In this beginner-friendly recipe, we are going to teach you how to make super easy Instant Pot macaroni and cheese. With detailed instructions, step-by-step photos and cooking tips, this family-favorite pasta dish is satiating and delicious. You can serve mac and cheese as a main dish with vegetables or salad or as a side dish. See how-to photos below the recipe card. Leave a rating or comment at the bottom of this post if you’ve made this recipe or have any questions!
We have a few Instant Pot mac and cheese recipes on the blog but we wanted to put together a very detailed guide for how to make a super simple version that would be suitable to pressure cooker beginners and novice cooks.
Creamy macaroni and cheese is a dish that everyone should master. Who doesn’t love a good, creamy, cheese pasta? Right? Well, with this step-by-step recipe, you will learn just how quick and easy it is to make in the Instant Pot.
WHAT YOU NEED FOR INSTANT POT MAC & CHEESE
The making of mac and cheese in the Instant Pot involved two stages: pressure cooking and cheesy-fying. The first stage is ridiculously easy! You will need elbow macaroni pasta (you can actually use any pasta you like but we’re sticking with the traditional shape here), water or stock (using chicken or vegetable stock adds a lot of extra flavor!), mustard, garlic powder, and a little hot sauce. Oh, and some butter!
Once the pasta is cooked, all you need to add is a little hot milk and your favorite cheeses. We are using a classic trio of grated cheddar, mozzarella and Parmesan (adds a little sharpness). You can also use one type of cheese if you like.
You will find the recipe for this mac and cheese just below or you can jump to detailed step-by-step photo instructions under the recipe card. These are especially handy if you’re an Instant Pot beginner.
You might like more recipes from our Instant Pot For Beginners series:
- Mushroom & Wild Rice Soup In The Instant Pot (Step-By-Step)
- Instant Pot Veggie-Loaded Lentil Stew (Step-By-Step)
- How To Cook Rice In Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Boiled Eggs (Step-By-Step Soft-Boiled, Jammy & Hard-Boiled)
WATCH OUR TOP 10 VEGETARIAN VIDEO RECIPES HERE
Instant Pot Macaroni & Cheese (Easy, Step-By-Step, Beginner Recipe)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 16 minutes
- Total Time: 21 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Learn how to make easy Instant Pot mac and cheese with our beginner-friendly, step-by-step recipe. Serve this cheesy macaroni dish as a main with vegetables or salads or as a side dish the whole family will love.
Ingredients
1 pound (450 g) uncooked elbow macaroni pasta
4.5 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock (water is fine, add 1 teaspoon salt if not using stock)
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon hot sauce (like Franks or Sriracha)
1 teaspoon mustard (Dijon or yellow, or a little dry mustard powder)
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
To finish the pasta:
1–1.5 cups shredded sharp cheese like cheddar
1 cup shredded mild cheese like mozzarella
½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
½ to 1 cup hot milk (heat it in a microwave or a pot)
Garnishes: chives or parsley, extra grated cheese, breadcrumbs.
Instructions
- Add ingredients. Power up in the Instant Pot. Add the dry pasta, stock, butter, hot sauce, mustard, pepper and garlic powder to the inside pot and stir well.
- Set & cook. Secure and lock the lid; make sure the pressure handle is pointing to Sealing on Duo Classic. Select Manual/Pressure Cook and adjust the timer to 4 minutes on HIGH pressure. After a few beeps/seconds, the ON sign will come on indicating the pot is heating up and the pressure is building; pressurizing will take about 12 minutes and then the 4-minute timer will begin.
- Once the timer is done, use the quick release method to let off the remaining pressure (press the steam knob down or point to Venting on older models). Do not leave on natural release as the pasta will keep cooking!
- Tip: While releasing the pressure, hover a kitchen towel 20-30 centimetres above the steam jet to catch any foam. Oftentimes, when cooking foods like pasta, some foam can form during cooking. Beware of your hands and face!
- Finish the pasta. Open the lid. Most of the stock/water will be absorbed into the pasta but you might have a little left on the bottom. Stir in half a cup or a cup of hot milk. Follow by adding grated cheeses and stir into the pasta until melted. You can cover the Instant Pot with a lid for a couple of minutes to trap in the heat. If the pasta and cooking broth/milk are not hot enough, you can press the Saute button to heat up the pot sightly.
- Taste for seasoning and serve while hot.
Notes
- Pressurizing: 12 minutes | Cooking at pressure: 4 minutes | Release: quick release | Total cooking time: 16 minutes.
- Cleaning tip: Melted cheese can be a pain to clean and an easy way to do it in the Instant Pot is to fill up the pot with boiling hot water to melt any solidified cheese before scraping the pot clean. You can also add hot water and place the inner pot back in the Instant Pot and use the Saute function to heat it up. This will also melt any stuck-on cheese.
- Lighten-it up: You can use less butter or light butter when cooking the pasta and use low-fat milk and cheeses to create a lower-calories version of this dish. For a vegan mac and cheese, check out this recipe.
Keywords: Macaroni, Mac & Cheese, Cheese, Pasta, Instant Pot, Pressure Cooker, Vegetarian
HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT MACARONI & CHEESE
Here are step-by-step instructions for making macaroni and cheese in the Instant Pot. We used Instant Pot Duo Nova 6-quart pressure cooker for this recipe.
Step 1. Add the dry pasta, stock, butter, hot sauce, mustard, pepper and garlic powder to the inside pot and stir well.
Step 2.Secure and lock the lid; make sure the pressure handle is pointing to Sealing on Duo Classic. Select Manual/Pressure Cook and adjust the timer to 4 minutes on HIGH pressure.
After a few beeps/seconds, the ON sign will come on indicating the pot is heating up and the pressure is building; pressurizing will take about 12 minutes and then the 4-minute timer will begin.
Once the timer is done, use the quick release method to let off the remaining pressure (press the steam knob down or point to Venting on older models). Do not leave on natural release as the pasta will keep cooking!
Open the lid. Most of the stock/water will be absorbed into the pasta but you might have a little left on the bottom.
Step 3.Stir in half a cup or a cup of hot milk. Follow by adding grated cheeses and stir into the pasta until melted. You can cover the Instant Pot with a lid for a couple of minutes to trap in the heat. If the pasta and cooking broth/milk are not hot enough, you can press the Saute button to heat up the pot sightly. Taste for seasoning and serve while hot.
Where in the recipe do you use the breadcrumbs…?
Notice it’s under the Garnish section. So at the very end when you are plating the dish.