This easy 4 ingredient Instant Pot macaroni and cheese recipe is a family favorite! Just 8 minute cook time makes the perfect pressure cooker mac and cheese recipe you can load with bacon too. Great after school snack for kids or side dish for dinner.
OH MY….this 4 ingredient Instant Pot macaroni and cheese is one of our favorite meals! I’ve made it in the slow cooker, stove top, and today made it in my new pressure cooker and seriously it was amazing + only took 10 minutes total! Yes we’ve made the boxed version a lot, and I think I had it at least twice a week this way growing up, but making it from scratch is just amazing! You only really need 4 ingredients + some water too, that’s a easy meal win in my book. 😉 It’s one of my kids’ favorite Instant Pot recipes. (originally published 1/17, affiliate links present)
Oh yum is right huh??
It’s the best way to make homemade Instant Pot macaroni and cheese in less than 20 minutes flat I tell you……
Pressure cooking is the way to go. Period.
The only thing you’ll need to prep is:
- shred 3 cups of either cheddar (we like sharp), or a mixture of jack and cheddar
- boil your noodles in the Instant Pot for about 3 minutes, high pressure
- adjust for gluten free pasta
- quick release, drain, and add the rest of your ingredients
- stir and enjoy
Can you use milk in a pressure cooker?
- Yes, for a short cook time
- For this dish we add it in after cooking the noodles so no worries
This is what you’ll need to make this easy homemade Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese
-
- Noodles – elbow macaroni or small shells work
- Water or chicken broth
- Evaporated milk – if you don’t have any you could sub. for whole milk
- Shredded cheese – we love sharp cheddar
- some added parmesan cheese is good too
- Salt
- Butter
- With bacon or precooked sausage is optional
Here’s a video showing you how easy it is to make:
If you let it sit the sauce will thicken a bit more but we think it is perfect as soon as the cheese is melted and serve it immediately with a pinch of bacon bits on top. It serves the 5 of us just fine with a side of salad for dinner.
- Instant Pot mac and cheese is a great after school snack because it’s so quick and easy.
Looking for more Instant Pot pasta recipes?
- Instant Pot pizza pasta
- The easiest Instant Pot spaghetti
- We have a lot of other cheap Instant Pot recipes to choose from here too!
- Add ground beef for a batch of pressure cooker cheeseburger macaroni
If you want to make boxed Kraft mac and cheese in a pressure cooker we have instructions for that too, as well as stovetop homemade mac and cheese!
What should I serve with macaroni and cheese?
- You can make a whole chicken in your pressure cooker and serve side by side.
- Our Instant Pot broccoli takes a whopping 1 minute.
- Air fryer chicken nuggets are always a winner.
- With some beautiful roasted vegetables of course.
How do I reheat mac n cheese in the Instant Pot?
- Reheating inside a pressure cooker is possible on saute low, with a few tbsp. of milk
- Stir until warm enough, remove immediately
- I like to put it in a bowl and add 1 tbsp of milk to the top
- Microwave for 30 seconds
- Then stir it and cook for another 30 seconds
- If you put a paper towel over the top to begin with it will keep in more of the moisture
Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 3 c noodles macaroni or shell are good
- 4 c water
- 3/4-1 c evaporated milk 1 cup if you don't want it quite as thick
- 2 c cheese can use more of course
- 3 tbsp butter
Instructions
- Add your water, macaroni noodles, and salt. Put your Instant Pot or pressure cooker on manual, high pressure, for 2 minutes. (3 minutes if you prefer noodles on the softer side)
- Lock lid on and close pressure valve.
- Do a quick pressure release when time is up, turn IP off. Carefully open the lid. Drain remaining water.
- Set IP to saute low and add your butter (allow to melt), then your evaporated milk (add 3/4 c. then when cheese is melted add remaining 1/4 c if you want it not as thick) then your cheese allowing it to melt and stirring until all cheese is melted and your macaroni and cheese is the consistency you want.
- To thin it out to your desired consistency add more evaporated milk, or regular milk.
- Turn IP off. By now sauce should be a bit thicker and ready to serve. Best when eaten immediately!
Catherine T says
Hello, the 3 cups of macaroni is about 1 1/2 pounds of macaroni? Am I correct?
Paula says
Great recipe! Fast and easy just like you said. I used cheddar and havarti cheeses, and added a little garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder, pepper and a little salt. SO much better than the box. I’m sure I’ll be making this again!!
The Typical Mom says
Yay, havarti would be so good too!!
A Kitchen Advisor says
Thank you for Easy and Quick Mac and Cheese recipe!!! I really love the way you made it with evaporated mild. Also I like you choice of cheeses – sharp cheddar, or a mixture of jack and cheddar. You are absolutely right about Instant Pot ability to speed up the cooking process significantly. Recently we made our version of Mac and Cheese in Instant Pot. Choice of cheeses is different – cheddar for the color and tang, and gruyere for the smoothness of flavor and mozzarella for the melting factor. Thank you again for the great Instant Pot recipe.
Donna says
Lay a kitchen towel over it when you release.
Elizabeth T says
Do I take out the noodles after draining and add thwm back after i made the sauce or before?
The Typical Mom says
Drain water and leave noodles in pot.
Brandi says
Could this be doubled?
Kim says
3 minutes is definitely to long to cook pasta in the IP unless you like your pasta to be more like mashed potatoes.
The Typical Mom says
Everyone has their preferences but I’ve used our IP for over a year and made hundreds of recipes and 3 minutes is always perfect for us.
Steph J says
I do noodles a lot in my instant pot and 3-4 minutes is always perfect for us. In fact I even did it for 5 minutes last night (on accident) and they were just perfectly soft, still a bit of firmness to them. I wonder if you aren’t doing a quick release on the pressure? If you’re letting it come all the way down on its own then it would certainly be too long and be mush.
Sara says
This was really good! I didn’t have evaporated milk, so I subbed in 1/2 heavy cream and 1/2 2%milk- definitely creamy! I also added a couple slices of American cheese, so only 2 c shredded Monterrey jack. A couple dashes of hot sauce and some fresh ground pepper really added to the flavor as well. Thanks!
The Typical Mom says
OH so glad!
Rondi says
I made this a couple weeks ago and I am in love! I’m going to make it again tonight…it’s a keeper!
The Typical Mom says
Awesome!!
Jessica says
Can you make this recipe in an original crock pot. I don’t have an instant pot? Thx
The Typical Mom says
I do have a crockpot version, different ingredients but comes out yummy. https://temeculablogs.com/crockpot-macaroni-cheese-recipe/
Tam says
I was just given a 10 qt IP, do i have to change recipes that are provided to make the same amount in such a large pot. Worried about building enough pressure.
The Typical Mom says
I have a 6 qt. so not sure but with a smaller recipe like this you may want to double it so it doesn’t burn but use same cook time. For larger recipes like my soups you should be fine.
Jill Takes says
the quick release spewed water everywhere …and a lot of it! something I should do differently? thanks!
The Typical Mom says
Hmmmmm….just move it slightly so the steam comes out very slowly next time.
Belinda says
I don’t have evaporated milk, but I have coconut milk (can) and whipping cream. Can I use the alternatives that I have? If so, which is best? Would I use the same amount, 1c?
The Typical Mom says
Should be fine, just a different taste. Use as much as you like depending on how thick you desire. Add smaller amounts until it reaches the consistency you like.
Mary Elaine says
This recipe sounds great for something quick and easy but I don’t have an “instant pot.” So you mentioned art the beginning that you made it on the stove top too.
Can I assume that you melt the cheese with the evaporated milk before adding the cooked macaroni?
Martene says
Do you think you could use Banza chickpea pasta in this recipe?
David says
I am new to Instant Pot and this recipe sounds delicious. If I wanted to make it for one or two people, how wold I go about halving the recipe? I know that you just can’t do half of everything with the instant pot.
The Typical Mom says
You could try and split it in half if you have a smaller pot, it should be fine I’d think.
Morgan says
Why evaporated milk? Why not 2%? I just don’t want to buy extra milk.
Jean Lewis says
The evaporated milk acts as cream without all the calories and fat. It makes cheese dishes taste richer.
Nikki says
The cheese went all clumpy what did I do wrong with the Mac & Cheese still tasted good but would prefer the cheese not to be one big melted clump:(
The Typical Mom says
Try adding the cheese slower so it doesn’t clump. I haven’t had this issue but I imagine that is what happened.
Judy says
You need to grate your own cheese, package cheese has a coating and does not melt in this type of receipe
AJ says
Agreed. Never (!!) make mac and cheese with pre-shredded cheese! It’s coated with anti-caking agents that can really degrade the end results.
aav says
Looks good..not exactly 4 ingredients.. but I’ll make it soon. ty
Anne says
Your website has so many great recipes but also has sooooo many ads! They’re very distracting to the point of annoying. JMHO.
The Typical Mom says
I love providing a free website for everyone to use and gather recipes. It is very expensive to run a website and ads provide the revenue necessary to keep it free for everyone to use.
Laura says
So I rushed to make this about 3 min after my instant pot was delivered as dinner was late and i was depending on it to arrive earlier. I’m new to IP so I rushed reading the directions and doubled this and cooked it on Hugh. There was a LOT of water in the bottom. Was it supposed to be there? I am going to drain it to make the sauce but since that’s not in the directions I wanted to ask anyway.
The Typical Mom says
If there is a lot of water yes I would drain it to make it thicker in the end. Different types of macaroni noodles cook a bit differently and some absorb more than others, thus the difference in amount of water left.
Patty says
I have an 8qt ip yesterday I put A jar of spaghetti sauce and frozen meatballs in mY ip. I tried the soup stew button and it scoRushed on the bottom. What went wrong?
Barbara Dotson says
you have to have thin liquid in the instant pot or it will give you the burn notice. if you are just wanting to heat up the spaghetti sauce and meatballs do it with the bowl in bowl method.
Amiee L says
Also curious if there is enough room to double the recipe. My husband is an avid cyclist who is always trying to carb up before a long ride, and eats a lot of pasta.
The Typical Mom says
There probably would be for this one, yes. You should try my Instant Pot spaghetti recipe too, that makes a lot in just 10 minutes flat!
Kathy says
In a 6 qt can you double? Total newbie
megunprocessed says
Instant pot is wonderful. A definite time saver!