An American Favorite…. Mac & Cheese can be made even easier in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker! In 5 minutes this favorite will be perfectly cooked for you to enjoy.
Who doesn’t love a good Mac & Cheese? I think we all do! And we likely have eaten enough of the boxed Mac & Cheese but nothing compares to homemade. Especially a homemade recipe like Grandma's.
Back in the day Grandma would pull a large casserole dish out of the oven with hot homemade Macaroni and Cheese topped with toasted bread crumbs and wow, it was good!
I'm not sure if Grandma was just special or if the memories just hold such a special place in my heart.
Regardless, making a good homemade Macaroni and Cheese is a touch of home for me. The creamy cheesy pasta is so good made homemade.
I have to be honest, I was extremely skeptical that this would be cooked in 5 minutes. But I thought, ‘what can I lose?’, so I tried it.
Cooking Pasta in the Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker can be tricky. Actually different types of pasta cook for different times and it can be hard to get the hang of.
I like to cook elbow macaroni for 5 mins.
This recipe can be quick released, however even giving it a couple minute (1-2 minute) natural releases will help keep your Pressure Cooker from spitting out some of those starches.
Using an Instant Pot or Pressure cooker to cook pasta means you can set it and forget it. Brilliant, because I'm busy and now I can set the table or clean up my mess.
In record time, the pasta was perfectly cooked. All my mess was contained to one pan!
Mac and Cheese made Simple
In your Instant Pot, put 4 ½ cups of water, this is the perfect amount needed for 1 pound of pasta. You won’t need to drain off any extra. You can also cut this recipe in half too.
So make the perfect size batch for you and your family.
Add your Salt and Dry Mustard and pasta and set your Instant Pot to Manual Mode for 5 minutes. That’s it!
It will take about 8 minutes for your Instant Pot to pressure up. The 5 minute cooking time will begin once the correct pressure has been reached.
After 5 minutes a beeper will signal and then you can Quick Release the pressure.
You do this by turning the pressure knob forward. Place a towel over the Quick Release so the steam doesn’t go every where. Also, this recipe tends to make the steam “spit”. So a towel just takes care of any mess that could happen.
Once the pasta is all cooked, stir it to break up any clumps. This is normal as it as absorbed all the water.
Then go ahead and add the rest of the ingredients and stir it up. Adding more milk will give it a more creamy texture so add as little as you like.
Eat it up:
This recipe was a hit the first time. I’m a little embarrassed to say that we have now made Mac & Cheese daily this past week. You would think 1 pound of pasta would be enough.
With a family of grown boys, they think they need more! But really, this is a large portion and will easily feed 6-8 as a side dish to compliment any meal.
You could also throw it into a casserole dish and sprinkle with bread crumbs and throw into the oven for a few minutes too. Just like Grandma used to make! And no one needs to know it only took you minutes. I won’t tell!
Mac and Cheese Add Ins:
Mac and Cheese is great all by itself but you may wan to dress it up. After it's all made up, try some of the following Add Ins!
- 1 Tbs Taco Seasoning for a Taco Mac
- 2 Cups Steamed Broccoli
- 1 Cup cubed Ham and 1 Cup Frozen Peas
- 1 lb Cooked and crumbled Ground Beef with 1 Tbs Taco Seasoning
- ½ Cup Crumbled Bacon
- 1 Can Tuna
- Shredded Chicken
The possibilities are endless, so don't be shy! What's your favorite Add In. Tell me in the comments below.
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More Fantastic Pasta Recipes
- Hawaiian Mac Salad
- Easy Pasta Salad with Strawberries and Poppyseeds
- BLT Pasta Salad
- Pepperoni Pasta Salad
- Taco Pasta Salad
- Pasta with Zucchini and Cheery Tomatoes
- Teriyaki Noodles
- Bowtie Pasta with a Light Creamy Sauce
- Mushroom Garlic Pasta
- Ramen Pad Thai
- Asian Noodles
Mac & Cheese | Instant Pot Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb Macaroni Noodle
- 4 ½ Cup water - *can substitute broth
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 Cup Evaporated Milk
- 2 Tbs Butter
- 1 ½ Cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- 1 Cup Monterey Jack Cheese
- ¼ Cup Parmesan cheese - (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- In your Instant Pot, add 4 ½ cups of water, 1 teaspoon Salt and 2 teaspoon Dry Mustard and give it a quick stir. Add pasta.
- Set to Manual Mode for 5 minutes. It will take about 8 minutes to pressure up.
- Once the Instant Pot and signaled the time is up, place a towel over the Quick Release valve and release the pressure. It will "spit" out water so the towel just helps to keep it from going all over your kitchen.
- Open lid, and with a large spoon stir pasta. The pasta will clump up when cooking but quickly breaks apart when stirred.
- Add Butter and Evaporated milk and give a quick stir.
- Add Sharp Cheddar, Monterey Jack Cheese and stir to melt. Add Nutmeg. Add additional evaporate milk if you want it more creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve and Enjoy! To Reheat, add additional milk or evaporate milk and heat in microwave.
Notes
- 1 Tbs Taco Seasoning for a Taco Mac
- 1 Cup cubed Ham and 1 Cup Frozen Peas
- 1 lb Cooked and crumbled Ground Beef with 1 Tbs Taco Seasoning
- 2 Cups Steamed Broccoli
- ½ Cup Crumbled Bacon
- 1 Can Tuna
- Shredded Chicken
Nutrition Disclaimer
All nutrition values are approximate and calculated by a plugin and are provided as a courtesy. Adding or subtracting ingredients will change the nutritional value.
Rhonda L Kolstad
Can we substitute the evaporated milk for regular milk?
Devour Dinner
Hi Rhonda, yes you can substitute regular milk if you wish! It works!
Julie
Can I mix heavy cream or 2% milk to equal the right amount of liquid?
Only have small can of evaporated milk.
Devour Dinner
Hi Julie! Yes, you can use 2% milk or half and half for evaporated milk. It will be just fine.
Amy | Loving Our Messy
This looks so good! I have four boys and ALL are big fans of mac and cheese. Definitely trying this one!
Devour Dinner
Well, my boys love this recipe and my teenager has now learned how to make it himself. Score one for mom!
Summer
Can this recipe be doubled?
Devour Dinner
Hi Summer,
In order to double this recipe you would need to make sure you have the room in your pressure cooker. Pressure Cookers should not be filled higher than the fill line. I don't think this is possible in a 6qt model, but it might work for an 8qt.
Jennifer Espinosa
I never even thought about making mac n cheese in my insta pot. I can't wait to try this recipe! My kids are going to love it.
Emily @ Pizza & Pull-Ups
I will have to try this, my kiddos love Mac and cheese!
Ayanna @ 21FlavorsofSplendor
Yummy! My girls love mac & cheese too, so they would have no problem eating every day for a week either.