Disclosure: *This post may include affiliate links. As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Yield: 8 servings

instant pot mac and cheese

Name: instant pot mac and cheese
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: dinner
Ingredients: 16 ounces (1 box) uncooked large shell pasta; 4 cups water; 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt; 4 tablespoons butter; 8 ounces (2 rounded cups) freshly shredded cheddar cheese; 8 ounces (2 rounded cups) freshly shredded Monterey Jack cheese; Or, substitute additional sharp cheddar, or try another cheese, such as Gruyere; 1 cup milk (skim, low fat, or whole); black pepper (optional)

The BEST Instant Pot mac and cheese recipe. Creamy, delicious, and ready in minutes. Perfect side dish or weeknight dinner idea.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Additional Time 5 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

16 ounces (1 box) uncooked large shell pasta
4 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
4 tablespoons butter
8 ounces (2 rounded cups) freshly shredded cheddar cheese
8 ounces (2 rounded cups) freshly shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Or, substitute additional sharp cheddar, or try another cheese, such as Gruyere
1 cup milk (skim, low fat, or whole)
black pepper (optional)

Instructions

Place the pasta, water, salt, and butter in the Instant Pot. Give it a quick stir. Secure the top and seal the valve. Use the pressure setting and set the clock to 4 minutes. The Pot will take about ten minutes to pressurize before the clock starts counting down.

When the 4 minutes is up, use the quick release valve to release the steam. Protect your hands with a potholder or silicone gloves and turn the valve. If the pasta water starts to spurt, close the valve, wait about 15 seconds, and continue to turn the valve in brief intervals until the spurting stops. Let all of the steam release until the float valve descends and it is safe to remove the lid.

If there is a significant amount of water in the pot, drain the water by gently pouring the water off into the sink. You needn't drain every last drop. Keep a colander in the sink just in case the pasta falls from the pot.

Stir in the cheeses and milk. If you drained the pasta, you may also add another tablespoon of butter and a pinch of salt. Add pepper if you like. You may put the Instant Pot in warming mode to help melt the cheese. For less creamy cheese, start with only 1/2 cup of milk and add more as desired.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 702Total Fat: 33gSaturated Fat: 19gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 93mgSodium: 959mgCarbohydrates: 68gFiber: 4gSugar: 3gProtein: 32g

This creamy, cheesy Instant Pot mac and cheese is a game-changer. Ready in minutes and the best macaroni and cheese ever.

Instant Pot mac and cheese

As I’ve mentioned, I got an Instant Pot for Christmas. And so far I’m loving it.

But it had to face a challenge: Could a pressure cooker make my favorite food better than the stove or crock pot or oven? The answer: Yes. It can.

This Instant Pot mac and cheese recipe is delicious and ready in minutes.

The pasta is tender with just a bit of firmness, and the cheesy sauce is so creamy. I shall forevermore make mac and cheese in the Instant Pot.

Need more dinner ideas?

Check out this roundup of 20 Instant Pot chicken recipes.

And less ye be forgotten, I also have recipes for slow cooker beer mac and cheese, microwave mac and cheese in a mug, homemade Kraft Easy Mac, and even mac and cheese in a muffin tin.

This copycat Panera Instant Pot mac and cheese is amazing.

You might also like this roundup of 20 crock pot mac and cheese recipes.

how to make pasta in the Instant Pot

To make Instant Pot macaroni and cheese, you cook the pasta in water in the Instant Pot.

You then add the milk and cheeses, letting the residual heat melt the cheese.

If needed, you can put the Instant Pot on warming mode or even the saute mode (with the lid off) to help the melting along, but do not keep it on the heat for too long or too much liquid will be absorbed.

The mac and cheese is creamy, similar to stove-top mac and cheese, as opposed to baked mac and cheese. It’s best when it sits for 10 to 15 minutes after cooking.

For this recipe, I use a smaller pasta, 16 ounces of shell pasta. You can use a comparably-sized pasta, such as elbows.

Larger pasta, such as penne, may need more cook time. For the 16 ounces of shell pasta with 4 cups of water, I used the pressure mode and set the timer for 4 minutes.

I then used the instant release as soon as the pasta was done (see tips below about this). This, to me, was just right for perfect pasta, tender, but not too soft. I did have water left in the Instant Pot, which I drained before adding the milk and cheeses.

This blog post on cooking pasta in the Instant Pot from Tidbits has fantastic information on cooking different types of pasta.

tips on making Instant Pot mac and cheese

Drain the water. After you make the pasta in the pressure cooker and before you add the milk and cheese, if there is any remaining water in the pot, drain the pasta. I was able to pour most of the liquid from the Instant Pot slowly by tipping over the sink (with a colander beneath, just in case). If you do drain the pasta, you may want to add a pinch more salt and even a bit more butter to the final mac and cheese.

The valve! To keep the pasta from over-cooking, I use the quick release valve to let the steam escape as soon as the 4 minutes of pressure cooking is complete, rather than let the steam release slowly and naturally. However, when cooking pasta, the pasta water can spurt up through the quick release valve. Wearing a potholder or silicone gloves, turn the quick release in short spurts, closing the valve if the pasta water begins to spurt through the valve.

Make it your own. The recipe here is quite creamy. If you prefer a less creamy mac and cheese, add 1/2 cup of milk instead of the 1 cup of milk the recipe calls for. Add additional milk if desired. Also, this recipe is quite mild, as I use a combination of Monterey Jack and Sharp Cheddar cheeses. If you like a stronger mac and cheese, replace the Monterey Jack with additional sharp cheddar. Or, try Gruyere cheese. If you prefer, you can also add some dried mustard or hot sauce.

How to make Instant Pot mac and cheese

Ingredients:

16 ounces (1 box) uncooked large shell pasta
4 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
4 tablespoons butter
8 ounces (2 rounded cups) freshly shredded cheddar cheese
8 ounces (2 rounded cups) freshly shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- Or, substitute additional sharp cheddar, or try another cheese, such as Gruyere
1 cup milk (skim, low fat, or whole)
black pepper (optional)

Cook your pasta.

When the 4 minutes is up, use the quick release valve to release the steam. Protect your hands with a potholder or silicone gloves and turn the valve.

If the pasta water starts to spurt, close the valve, wait about 15 seconds, and continue to turn the valve in brief intervals until the spurting stops. Let all of the steam release until the float valve descends and it is safe to remove the lid.

If there is a significant amount of water in the pot, drain the water by gently pouring the water off into the sink. You needn’t drain every last drop. Keep a colander in the sink just in case the pasta falls from the pot.

Add your cheeses and milk.

Stir in the cheeses and milk.

If you drained the pasta, you may also add another tablespoon of butter and a pinch of salt. Add pepper if you like.

For less creamy cheese, start with only 1/2 cup of milk and add more as desired.