Macaroni & cheese isn’t hard to make on the stovetop, but it’s TWICE as easy to make in a pressure cooker. And it cooks in less than half the time too! Try this Instant Pot Macaroni & Cheese for a quick meal!
Instant Pot boxed macaroni & cheese cooks in only 4 minutes with 1 minute natural release.
With the Instant Pot Macaroni & Cheese, you can enjoy a delicious and creamy dish in just 4 minutes!
Table of Contents
Benefits of Making Boxed Mac & Cheese In A Pressure Cooker for Instant Pot Macaroni & Cheese
Adults & kids alike love cheesy creamy macaroni & cheese! Benefits of making boxed macaroni & cheese in a pressure cooker are:
Faster cook time – just 4 minutes!
No risk of messy pasta boil over. (I swear, EVERY TIME for me!)
Not wasting any of my homemade broth!
- One-Pot convenience – no strainer needed
How Many Servings In A Box Of Mac & Cheese?
Each box makes three approximately one-cup servings. I always make two boxes at a time so there’s 6 cups of mac & cheese in this recipe!
If you’re only making one box, just cut the ingredients in half, the cook time is the same. But I say… Go ahead & make TWO!
How Many Cups Of Water For Instant Pot Mac & Cheese?
Since I always make two boxes of mac & cheese at a time, I use 2¼ cups of water or broth. The liquid is divided, some under the pasta, some on top.
NOTE: If you’re only making one box you’ll need 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of water/broth.
Ingredients To Make Mac & Cheese In An Instant Pot
The ingredients to cook TWO boxes of Mac & Cheese in a pressure cooker are below. (If you’re only wanting a single box just cut the ingredients in half)
2 boxes mac & cheese
2¼ cups broth or water, divided
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup milk blended with contents of the dry cheese packets
How To Make TWO Boxes Of Mac & Cheese In An Instant Pot
Making Instant Pot Macaroni & Cheese is easy!
Pour 1¼ cup of broth or water in the bottom of the Instant Pot liner.
Remove the dry cheese powder packets & set aside. Spread elbow macaroni evenly over the bottom. DON’T STIR.
Add 3 tablespoons of butter and the other cup of water on top. DON’T STIR.
Lock pressure cooker lid in place and place lever to ‘sealing’.
Cook on high pressure 4 minutes. (then allow 1 minute natural release)
Do quick release and stir to separate pasta.
Stir together 1 cup of milk and the 2 dry cheese packets and pour over pasta. Stir to combine.
Serve hot.
NOTE: The pasta will continue to soak up moisture as it cools. So if it’s not as thick as you like, give it a few minutes to soak up more liquid.
Flavor Additions: How To Jazz Up Plain Mac & Cheese
If you’re wanting to jazz up the flavor of plain mac & cheese or make it more hearty so you can serve it as an entrée instead of just a side, there are lots of easy & fun add-in’s:
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¼ cup chopped seeded roasted hatch chile for a spicy twist. (our favorite)
Add drained cans of tuna & peas/carrots.
Stir in a can of chili for chili mac flavor.
Add frozen or steamed broccoli and cooked cubed chicken.
Stir in chopped kielbasa sausage.
Add sliced cooked hotdogs – a favorite for the kids!
Stir in browned Taco-Seasoned ground beef (or taco-Tuesday meat leftovers!)
Mozzarella cheese & sliced pepperoni make a fun pizza flavor.
Chunks of smoked ham & steamed broccoli are delicious.
Stir in hot sauce or salsa (the hotter the better for me!)
So go ahead & cook up a couple of boxes of mac & cheese in your pressure cooker. It’s EASY!
Did you make this Instant Pot Boxed Macaroni & Cheese? Please rate the recipe in your comment below!
Instant Pot Boxed Mac u0026#038; Cheese
Ingredients
Method
- In bottom of instant pot inner liner pour 1 ¼ cup of the broth or water.
- Remove u0026amp; set aside dry cheese powder packets. Spread pasta from both boxes of Mac u0026amp; Cheese evenly along the bottom, DON’T STIR.
- Top with 3 tablespoons of butter and the other cup of broth/water. DON’T STIR.
- Top pressure cooker with lid, lock into place, place lever on ‘sealing’ and cook on high pressure for 4 minutes.
- Allow 1 minute natural release and then do a quick release of remaining pressure. Stir pasta to separate.
- In small bowl stir together 1 cup milk and the 2 dry cheese packets, blending thoroughly.
- Pour cheese sauce over pasta and stir to combine. Serve hot. (Note, pasta continues to soak up moisture as it cools)
Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!~TxH~
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