Freshly grated cheese really is a must here, so I highly recommend using some elbow grease to grate the cheese yourself instead of opting for the pre-shredded version. While the pasta cooks, grab your box grater and set to work grating 2 cups of sharp cheddar and 2 cups of monterey jack. Turn on the pot on to the Manual setting and set the pressure to high, setting the timer for 6 minutes. Place a dollop of 3 tablespoons of butter on top of everything, twist on the Instant Pot lid, and twist the vent to the “sealing” position. Pour in 4 cups of water, and stir to combine. Although the green chile powder is totally optional, it really makes the flavors pop and gives this mac and cheese just the right amount of pleasant spice.Ĭombine all of the spices in a small bowl, and then sprinkle over the dried noodles in the Instant Pot.
I have tweaked and re-tweaked the seasonings used in this recipe, and I think I’ve come up with the very best flavor combo: salt, pepper, dry mustard, garlic power, and (my latest go-to seasoning) dried green chile powder. Start by measuring out one pound of dry elbow macaroni into the metal bowl of your Instant Pot. And the best part, y’all? This Instant Pot mac and cheese is so easy to make! It took me a few months to perfect this recipe, but I have to say that it is–hands down–the best mac and cheese I’ve ever had. I’ve been on a quest for a couple of years now to find a creamy macaroni and cheese recipe that didn’t require processed cheese, and when I got my Instant Pot last summer, I set to work developing a macaroni and cheese recipe to add to my arsenal. Every time I would stay home sick from school, that is what my mom would make for me. Growing up, my comfort food was always mac and cheese. This macaroni and cheese recipe really is every bit as easy as making the stuff from the box. When I first got my Instant Pot for my birthday last summer, I instantly knew one of the first recipes I wanted to master: mac and cheese! My entire family loves this Instant Pot macaroni and cheese, which is super creamy and contains only real, wholesome ingredients and no processed cheese. Made in minutes with only simple, wholesome ingredients. The bags of shredded cheese are coated in a powder to keep it from sticking together, which makes your sauce grainy.A delicious recipe for creamy Instant Pot mac and cheese. One tip for creamy, perfect homemade mac and cheese: don’t use pre-shredded cheese. Just one pot and about 20 minutes is all it takes to make homemade mac and cheese. Spice it up with some seasoning and/or Sriracha.Seal the pot, and cook for 4 minutes at high pressure. A quick and easy Instant Pot mac and cheese recipe that you can throw together and enjoy in about 25 minutes.Turn on high pressure for 3 minutes (elbows) or 4 minutes (shells). Close pressure cooker and set valve to sealing. Push pasta into water if need to create an even layer, but do not stir. Dump pasta, water, butter, and salt into the Instant Pot. Add water to instant pot insert (1.25 cups for a 6 oz box like Annie's, 1.5 cups for a 7.25 oz box like Kraft) and pour pasta in.Stir in garlic, paprika and oregano until fragrant, about 1 minute. Press manual or pressure cook button and set to 3 minutes. Close lid and set pressure release valve to sealing. Pour macaroni noodles (from box) and water into instant pot. Add onion and bell pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 2-3 minutes. Open box of mac n cheese and remove cheese packet and set aside. Heat olive oil add ground beef and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks drain excess fat. I tweaked it a bit to give it a little more flavor, but it was a great starter recipe to get me going. Set a 6-qt Instant Pot® to the high saute setting. So I turned to my trusty Instant Pot, to at least keep the level of time and effort the same as the boxed stuff.Īctive Hip Momma’s recipe seemed to be the simplest and most popular one, so I started there. Now, I’m not a crunchy mom in the least, so I don’t even really know what the whole deal with phthalates is, but I did enough Googling to decide I needed to at least attempt to do better for my son, especially in these early years. Apparently all boxed mac and cheese products have evil, murderous phthalates in them. And then I found out that my beloved boxed mac and cheese had to be added to our list of things to be terrified of as a mom (it’s a long list, y’all).