting” to 4 minutes cooking time. Please note - Cook time allows for approximately 10 minutes for pot to come to pressure before cooking for 4 minutes. Recipe was made in 8-Qt Pot.
- While macaroni cooks in the pot, grate cheese and keep it ready.
- Once cooking time is up, turn off Instant Pot. Do a manual pressure release immediately. Use a kitchen towel to hold the pressure knob to release pressure and stay far away from pot.
- Open the lid, stir in cheese and evaporated milk into the pasta. Adjust milk quantity as per the texture. If you feel it is dry, add more milk.
- Viola creamy cheesy easy homemade mac and cheese is ready!
- Serve immediately along with salads. Or as it is!
Comments & Reviews
Julie says
This looks SO GOOD. I have yet to try pasta in the instant pot, but this looks like the perfect way to start. My 3 year old will be thrilled!
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Yum, this mac and cheese looks so creamy! I need to get my hands on an instant pot asap1
Shanna Jones says
I really need to get me an Instant Pot. It takes me so long to make my mac and cheese. The blend of cheeses is a must! Looks delicious!
Sharon says
This mac and cheese looks so good. Great comfort food that is made quickly so it’s perfect for busy nights. Can’t wait to try out this recipe.
Karyl Henry says
I have to admit, I haven’t joined the instant pot craze. But there’s nothing like a big bowl of creamy, cheesy mac and cheese. It’s so comforting, no matter when you eat it!
Leslie Haasch says
This mac and cheese looks SO. GOOD. I was just telling my fiance that I wanted to make mac and cheese and chicken nuggets because we’re just doing too much adulting right now and I want to revisit my childhood haha!
Elaina says
I don’t think I’ve ever had hot sauce or mustard in my mac & cheese. I totally need to try this – sounds so good!
Anne Murphy says
I have not yet been able to bring myself to try pasta in a pressure cooker – and I guess I’m just going to have to try it! Anything that easy…
Sri Mallya says
Love this version of mac and cheese. Looks so delicious. I can have this anytime of the day. So so yummy!
Emily Leary says
Ooh, that looks so yummy! It’s perfect for a speedy week night meal with a tasty salad!
Gloria says
I don’t have an Instant Pot, but my grandkids sure love mac and cheese. I will adapt this for my pressure cooker and make this for them for lunch. They are going to love taking leftovers home to mom and dad too.
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
10 minutes and I could be enjoying creamy mac? Yes please! What a wonderful recipe for busy weeknights! Gotta get myself an Instant Pot 🙂