Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
This Instant Pot mac and cheese is creamy, cheesy and ready in just 30 minutes! This easy recipe is one of my family’s favorite dinners, and it also makes a delicious side dish!
I Think You’ll Love this Instant Pot Mac and Cheese!
My kids love mac and cheese and this Instant Pot mac and cheese is my favorite way to make this classic comfort food. I love this recipe because it’s made in one pot, with few ingredients and it makes the creamiest, cheesiest mac and cheese I’ve tried. Yes, even creamier than my favorite baked mac and cheese recipe!
Served with roasted broccoli or a salad, this delicious mac and cheese makes such an easy dinner. I hope you love it too!
I made this and it is by far the best Mac n cheese I have ever tasted by far. Yummy yummy!
Thickened To perfection. Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe.Terri
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Elbow Pasta: You can use white pasta or whole wheat pasta in this recipe. I usually use elbow macaroni pasta. Other short pasta shapes, such as shells, will also work.
- Water: The pasta absorbs the water as it cooks, there’s no draining required! For extra flavor, you can substitute half of the water with chicken broth.
- Seasonings: A few simple seasonings flavor the pasta as it cooks. I use paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper in this recipe. You can also add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard or 1/2 teaspoon of dry mustard, if desired.
- Butter: A little butter adds richness. You’ll stir the butter into the hot cooked pasta and it will melt right in.
- Cheese: I love the flavor combination of sharp cheddar cheese and sharp white cheddar. It’s best to shred your own cheese using a box grater, since store bought pre-shredded cheese is often coated with an anti-caking agent that prevents it from melting smoothly.
- Milk: For extra creaminess.
How to Make Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
Combine pasta, water and seasonings in Instant Pot. Stir everything together and even out the pasta so that it is all in the liquid.
Pressure cook. Cook at high pressure for 3 minutes for whole wheat elbow pasta or 4 minutes for white elbow pasta. Then quick release the pressure.
Pro Tip: When you quick release the pressure, move the steam release valve very carefully and, if possible, move it just a little bit at a time. It’s best to release the steam and pressure slowly to avoid a starchy spray from coming out of the valve. As long as you do a slow and careful quick release, you shouldn’t end up with a mess.
Stir in the butter, cheese and milk. Taste the mac and cheese and add more salt and pepper, if needed. If it seems a little watery, let it rest with the keep warm setting on for a few minutes and it will thicken up. Then serve and enjoy!
Recipe Variations
You can change up the flavors of your Instant Pot mac and cheese by stirring in one or more of these optional mix-ins after cooking:
- Add Protein: Stir in Instant Pot Shredded Chicken, chopped Poached Chicken, rotisserie chicken, cubed cooked ham, cooked sausage, or crumbled bacon.
- Add Veggies: After cooking, mix in some Instant Pot Broccoli, frozen peas, Roasted Butternut Squash, or fresh spinach to add flavor and nutrition.
- Add Spice: Sophisticated palates may enjoy a pinch of cayenne pepper or a dash of hot sauce mixed into the mac and cheese.
- Try Other Cheeses: Try using a combination of sharp cheddar and either mozzarella, Gruyere or Monterey jack. You can also stir in some grated Parmesan cheese for extra flavor.
To Store and Reheat
This Instant Pot mac and cheese is best served right after making it because that’s when it will have the best creamy texture. If you have leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Leftover mac and cheese is still delicious, it just won’t be as creamy as when it’s freshly made.
I recommend stirring in a little bit of milk when reheating your mac and cheese. You can warm it gently in a pot on the stove over low heat, stirring often, or in the microwave.
More Easy Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Spaghetti
- Instant Pot Beef Stew
- Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
- Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
- Instant Pot Pork Chops
- Instant Pot Lasagna
Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
- 16 ounces uncooked white or whole wheat elbow pasta
- 4 cups water
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon pepper, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 8 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, about 2 cups shredded
- 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, about 1 cup shredded
- ½ cup milk, warmed, whole milk is best
- Place pasta, water, salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder in Instant Pot. Stir well. Even out the pasta to make sure it is all in the liquid.
- Close the Instant Pot lid and move the steam release valve to the sealing position. Cook on Manual/Pressure Cook at high pressure for 3 minutes for whole wheat elbow pasta or 4 minutes for white elbow pasta. (A good rule of thumb is to cook pasta in the Instant Pot for half of the cook time listed on the box.)
- While the pasta cooks, shred the cheese and warm the milk.
- As soon as the cook time ends, quick release the pressure by moving the steam release valve to the venting position. If possible, do a slow and careful quick release by moving the valve a little bit at a time, to slow the release of starchy steam from the pasta and minimize mess.
- Once all of the steam has been released and the pin drops down, open the Instant Pot lid and add the butter to the pot. Slowly stir in the cheese, a little bit at a time, followed by the milk. Taste and add more salt and pepper as desired.
- If the mac and cheese seems too liquidy, let it sit on the warm setting for a few minutes and it will thicken up. Serve.
- Cheese: I recommend buying a block of cheese and shredding it yourself, rather than using pre-shredded cheese. Pre-shredded cheese is often coated with an anti-caking agent to keep it from clumping together and it doesn’t melt as well.
- Other pasta shapes: You can use this easy formula to figure out how long you need to cook your pasta in the Instant Pot, no matter which shape of pasta you use: take the package cook time and divide it in half. That’s it! If you like your pasta al dente (firmer), subtract one more minute from the pressure cooking time.
- Leftovers: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. I recommend stirring in a little bit of milk when reheating mac and cheese. Warm it gently in a pot on the stove, stirring often, or in the microwave.
- Add Protein: Stir in Instant Pot Shredded Chicken, chopped Poached Chicken, rotisserie chicken, cubed cooked ham, cooked sausage, or crumbled bacon.
- Add Veggies: After cooking, mix in cooked broccoli, frozen peas, Roasted Butternut Squash, or fresh spinach.
- Add Spice: Add a pinch of cayenne pepper or a dash of hot sauce.
- Try Other Cheeses: Try using a combination of sharp cheddar and either mozzarella, Gruyere or Monterey jack. You can also stir in some grated Parmesan cheese for extra flavor.
I originally shared this recipe in 2019. Updated September 2021 and September 2024.
My family loved this. It was very easy and creamy delicious. It was a little mustardy for my kids so I’ll cut it back next time. I’m excited to try some of the recommended add-ins and make it a complete meal.
I’m glad your family enjoyed this! After feedback from you and other readers I have retested and updated the recipe to remove the mustard. 🙂
Looking forward to trying this recipe. but not sure about the amount of pasta. How much is 16 oz.?
16 ounces is a one pound box of pasta. Enjoy!
Did this receipt for the first time but it came out choky/tasted powdery. We did exactly what the receipt said to do but used extra sharp white and extra sharp cheddar cheese. Also used whole wheat noodles. Not sure what we did wrong? Can it be the type of cheese we used we did grind it our selfs.
Hi Olivia,
I am not sure why that happened. I have not experienced that before with this recipe.
The pasta was really mushy and didn’t have much flavor. I was able to improve it a little bit by adding onion powder and garlic salt, but I don’t think the instant pot works very well for pasta if you want it al dente.
I’m sorry you didn’t love this recipe. Next time, I would suggest reducing the cook time by a few minutes. Different pastas can require different cook times.
I made this and it is by far the best Mac n cheese I have ever tasted by far. Yummy yummy!
Thickened To perfection. Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe.
I had high hopes for this one but I got a burn warning before it got to pressure and the entire bottom of the pot was covered in black burned pasta cement. I used some fancy chickpea pasta. Maybe that was the reason.
Any ideas on how to avoid this? Different pasta? Rinse the pasta beforehand?
I would recommend using regular pasta or whole wheat pasta. My guess is that it was the type of pasta that made it burn. I’ve never had a problem with the burn warning when making this with regular wheat pasta.
Tried it again with regular wheat pasta this time and it was maybe the best Mac and Cheese ever!
I made this for the first time yesterday and my husband loved it. Mine stuck to the bottom of the pan tho. I think not enough water for the amount of noodles I put in. My mistake and one I won’t make next time. I use your recipes every time I use my pot. Thanks!!
Oh how I wish your site was online when my kids were your and I was working full time!! (didn’t even own a computer at the time though). I am gluten free. Any advice for GF pasta other than 1/2 time listed on box? More water maybe? Going to try this soon.
I haven’t tested this with gluten free pasta, so unfortunately I can’t advise on how it will work. If you try it, let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Can you double this in the 6 quart IP?
Hi Brenna,
Try 1 and half the recipe, I think doubling would be too full for the pot.
Best and fastest Mac and cheese recipe! This recipe is a crowd pleaser. Absolutely the easiest path to traditionally creamy Mac and Cheese. My only wish is that there was an easy way to scale it up.
Delicious ❤️ Happy husband, will make again and again
I’m so glad that you enjoyed this!
Hi! I gave this recipe a try for the first time and I noticed a lot of water left in the pot after in cooked on high pressure for 4 minutes. I left it stand on warm for 10 minutes after mixing in the cheese, butter, and milk.
Do I need to just cook on high pressure for longer than 4 minutes?
Thanks!
There is usually some water left after the cook time, and it absorbs into the pasta in just a few minutes so that the finished mac and cheese is not watery. If there was still a lot of water after the 10 minute rest, here are a few things to try: (1) Make sure that the correct amount of pasta and water were used. (2) If the pasta wasn’t fully cooked then adding another minute or two of cook time would make sense. (3) If the pasta was fully cooked, you can try using just a bit less water next time. I hope that helps!
Can I double this safely?
I am not sure that a double recipe will fit in a 6 quart Instant Pot. If using a 6 quart pot, I’d first try 1.5x the recipe to see how full the pot is. If you have an 8 quart pot then a double recipe should fit.
Love how easy this was – easier than the boxed stuff – and how tasty it was due to having control over the quality of ingredients used. My family loves a little heat in almost everything so we used 1 block of pepper jack and 1 block of extra sharp cheddar plus a little cayenne and some extra garlic in addition to the ingredients called for in the recipe. We only had 2% milk on hand, so it was a bit loose right after completing, but allowing it to sit about 5 minutes while finishing up the rest of our dinner resulted in perfectly creamy mac’n’cheese.
Very good! I enjoyed this quick, easy, minimum ingredient recipe. Thank you for the recipe!