Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

Mac and cheese is the ultimate comfort food on a cold rainy day. I took my basic stovetop recipe (and favorite recipe) for Mac and Cheese and turned it into an Instant Pot recipe. It’s been a while since I’ve posted any Instant Pot recipes and this mac and cheese is super easy to make in the Instant Pot. I asked on my Instagram stories if you wanted to see more Instant Pot recipes and there were quite a few that wanted more, so here you go!

Summer is coming up and I’ll be using my grill a lot but I also like to utilize my Instant Pot and Air Fryer at the same time. These two cooking devices will keep your house from heating up in the Summer too. I love my Instant Pot for making tender cooked beef stew or roasts and mashed potatoes but there are other uses for it too.

This tastes exactly like my favorite boxed Velveeta shells and cheese that I sometimes get at the grocery store. I prefer that over the Kraft boxed macaroni and cheeses. Real cheese is better right?

Sadly, I can’t eat this all the time because I have a dairy sensitivity. Cheese is one of my favorite foods and gives me some really bad stomach pain after eating it. I’m not allergic to it, just sensitive and I think I only have mac and cheese once a month because of that.

Mac and Cheese Ingredients

I used Velveeta Cheese Slices to make this recipe because one slice is 40 calories and 1 smart point. Roughly 8 to 10 slices is about 8 oz. It doesn’t take long to unwrap them either. After I get done unwrapping them I tear the slices up into smaller pieces so that they melt faster in the noodles and other cheeses when the Instant Pot is still warm.

Milk - My recipes call for low fat 1 % milk and if you have a dairy allergy you can use unsweetened almond milk.

Sharp Cheddar - Sharp cheddar is my go to in any mac and cheese recipe. You can sub other cheeses that you prefer.

Mac and Cheese Add-Ins

Have you ever been to Noodles and Company and had their buffalo chicken mac and cheese? If I have any leftover cooked chicken I’ll add it to some buffalo wing sauce and let that sit in a bowl for 10 minutes and add it to the top of my mac and cheese. They also have a cheeseburger mac and cheese that is easy to copy. Leftover ground beef with tomatoes, cheese, pickles, and some scallions.

Taco mac and cheese is good too. I think I make beef taco meat at least once every 2 weeks and that is also really good stirred in the noodles and cheese. Get some smoked sausage from the deli or cut up some ham. Hot dogs are also good.

How to boil noodles in your Instant Pot

The general rule of thumb for boiling noodles in your instant pot is to use 1 cup of water for every 4 oz of pasta. My recipe calls for 16 oz of pasta so that would be 4 cups of water. The noodles were done cooking in 5 minutes. It does take a while for the pressure to build up but it was pretty fast!  Depending on what other ingredients you want to add to your mac and cheese you can drain the extra water from the pot and easily add the noodles back in there.

How to make Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

1. Add the uncooked macaroni and water to your Instant Pot.  1 cup of liquid for every 4 ounces of pasta. Place the lid on the pot and set to sealing.  Cook on manual function, high pressure for 5 minutes.  Then, do a quick release.
2. While the noodles are boiling prepare your other ingredients. Unwrap the cheese slices and weigh out 8 oz on a food scale. After I weighed the cheese slices out I teared them up so that they would melt faster in the Instant Pot.

Drain the water from the pot and add the noodles back in. Stir in the milk, cheese, butter, and black pepper until smooth. Season as necessary to taste.

What Instant Pot is the best? 

I have the Instant Pot Duo 6 QT Electric Pressure Cooker. You can find it on Amazon. I'm not sponsored by them, it just a kitchen appliance I really like to use. Gotta love those multi-cookers! The Instant Pot Duo multi-cooker combines 7 appliances in one: pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, sauté pan, yogurt maker and warmer – and cooks up to 70% faster!

Are Instant Pots safe? 

Don’t be intimidated by your pressure because you’re afraid the lid will pop off or explode! Pressure cookers have built-in features that are for safety reasons. Some of the most common errors made are when the user forgets to turn the venting knob to sealing mode, overfills the pot, or uses the timer button to set the cooking time. 

Other Instant Pot Recipes

Instant Pot French Dip Sandwiches

Instant Pot Pot Roast

Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes and Meatloaf 

Instant Pot Pulled Pork 

Instant Pot Apple Sauce

How to make Instant Pot Mac and Cheese Video

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