Bity
Instant pot mac and cheese skips the two jobs that make the stovetop version a faff. You never drain the pasta, and you never make a roux. The macaroni cooks in exactly the water it needs, and that starchy liquid becomes the sauce.
Four minutes at pressure, a quick release, then milk and cheese stirred straight into the pot. Fifteen minutes from opening the packet to putting a bowl down, and only one pan to wash.
Quick Breakdown
Why You’ll Love This Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
- Fifteen minutes total. Four of them are the actual cook.
- No draining. The cooking water turns into the sauce.
- No roux, no flour. Nothing to go lumpy and nothing to taste pasty.
- Real cheese only. Cheddar, milk, butter, and that is it.
- Feeds six. As a side with barbecue, or as a main with something green.
Ingredient Notes
- Elbow macaroni. One pound, uncooked. Elbows hold sauce in their curve better than straight shapes, which is the entire point of them.
- Water. Four cups. Just enough to cook the pasta and leave a starchy base behind.
- Butter. Two tablespoons, in from the start. It keeps the pasta from foaming up into the valve.
- Whole milk. One cup, or evaporated milk if you want it richer. Cold milk straight from the fridge can seize the cheese, so let it stand out for a few minutes.
- Cheddar. Two cups shredded, mild or medium. Grate it yourself, because bagged cheese is coated in anti caking starch that turns the sauce grainy.
- Garlic powder. A quarter teaspoon. Barely there, but you notice when it is missing.
Cheese is doing the heavy lifting here in every sense. Cleveland Clinic’s dietitians suggest that two to three ounces a day sits comfortably in most diets, and that harder cheeses carry less saturated fat than soft spreadable ones. A sharp cheddar means you need less of it for the same punch.
Which Cheese Melts Best
Not every cheese behaves once it hits hot starchy liquid. Some go silky, some go stringy, and a few split into oil and grit, which is the difference between good and disappointing instant pot mac and cheese.
| Cheese | How it melts | Use it |
|---|---|---|
| Mild or medium cheddar | Smooth, creamy, reliable | As the base |
| Sharp cheddar | More flavour, slightly grainier | Half and half with mild |
| Gruyere | Silky and nutty | A quarter of the total |
| Monterey Jack | Very smooth, mild | Softens a sharp mix |
| Pre shredded anything | Grainy, sometimes oily | Avoid |
In fact, the single biggest upgrade to a pot of this is grating a block yourself. That takes two minutes and removes the most common cause of a gritty sauce.
How To Make Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
1. Load the pot. First, add the macaroni, water, salt and butter, and stir once to combine so nothing is sitting dry against the base.
2. Pressure cook. Next, close the lid, set the valve to Sealing, and cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes.
3. Quick release. Then vent the pressure straight away when the cycle ends. Because pasta keeps softening in residual heat, waiting turns the elbows to mush.
4. Stir it out. After that, stir well. It will look alarmingly watery at first and then thicken as the starch comes off the pasta.
5. Add the dairy. Pour in the milk, then add the cheese a handful at a time, stirring until each addition disappears.
6. Rest. Finally, leave it for two or three minutes before serving. The sauce tightens noticeably in that time.
Why Did My Sauce Go Grainy?
Heat and coatings, in that order. Cheese proteins tighten and squeeze out fat if they hit liquid that is too hot, which is why the cheddar in instant pot mac and cheese goes in after the pressure is released rather than before it.
Pre shredded cheese is the second culprit. The starch dusted on the strands to stop them sticking together does not dissolve cleanly, and it leaves a faint sandiness behind. Grating a block solves it.
Still, if it does split, a splash of cold milk stirred in vigorously will usually bring it back. Instead of turning the heat on to help, do it off the heat entirely.
Tips for the Best Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
- Keep the butter in from the start. It stops the pasta foaming and blocking the valve.
- Quick release the second the timer ends, without exception.
- Do not panic at the watery stage. Thirty seconds of stirring changes everything.
- Add cheese in handfuls, not all at once, so each one melts before the next goes in.
- Take the milk out of the fridge while the pot comes to pressure.
- Serve it slightly looser than you want it, because it thickens as it sits.
Turning It Into a Main Course
As written this is a side dish, and a rich one. Turning it into dinner takes one addition rather than a rewrite, and the pot does not need to change at all.
The easiest route is meat that is already cooked. Chopped ham, shredded rotisserie chicken or crisp bacon all fold in at the very end, once the cheese has melted, so nothing overcooks and nothing waters the sauce down. About two cups is right for a pound of pasta.
Vegetables want the same treatment. Frozen peas stirred in off the heat thaw in the residual warmth in about a minute, and steamed broccoli florets do the same. Anything raw and wet, mushrooms in particular, should be cooked separately first or it will thin everything out.
Better yet, if you want a crust on top, tip the finished pot into a baking dish, scatter over another cup of cheese and a handful of breadcrumbs, and put it under a hot grill for three or four minutes. Instead of a soft bowl you get something with a lid on it.
Storage and Reheating
- Fridge. Cool, then up to four days in an airtight container.
- Freezer. Best fresh, but single portions freeze for up to a month.
- Reheating. Gently, with a good splash of milk, on the stove or in the microwave.
- Bringing it back. Stir hard as it warms. The sauce reforms once the milk works through.
- Do not microwave dry. Without extra milk it separates and turns oily.
Variations and Substitutions
- Evaporated milk. Swaps in one for one and gives a noticeably richer, glossier sauce.
- Mix ins. Frozen peas, chopped ham, or crisp bacon stirred through at the end.
- Golden top. Tip it into a dish, add more cheese, and broil for a few minutes.
- Lighter. Our cauliflower mac and cheese keeps the sauce and drops most of the pasta.
- Cold instead. If you wanted pasta for a picnic, our classic macaroni salad uses the same elbows.
- Make it a main. Brown a pound of mince first, as in our beef and macaroni casserole.
What to Serve With It
It is a side dish at heart, and it belongs next to something smoky. Sheet pan barbecue chicken thighs and a bowl of this is a complete Friday. Meanwhile, a sharp creamy coleslaw cuts through all that dairy nicely.
For example, as a main it only really needs something green beside it, steamed broccoli or a plain leaf salad.
Frequently Asked Questions
Instant Pot Mac and Cheese Basics
Why is it so watery when I open the lid?
That is normal and it is supposed to look like that. Stir for half a minute and the starch coming off the pasta thickens it into a sauce.
Can I use a different pasta shape?
Yes, as long as it is small. Match the pressure time to roughly half the stovetop time on the packet.
Do I have to quick release?
Yes. A natural release leaves the pasta cooking in the residual heat and you end up with soft, bloated elbows.
Can I halve the recipe?
You can. Keep the four minutes the same and halve everything else, including the water.
Cheese and Storage
What is the best cheese to use?
Mild or medium cheddar, grated from a block. Sharp cheddar tastes better but melts slightly less smoothly, so a mix of the two is ideal.
Can I add cheese before pressure cooking?
No. It will scorch on the base and almost certainly trigger a burn warning, so it always goes in at the end.
Why did mine go oily?
The pot was too hot when the cheese went in. Turn everything off first and stir it through the residual warmth instead.
Does it reheat well?
Well enough, with milk. After all, no pasta in a cream sauce is quite as good on day two, so cook what you plan to eat.
Ingredients
- 1 lb elbow macaroni 450 g, uncooked
- 4 cups water
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 cup whole milk or evaporated milk for a creamier version
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese mild or medium, grated from a block
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Add the macaroni, water, salt and butter to the Instant Pot. Stir to combine.
- Close the lid and set the valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes.
- Quick release the pressure immediately when the cooking cycle ends.
- Stir well. The pasta may look watery at first but will begin to thicken as you stir.
- Pour in the milk and stir in the shredded cheese and garlic powder. Stir until smooth, creamy and fully melted.
- Let it sit for 2 to 3 minutes before serving to allow the sauce to thicken further.
