With just 5 minutes cooking time, this lush and creamy Instant Pot mac and cheese recipe is made with 100% real cheese and couldn’t be easier or faster to make.
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“Best mac and cheese I’ve ever made!! And sooo easy to make!! My family loves it!!! Thank you!!!!” -Brenda, FoodieCrush reader
Dreamy, Creamy Mac and Cheese Made Lightning Fast in Your Instant Pot
I grew up on the blue-boxed variety of mac and cheese. In high school, my friends called it yellow death. I called it delicious. In fact, it’s still one of those things we always have in the cupboard for emergency situations…like when it’s Tuesday…or Wednesday…or Thursday…or…you get the picture.
But after making this homemade mac and cheese recipe in my Instant Pot in less time and with all real ingredients, I don’t think I’ll be replenishing my stash any time soon.
I honestly can’t think of a food that is more comforting to me than a lush and creamy macaroni and cheese recipe, and I am ALWAYS on the lookout for a new variation on my favorite cheesy noodle. So when I was introduced to this pressure cooker version by my friend Ashley, it went straight to the top of my bust-out-the-Instant-Pot-must-make list.
And that’s how in just 5 minutes cooking time, we had this velvety lush mac and cheese ready for devouring.
Enjoy!
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
To make lush, creamy mac and cheese without any processed cheese or a roux, use evaporated milk. It’s real cow’s milk that’s been cooked down so some of the water content evaporates, creating a shelf-stable, always at the ready ingredient. In macaroni and cheese, it keeps the cheese from breaking or getting greasy because there’s less moisture to contend with.
Cooking in an Instant Pot means we need less liquid. When cooking this mac and cheese there’s no need for draining the pasta cooking water, it’s all mixed into the sauce, and that’s why you only need 5 ounces compared to recipes like this that call for 3 cups of whole milk.
The 5 Main Ingredients
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Pasta — I used elbow macaroni, but shells or cavatappi work too.
- Butter — We’re taking a nod from the blue box kind and adding butter for richness.
- Spices — Kosher salt, mustard powder, and garlic salt season the mac and cheese.
- Evaporated milk — You’ll need a small 5 oz. can. Don’t confuse with sweetened condensed milk, which is thick and syrupy.
- Shredded cheese — In my recipe testing, I found that a combination of yellow and white cheeses is the best combo. Choose a cheddar that has a bite to it, such as medium or sharp cheddar cheese (this is the key for the signature cheese flavor). Pair it with a meltable white cheese like Gouda, Havarti, provolone, Swiss, fontina, or Monterey Jack.
Heidi’s Tip: To make your own evaporated milk, simmer 2 ¼ cups of regular milk down to 1 cup. Or replace it with ¾ cup whole milk and ¼ cup half-and-half.
How to Make Mac and Cheese in an Instant Pot
- Add the pasta, water, butter, and spices to the Instant Pot. Pressure cook on high, then do a quick release.
- Stir in the evaporated milk and shredded cheeses. When adding the cheese to this mixture, you’ll want to use a heavy wooden spoon to really get in there and stir things up and add the cheese in batches. The result is a mac and cheese that’s smooth and rich and creamy.
- Add any mix-ins you like. I’ve shared our favorite mac and cheese creations after the recipe card below.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.
Creamy Instant Pot Mac and Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound macaroni pasta , such as shells or cavatappi
- 4 cups water
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt , optional
- 5 ounces evaporated milk
- 4 cups shredded medium or sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 cups soft white cheese (such as gouda Swiss, fontina, or provolone)
Instructions
- In the insert of an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, add the macaroni, water, butter, kosher salt, ground mustard and garlic salt. Cook in the pressure cooker for 5 minutes on high, then quick release.
- Add the evaporated milk and half of the cheeses and use a wooden spoon to vigorously stir until the cheeses have melted then repeat with the rest of the cheese, stirring until the sauce is creamy.
- Add any additional toppings or mix-ins below at this time. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Variations and Mix-Ins
Macaroni and cheese is one of the easiest meals to add a just a couple of ingredients and create a whole new spin on the original classic. I like to create these additions for parties, and serve up a simple, make-it-yourself mac and cheese bar. Simply keep the mac and cheese warm in the Instant Pot then let your guests mix and match to their hearts desires.
If I’m making it at home, I’ll often keep half of the mac and cheese plain for leftovers, then dress up a couple of individual bowls for eating right now.
- Mac and Cheese with Hot Dogs — Boil up a batch of hot dogs, then slice into bite size pieces and mix in. Use chicken sausage, kielbasa or other sausages if you’re feeling fancy.
- Pesto Macaroni and Cheese — Stir in homemade pesto or store-bought. I typically use 1 tablespoon pesto per bowl. Add a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese or toasted pine nuts or walnuts for a little crunch. To make this even more of a Mediterranean-inspired meal, add chopped sun-dried tomatoes or roasted red bell pepper to round out the savory flavors.
- Macaroni and Cheese with Caramelized Onions and Garlic Breadcrumbs — Top the mac and cheese with warmed caramelized onions and sprinkle with the toasted panko breadcrumbs, or, stir the onions into the mac and cheese if desired.
- Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese — Add 2 tablespoons butter to a medium bowl and melt the butter in the microwave. Stir in 2 tablespoons Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Sauce and add 1 cup of shredded chicken, mixing until combined. Top the mac and cheese with a few tablespoons of the shredded chicken in sauce, and garnish with crumbled blue cheese.
- Macaroni and Cheese with Butternut Squash and Crispy Fried Sage — Both diced roasted squash or creamed work equally well here when combined with the cheesy sauce.
More Macaroni and Cheese Recipes to Love
- Classic Stovetop Mac and Cheese
- The Best Baked Mac And Cheese
- Mini Meatball Mac and Cheese
- Mac and Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli
- Skillet Cauliflower Mac And Cheese
- Lobster Mac And Cheese
- Fried Mac And Cheese Balls
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Judy
Question: I’m thinking I would probably cut the cheese down to 4 cups total per lb of pasta. Considering that, could I double (or triple) the recipe if using an 8qt pot? (I have a Foodi)
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
That sounds like it would work well, it may not me quite as creamy.
Kelly Kawahara
I made this today and it turned out perfect. I used my Spiralizer to shed the cheese. The whole recipe, start to finish, took me 30 minutes.
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
YAY! I love that! Thanks for sharing.
Trepur
Made this, my son and I loved it. Used garlic powder instead of garlic salt. Medium cheddar with a smoked gouda. Great consistency and flavor. It’s on the list of go to’s!
Wendy
So many comments, must try but dont want to do it in an instantpot. Will this work stovetop?
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Definitely! Great question, Wendy!
Theresa Obiegbu
I love you cheese, please send me an information on how to buy your product.
Lyn
Why do you need a pressure cooker or Instant Pot? Just cook pasta according to package directions (probably 8-12 minutes), drain and return to pot. Follow the rest of the directions, adding the evaporated milk and cheese. No extra appliance needed!
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
A lot of people already have the Instant Pot and love using it. I am so glad that you enjoyed the recipe without needing one.
Tammy McGinnis
hi the macaroni and cheese looks good but i dont have a instant pot i have a rice cooker and a crockpot can i use the recipe still
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Hi Tammy, The instant pot is very specific as far as cook times. You could do a stovetop version where you fully boil the noodles first.
Wendy Culp
Hi,
I followed this recipe and only made one change, I substituted two cups of water for chicken broth, so two cups of broth and two cups of water. When I added the evaporated milk with the cheese I had to use more than the 5 oz (good thing I bought a bigger can).
I found that this recipe had good flavor. However, it was far too rich, and not creamy at all. It was very challenging to “stir vigorously” (and I did only add half the cheese at a time.) It reminded me of a baked mac and cheese. It was too cheesy and clumpy for my taste, mostly because I was making it for my kiddos and they like creamy.
Again it has good flavor, perfect for the baked mac and cheese effect.
Cindy
This was way too thick and clumped together! It was anything but creamy-the only thing that was accurate was the pasta cook time!
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Hi Cindy, I am so sorry to hear this didn’t turn out. Which Macaroni and Cheese recipe did you use?
IPnewbie
This was great! I have a Mini so halved the recipe but reduced the butter and salt by 75%, and omitted the garlic salt. Used cavatappi – since the box had a regular cooking time of 6 minutes, I set the pressure cook time to 3 minutes (instead of 5). Before I closed the lid, I layered some chopped butternut squash on top, which came out perfectly tender. Used sharp cheddar and Gouda cheese and the texture came out very smooth. With half the amount of evaporated milk, it was a little on the soupy side, so next time I might try reducing it further. Thanks so much for the recipe!
kemparaju
There is a reason why I bought a Mac, it was not to be one of the cool kids that wanted the best of the best. No it was because of the music production I do on it. Hours and hours sitting in front of my Mac copying, pasting, moving, deleting, hour after hour just beating on my Mac in a endless assault to get my work done. That is the key part, my work. I work from home, it is great, but even if it is from home it is still work and it still needs to get done. So my Mac, I have it because it is fast, gets the job done and comes back for more.
But what happens when it doesn’t want to do those things anymore?
I move around massive amounts of information and yes even on the almighty Mac this can cause a problem after a while. Things fragment, programs get corrupted issues come up. My light speed Mac slows down to a crawl and all of the sudden I simply can not get any work done. Because I work from home there is no IT guy to call and ask to come fix it. No instead I have to figure out what is wrong. I am lucky, I did, but not after trying everything under the sun first and wasting countless hours looking for one program that can do what I needed instead of ten programs. One program to lead them all….okay that was a lame Lord of the rings reference, but that program was/is Detox My Mac. A simple to use program that did not just fix my issues, it put my Mac on overdrive again. A few clicks and my Mac was clean and ready to rock and roll again.
Read more here:- http://detox-my-mac.com?vhbshygdf398432
Sel
Made this a couple of times, and while I don’t have the instant pot (I presume you mean what we here call a pressure cooker), it still works a treat! I just boil my pasta beforehand. Tonight, I made it with pasta I’d cooked yesterday and put in the fridge overnight, then added sausages, red sorrel leaves, and garlic breadcrumbs. So delish! Thanks for the recipe; I’ll definitely be coming back to this one over and over!
Sean Paul
This Is Really Great Work. Thank You For Sharing Such A Useful Information Here In The Blog.
kashvi
We live in fast life. We didn’t get time for cooking so we usually use instant food package to save our time. But this saucy macaroni with pasta and cheese, didn’t take to time to cook.
Claudia
I made this for lunch today, and it turned out exactly like the boxed stuff I rememer eating decades ago. I think what is important is to use the metric conversions for the most accurate results. So 4 cups of water = 935ml, and we used approx 16oz of self grated cheese as someone suggested in the comments above. It was absolutely perfect.
Ana
Wow! This mac and cheese is no joke. So creamy and cheesy. I added a head of broccoli. Thanks for the recipe!
Donna
Help! My pasta is REALLY watery! I’m not sure what I did wrong
Martine Bykowski
This is the best recipe for mac and cheese I’ve ever found!
I always follow a recipe exactly the first time. This one needed NO tweaking, for our taste. After reading through the comments, we grated our own cheeses. They melted wonderfully.
Then we added a pound of browned lean ground beef, drained, and a “pound” can of petite diced tomatoes, draining most of the liquid. All that together made five good size helpings when served with a tossed salad.
Martine Bykowski
I wanted to clarify that my husband and I loved the creamy mac and cheese before adding the ground beef and tomatoes. It would make a wonderful side dish.
It only took a total of 10 minutes from the time we put everything in the pot till the time I did the quick release!
Mary
I agree. I have tried three other Mac and cheese instant pot recipes and was still search. I made this as written and it was fabulous. I used bagged preshredded cheddar and shredded some provolone. Still great. I might cut back on the cheese next time but am not unhappy with my result. No more searching for m&c recipes.
Glad you enjoyed it Mary!
Patty McNamara
I messed up and added the milk (whole milk plus half n half) to the pot with the macaroni and other ingredients. I thought I was going to have to toss it and start over but I cooked it anyhow and other than looking wee bit curdled it was fine. The curdled appearance disappeared when I stirred in the cheese. This recipe made lovely, creamy mac n cheese. I will make it like this from now on. So much less work and equally good results.
Murray
It is really important to clarify that 4 cups of shredded cheese is approximately 16 ounces of cheese. It does NOT correspond to 8 oz per cup like liquid. That is probably why some are saying there is way too much cheese. Going to try this tomorrow for the Superbowl with sharp cheddar, Gouda, and, Havarti.
Kevin
Well that explains my ton of cheese! Don’t convert like a liquid!
Jennifer
YESSSSSS, thank you! I was thinking the same thing!
LAURA
wonderful mac ANd cheese and willl be in my rotation.
Mary Johnson
I made this tonight for dinner. I grated my own sharp cheddar cheese and used Swiss chess for the white cheese, which I grated myself. I used large elbow macaroni and there was no water left after cooking the noodles. The end result was thick and grainy.
It definitely was NOT smooth and creamy. Any suggestions.
Tracy Cook
I will never make macaroni and cheese on the stove again. This was perfect. Noodles turned out perfect.
Aimee
If I make this with whole wheat pasta, do I need to add or subtract cook time?
Will
Good, but came out runny. Needed some fixing.
I think next time I’ll drain the pasta water into a bowl and add about half back in, and keep adding until I get the sauce thickness I want.