Ninja Foodi Macaroni and Cheese

I have 2 of the best Ninja Foodi macaroni and cheese recipe you’ll ever make in 8 minutes! Using the pressure cooker function this is homemade, not like our Kraft macaroni and cheese in a pressure cooker but just as creamy.

Ok so you just got your pot and you relied on the recipe in the Foodi recipe book that came with your pot. OMG, I know, everyone else figured out they made a typo with the amount of salt they published too. NO good….that is why I created this one. I just had to help.

This and our Ninja Foodi spaghetti are easy one pot meals I grew up on. I mean I didn’t get it homemade like this, mine was out of the box. Okay but definitely not nearly as great as this one is. Have little ones who will only eat this and nuggets? I assure you that they will rave about this one friends.

You don’t need any accessories to make this which is nice. Just throw in your liquid and uncooked elbow macaroni noodles and let those soften. Then you incorporate your cheeses and wait until they melt before serving. We have 2 recipes below.

3 Ingredient Version

Let me share the really quick low fat version of mac and cheese first. (2nd version to make it from good to AMAZING is below in recipe card). Without heavy cream this one just needs; Macaroni noodles, Butter and shredded Cheese with a few cups of liquid to get everything tender.

Why do I share the easy homemade macaroni and cheese recipe above if I say the one below is so much better? I do so because you can make it a dairy free mac and cheese with margarine instead of butter. It is without milk and has no heavy cream inside. 

Instructions

Add your water and elbow macaroni or Ninja Foodi butter noodles, stir. Close your pressure cooker lid & steam valve. Set to high for 2 minutes. Allow to naturally release pressure for 1 minute 30 seconds, then release rest of steam. Lift lid and stir in 2 tbsp of butter, allow this to melt. Then sprinkle in 1 1/2 c. of your cheese and stir until melted. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, stir. Can serve now or follow next steps to melt more cheese on the top.

Sprinkle 1 c. of cheese on top of cooked mac and cheese. Can add diced green onions at this time if desired. Close air crisp lid, push air crisp button at 400 degrees for 3 minutes. Check, add additional minutes if desired (to crisp up further).

Want to make this completely OVER the top??!! Add some bacon into the mix too!! I mean you can add all sorts of things into the mix if you want. Sliced hot dogs works too and a family favorite for sure.

We’ve made both. Pressure cooker pasta recipes are seriously the best for hectic evenings. BUT what if you want to go ALL OUT and make the best Ninja Foodi macaroni and cheese recipe ever?? You will need to pick this up:

Creamy Ninja Foodi Mac and Cheese

I mean you really can use any small pasta shapes but Elbow macaroni noodles is the most common. I have used small shells other times (when that was what was on sale) and it doesn’t change anything, just the look. 😉

You will add some Heavy whipping cream to make every bite creamy and thick. There isn’t a great alternative but if you had to have a dairy free alternative you would need to whisk in some cornstarch with cashew milk (creamiest) to make it nice and thick.

Chicken broth is better than water as for the necessary liquid to cook the noodles to a bit al dente, but tender.

Shredded sharp cheddar Cheese or a Mexican blend is nice in this. I mean I don’t typically measure really well when it comes to this because we just want A LOT.

To continue on with the creaminess you want good Kerrygold (preferred brand) Butter that is salted. If you need to use a dairy free alternative that is fine though you may want an extra pinch of salt since that is rather bland.

What else can you add?

All sorts of add-ins. Like our pressure cooker Mexican casserole where we added some canned and drained beans in this case I would go with things like; bacon bits, diced ham, sliced hot dogs works, or diced chives.

I mean you can add heat and make it kinda’ spicy with tobasco for adults. It’s a great way to use up leftovers for sure. If you dice up broccoli or cauliflower you could add 1/2 c. of that too and they’ll never know there were hidden vegetables inside.

I would add any and all of these after you stir in your cheese and let it melt, and before you air crisp. Instant Pot Shrimp just takes 0 minutes to defrost or cook, from frozen to perfect and is a fun add in too.

How to Crisp Cheese on Top

Similar to what we do when we have made a batch of air fryer mac and cheese you can go a step further if you wish, with more cheese (there is never enough for us). You just want a few minutes so you don’t make the noodles dry, so 400F for about 4-5 or so minutes works well, or until it becomes lightly golden brown and a bit crispy to your liking.

What do you serve with baked macaroni and cheese recipe?

Pressure cooker broccoli takes just 1 minute! This is a great way to cook vegetables right in the same pot. Of course you would need to remove the cheddar cheese noodles and wash it first but this can be done as it cools down a bit to enjoy together.

If you wanted to serve this with some meat you could make air fryer whole chicken in Ninja Foodi in your machine some night with it too. Falls apart and is so tender it will become shredded but could even be folded into the dish like a sort of casserole.

1. A few air fryer frozen chicken nuggets are always a favorite pair.
2. Ninja Foodi crack chicken is amazing and creamy with a block of cream cheese into the mix.
3. Other one pot meals you should try are this teriyaki chicken broccoli and rice recipe too. As well as our cheesy Ninja Foodi spaghetti recipe (linked above) gets five stars from everyone who tries it.