The Best Instant Pot Macaroni & Cheese

The Best Instant Pot Mac & Cheese!

This Instant Pot mac and cheese recipe is awesome! I am amazed at how fast and easy it is. Lunch or dinner in under 30 minutes. Works well as a side dish too!

The cheese sauce is creamy and cheesy. The macaroni is cooked to perfection, not mushy or too firm. Pasta in the Instant Pot works beautifully with the right recipe. Have you tried the Instant Pot Lo Mein yet?

4 Reasons I Love Instant Pot Mac & Cheese:

1. Hands off and easy
2. All in one pot – no fuss, less mess
3. Stays warm in the Instant Pot – “Keep Warm” setting
4. Tastes delicious!

Melting the butter in the Instant Pot on sauté setting helps the pot come to pressure faster. My Instant Pot only takes 5 minutes to come to pressure with this recipe! Five minutes to pressure, 5 minutes to cook, then quick release. And it doesn’t sputter much during the release either, so that’s nice.

Instant Pot Macaroni & Cheese Ingredients

The hot sauce and Dijon mustard add some nice depth to the flavor. It does not make the macaroni spicy or mustardy. Add them in and don’t worry about tasting them much in the final product. I promise it will work out!

I like to use macaroni or elbow pasta, but you could easily use shells or a similar pasta instead. One pound, or 16 ounces, is about 4 cups of dry pasta. It cooks up amazingly well in the Instant Pot with this recipe!

For the cheese, use sharp cheddar, medium cheddar, parmesan, and cream cheese. The cream cheese is cubed, the rest is shredded. This blend of cheese is nice and creamy, great cheesy flavor, and not too stringy.

Dress up your mac & cheese with some bread crumb topping, if desired. Use panko or bread crumbs, add a little Italian seasoning if you want, then brown and sauté the crumbs in a skillet with butter. Or serve the macaroni and cheese with cut up chicken, hot dogs, bacon, or tuna mixed in. Lots of options!

One of the ultimate comfort foods – creamy, homemade mac & cheese. You will love how quick and easy it is in the Instant Pot! Give this recipe a try!

Check out more of our favorite Instant Pot recipes!

The Best Instant Pot Macaroni & Cheese

Creamy, delicious macaroni and cheese all in one pot - the Instant Pot. You will be amazed at how easy and fast it is!

4.75 / 5 ( 4 Reviews )

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 6 minutes minutes

Total Time: 26 minutes minutes

Serves: 9

Adjust Servings: 9

US CustomaryMetric

Equipment

• Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter cubed
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 16 ounces dry macaroni pasta 4 cups dry pasta
• ½ to 1 cup milk
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded parmesan
• 3 ounces cream cheese cubed

Instructions

• Melt the butter in the Instant Pot on sauté setting. Leave it on sauté and pour in the chicken broth, add the garlic powder, salt, hot sauce, pepper, and mustard. Whisk to combine. Dump the dry pasta into the pot. Don't stir, but do move it around until all pasta is submerged.
• Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Quick release pressure when cooking time is done.
• Leave pot on keep warm setting and add 1/2 cup of milk. Feel free to add more milk, if needed. Add the cheeses in handfuls, stirring in between to help it melt evenly. Then add the cubes of cream cheese and stir until incorporated.
• Serve warm.

Recipe Notes

Add more milk to loosen cheese sauce, if needed.

Nutrition

Calories: 439kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 21g | Sodium: 1122mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g