One of my kids’ favorite side dishes that we eat, when we go to a friend’s house for Thanksgiving dinner each year, is her homemade macaroni and cheese.
Can you make Mac and Cheese in the Instant Pot?
YES! I’m not sure why I don’t make it more often, really, because in the Instant Pot, Macaroni & Cheese is so easy! Probably just about as easy as it is to make the boxed version!
We decided this past week, that we had to make an easy mac & cheese recipe, but we knew we didn’t want the cheap, sometimes tasteless boxed version. We wanted the best mac & cheese recipe! We wanted homemade! We decided to try it out in the Instant Pot and it turned out great! We were not disappointed by this easy mac & cheese recipe, that’s for sure!
What cheese is used for mac and cheese?
You can use most any kind of cheese. This specific recipe calls for Colby Jack and Parmesan Cheese. You can also use:
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- Mexican Blend Cheese
- Monterey Jack Cheese
- Colby Jack Cheese
- and more.
Keep in mind that the sharper or stronger the taste of cheese, the better your Instant Pot Mac and Cheese will be.
This Instant Pot Mac and Cheese was so simple to throw together. Of course, if you don’t have an Instant Pot, you could use a slow cooker or another electric pressure cooker, with very similar results. I just love how quick it seems with the Instant Pot!
I’ve made a video, to capture the process. I’ll post it below:
Instant Pot Easy Mac & Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb Elbow Macaroni
- 4 tbsp butter
- 4 cups water
- 2 tsp dry ground mustard
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cups shredded Colby Jack Cheese
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Place macaroni noodles, butter, water, dry mustard, salt and pepper into Instant Pot.
- Close lid, close valve.
- Cook on Manual for 4 minutes. (If you are new to the Instant Pot, it will take time for the pressure cooker to come to pressure, before the cooking cycle begins).
- Use quick release, to release the pressure.
- Remove lid and check to see that macaroni noodles are to desired firmness.
- If they need to be cooked longer, turn the Instant Pot to Saute, and cook until they've reached your desired consistency.
- Stir in cheeses and milk.
- Serve!
Melissa says
December 30, 2017 at 7:08 amHey! What size is your instant pot? I wanted to double the recipe. Mine is a 6 qt instant pot. Thanks.
Sarah says
December 30, 2017 at 1:25 pmMine is a 6 quart also. I do have an 8 quart, that I haven’t used yet, that I would probably put this in if I was doubling. Maybe you can make 2 batches? Otherwise, I think it may spray out when you vent it.
Kim says
October 27, 2017 at 9:41 amCould u add shrimp or seafood to this for seafood mac and cheese
Sarah says
December 28, 2018 at 9:12 pmYes, you could do that.
Julie says
October 9, 2017 at 10:43 pmI’m not sure if I used the wrong brand of cheese but it wouldn’t melt and turned into globs of stringy cheese. The noodles were delicious, aside from the cheese. Is there a trick? Should I have used tillamook cheese?
Sarah says
December 28, 2018 at 9:13 pmOh that’s weird. It turns out perfectly for me every time. You could try adding a little more milk to get it to mix in.
Erin says
April 17, 2019 at 8:50 amMake sure also to shred your own cheese.. the preshredded kind has additives that sometimes prohibit easy melting.