Creamy Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

Creamy Instant Pot Mac and Cheese Recipe - Family Fresh Meals

Get ready for the best Instant Pot Mac and Cheese!

Since I got my Instant Pot, I’ve discovered it’s really good for making comfort food – those warm, cozy dishes that used to take all day to cook. After using it for my favorite beef stew and for corned beef and cabbage, I decided it was time to put this thing to a real test. I wanted to use the Instant Pot to make the most classic comfort food of them all, mac and cheese.

Well, I don’t mind telling you, this wasn’t that easy. I had to do a little tinkering to get the amounts and the timing just right. But at last, I finally came up with a version that delivers truly perfect mac and cheese: rich, creamy, and incredibly comforting.

Creamy Instant Pot Mac and Cheese - Step 2

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The key turns out to be using a combination of different cheeses, plus milk and BUTTER. That way, all you have to do is cook the pasta with seasonings in the Instant Pot, let off the steam, and then stir in the rest of the ingredients. The heat of the pasta is enough to melt the cheeses and cream together into a perfect, creamy sauce in no time.

With this Creamy Instant Pot Mac and Cheese, you can go from dry pasta to rich, cozy mac and cheese in just 10 minutes. That’s less time than it takes to mix up instant mac and cheese from a box – and this stuff is soooooo much better.

Creamy Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

Directions:

  1. Place the dry pasta, butter, garlic salt, salt, dry mustard and water into the IP cooker pot. Place the lid on the top and seal the toggle switch. Press manual (high) and timer for 4 minutes.
  2. When cooking time is complete, do a quick release and remove the lid when the pin drops.
  3. Keeping the pressure cooking on low heat (the Instant Pot will automatically go into this warm mode after cooking) Add the evaporated milk, and half the cheeses. Melt the cheeses by stirring, and when the first batch of cheese is melted, add the second half.
  4. Test for seasoning and add more salt (and pepper) if you prefer. Remove mac and cheese from heat source and let rest for about 5 mins to let the sauce thicken.

Creamy Instant Pot Mac and Cheese - Step 1

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TOOLS USED TO MAKE THIS CREAMY INSTANT POT MAC AND CHEESE
Instant Pot: This 6qt Instant Pot pressure cooker is always my go to!
Measuring Cups and Spoons: Each cup’s “ml” and cup sizes have

4.82 from 72 votes

Creamy Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

Author Corey Valley
With this Creamy Instant Pot Mac and Cheese recipe, you can go from dry pasta to rich, cozy mac and cheese in just 10 minutes. That beats the box any day!
Prep Time 1 minute
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 11 minutes

Ingredients
 

  • 16 oz pasta
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tsp dry mustard
  • 1/2 tsp garlic salt
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 cups water
  • 5 oz can evaporated milk
  • 3 cups shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack
  • 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  • Place the dry pasta, butter, garlic salt, salt, dry mustard and water into the IP cooker pot. Place the lid on the top and seal the toggle switch. Press manual (high) and timer for 4 minutes.
  • When cooking time is complete, do a quick release and remove the lid when the pin drops.
  • Keeping the pressure cooking on low heat (the Instant Pot will automatically go into this warm mode after cooking) Add the evaporated milk, and half the cheeses. Melt the cheeses by stirring, and when the first batch of cheese is melted, add the second half.
  • Test for seasoning and add more salt (and pepper) if you prefer. Remove mac and cheese from heat source and let rest for about 5 mins to let the sauce thicken.

Nutrition

Calories: 405kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 747mg | Potassium: 238mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 760IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 516mg | Iron: 1.2mg

Nutritional Disclaimer: Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.

Sharing of this recipe is encouraged and appreciated. Copying of full recipe to any social media is prohibited.

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Post updated December 12, 2019

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133 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Made this today my wife absolutely loved it…thank you very much

  2. Have you tried doubling this recipe? If so, will it affect the cooking time of the pasta?

    1. I have not tried doubling this in the IP yet. What size IP do you have?

      1. Stephanie Agnew says:

        I’d like to know what effect there is as well.

      2. I doubled it!! I added a bit more water to ensure I had covered the pasta sufficiently – maybe another cup –
        and then just made sure I doubled the rest of the ingredients. Kept the time to 4 minutes and added some already-cooked ground beef to the mix before adding the cheese. Turned out PERFECT (and was eaten by adults and kids alike).

        1. 5 stars
          I doubled it as well and had no issues except the quick release sprayed a buttery mess all over my kitchen. Did you have that issue as well?

          1. 5 stars
            I always cover the vent on top with a dishtowel when I’m doing quick release. That contains any spray and is much easier to clean up!

    2. 5 stars
      This recipe is a great one. Quick,simple,and easy to add to.

  3. Do you know if this recipe will freeze well? I am making freezer meals for my son and DIL who are getting ready to have their first baby. Thx

  4. B McKenzie says:

    Does this recipe freeze well?

  5. Quick question – what if you use whole milk vs. evaporated? Does it make a difference in the outcome?

    1. Assilem Yevap says:

      5 stars
      I didn’t have the condensed Milk and used 1/2 & 1/2 tastes great. Very cheesy. I followed recipe with exception of the above and I added about 1c extra of water to cover pasta, didn’t have excess after cook. However like all other pasta I have cooked in the instant pot I used the slow release of 10 mins to ensure the cook. Pasta was perfect just slightly passed aldante.

  6. 5 stars
    I made this to go with our Labor Day dinner. I used shell noodles and they were a little uncooked at 4 min. I had to increase just one min. Other then that this recipe was a huge hit! My daughter usually makes the mac and cheese for parties but everyone agreed that this recipe was much better.

    1. It is a brand of pressure cooker 🙂

  7. Did you drain it after cooking the pasta in the instant pot? Mine came out really watery and the cheese dish not mix well with it.

    1. No I did not KS. Was your pasta cooked throughly? What kind of pasta did you use?

      1. Pasta comes in grams rather than ounces where I live, so I estimated 2 cups of dry elbow macaroni. Mine came out watery too, so I removed the excess water with a turkey baster and heated it up a bit more.

        1. 16 oz is ~454 grams. 1 cup of dry macaroni is ~4 oz.

          You were using about half the proper amount of dry pasta.

  8. 5 stars
    Anyone have an estimate on the calories per cup cooked?

    1. 5 stars
      I was curious about this as well, so I plugged the ingredients into myfitnesspal’s recipe calculator. Comes out to around 483 calories, 44 carbs, 25g fat, 22g protein, 404g sodium, 4g sugar per serving. Give or take, anyway!

  9. 5 stars
    I made this the other night and, not only was it by far the easiest mac & cheese I’ve ever made, but it was one of the best tasting, too! I did have to make one substitution, only because I didn’t have any evaporated milk on hand, so I used half & half instead. Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe!