Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

How To Make Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

Step 1: Put noodles, water, and salt into the Instant Pot, plop the lid on to seal it, and push a few buttons. Let the whole thing pressure cook in the Instant Pot under high pressure.

Step 2: Stir in butter, cheese, and milk until it all melts to make your cheese sauce.

Step 3: That’s it. There is no step 3. Grab your bowl and start scooping!

But seriously: my number one goal with Pinch of Yum is to connect with you and share recipes that you’ll actually make and actually love, and THIS! I am confident that this is one that you can and will actually make.

And absolutely one that you will love, assuming you’re into cheese?

Let’s Discuss The Cheese Selection

The type of cheese you use really does matter here. We’re going for high meltiness factor and big flavor factor.

One of our favorite combos is part sharp cheddar cheese, part Italian blend shredded cheese. Use about 2 cups of the cheddar and 1/2 cup of the Italian blend. This mac and cheese is super flexible though and almost any smooth-melting cheese will be incredible in this pasta. Gouda, gruyere, fontina, and Monterey jack would all be solid cheese choices. Mozzarella and provolone get a little tricky to work with since they’re a bit stringier. We’re going for major cheese bomb here, people.

Mac and Cheese Extras

You’ve made delicious Instant Pot Mac and Cheese and want to level it up even more? May we suggest some of the following to go on top?

• A sprinkle of black pepper
• A dash of hot sauce
• Crumbled bits of salty bacon
• Maybe even more cheese on top? You do you.

The Magic Of Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

We need to identify the brand of mac that is Instant Pot mac and cheese.

This is: you’ve graduated from mac and cheese in a box, but you are not interested in the commitment required for a big fancy baked deal. You want something that falls somewhere in the middle of the tastes-like-Velveeta to truffle-baked-mac spectrum. Friends, you are in luck. This is the perfect in between. This is your mac and cheese for when you want REAL FOOD mac and cheese that has a velvety, creamy, sauce with 5 ingredients in 15 minutes.

It is hangry mac and cheese.

It is I-have-no-other-groceries mac and cheese.

It is even-if-I-did-I-would-still-make-this mac and cheese.

It is FEED ME NOW AND LOVE ME FOREVER mac and cheese.

Why Use The Instant Pot For Mac and Cheese?

Obviously Instant Pot Mac and Cheese is pretty straightforward and simple and that’s kind of the point, in my opinion? I creep around on the internets and lately I’ve seen people chatting about how frustrating it is when people just use the Instant Pot for “basic recipes like Mac and Cheese.”

Excuse me but I’d like to respectfully disagree. There’s a reason why people use the Instant Pot for basic recipes like mac and cheese, and it’s because, especially in this case, the mac and cheese your Instant Pot can give you is NEXT LEVEL GOOD. I am not food-sciencey enough to tell you how or why this works, but the texture of the creamy sauce that you get a little melted butter, and cheese, and milk?

It just works differently in the Instant Pot! You cannot replicate this on the stovetop with the same ingredients and I do not know why. Starch? Pressure? Does it matter? The IP holds the magic.

The Instant Pot is so good to us.