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a bowl of mac and cheese with a gold fork in it

Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review
  • Author: Jess
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 8 servings 1x
  • Category: Main
  • Method: Instant Pot
  • Cuisine: American

Description

A delicious classic mac and cheese that comes together in less than 15 minutes in your instant pot!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 cup low sodium vegetable broth (can sub more water)
  • 3 tbsp butter (can sub vegan butter)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 16 oz elbow macaroni (I use gluten-free macaroni)ย 
  • 1/2 cup milk of choice (regular, whole, or dairy-free)
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp dry mustard
  • 2 1/2 cups shredded cheese of choice (sub vegan cheese)

Instructions

  1. Turn the Instant pot on Saute, then add the water, broth, butter and pinch of salt and macaroni noodles. Gently mix together to make sure the macaroni is covered.
  2. Put the lid on and set it to sealing.
  3. Using the manual setting, set the Instant pot to 5 minutes. Then turn the lid to venting to do a quick release.
  4. Once it’s done releasing add the milk, garlic powder, onion powder and dry mustard and mix together.
  5. Next with the Instant Pot on warm mode, add the cheese, one handful at a time and continue to mix in until smooth and creamy.
  6. Serve immediately.

Notes

To make this recipe vegan, substitute vegan butter and your favourite vegan cheese.ย 

Make sure to use elbow macaroni or pasta that is a similar size for this recipe. If you use a larger pasta like rigatoni, it may need longer to cook and you’ll end up with noodles that are undercooked.

For a super tasty mac and cheese, use a mix of water and vegetable broth as suggested. This will help flavour the noodles.ย 

If storing leftovers, add a splash of milk when reheating to help loosen the noodles. Though I recommend eating mac and cheese the same day it’s made.ย