Once you’ve made Instant Pot mac and cheese, it’ll be a go to for a quick side.
Elbow macaroni, three kinds of cheese, and a handful of seasonings are all it takes to get a cozy, comforting bowl of mac and cheese into hungry bellies!

You’ll Love Instant Pot Mac and Cheese Because…
- It’s a super-easy, extra cheesy dish made in the Instant Pot in minutes.
- It has simple ingredients that you likely have on hand.
- It’s on the table in minutes.
- You can double or triple the recipe to feed a crowd.
Ingredients For Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
- Elbows: My preference is elbow macaroni but any smaller-sized pasta can be used such as small shells or mini penne.
- Seasonings: The pasta is cooked with water, butter, and seasonings for lots of flavor.
- Milk: Milk and little a bit of cream cheese are added to make the sauce creamy. You can use light cream/half-and-half instead of milk.
- Cheese: If time allows, grate your cheese from a block for the smoothest sauce, although pre-shredded cheeses will work.
Variations
- Add a few tablespoons of chunky salsa or hot sauce for a TexMex flair.
- Or bulk up the recipe with mini meatballs, diced ham, or cooked ground beef.
- Experiment with other cheeses like Colby, Gouda, Gruyere, or Monterey Jack.
- Once the mac and cheese is done, toss it into a baking dish, add breadcrumbs or Panko, and broil for a few minutes of a crunchy topping!
How to Make Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
- Cook noodles with water, butter, and seasonings in the Instant Pot (full recipe below).
- Stir in cream cheese and milk until smooth.
- Add cheddar and parmesan cheese and additional milk to achieve the desired consistency.
Leftovers?
- Keep leftover Instant Pot macaroni and cheese in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Reheat in the Instant Pot or in the microwave, add a splash of milk or heavy cream (about 1 tbsp per cup of mac and cheese) to keep the cheese sauce creamy.
- Freezing isn’t advised due to the high dairy content. But this recipe is so easy, simply cook up another batch!
More Macaroni and Cheese Recipes
Did you make this Instant Pot Mac and Cheese? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2½ cups elbow macaroni about 10 oz
- 3 cups water
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon seasoned salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 ounces cream cheese approx. ⅓ cup
- ¾ cup milk divided
- 2½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese about 10 oz
- 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese shredded
Instructions
- In a 6qt Instant Pot, add uncooked elbow noodles, water, butter, dry mustard, onion powder, seasoned salt, and pepper.
- Add the lid and turn to seal. Select MANUAL – HIGH PRESSURE for 6 minutes.
- Once completed, turn or press the valve to release any pressure (quick release). There will be cooking liquid in the Instant Pot – do not drain it.
- Stir in the cream cheese until melted. Add ¼ cup milk slowly until blended.
- Add the cheddar and parmesan cheeses and stir until melted, adding additional milk if needed to reach the desired consistency. You may not need all of the milk.
- Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
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I made this recipe and my family loved it. I have made other recipes and found them not worthy of repeating. This one is by far our favorite, thank you for sharing.
i made this tonight using fresh shredded parmigiana reggiano, smoked gouda and Gruyère. added a handful of pre shredded mexican cheese for the cheddar but don’t think needed it. this paired really well with some smoked pork chops. will def try again, maybe with other cheeses. quick and easy (once i figured out my instapot, lol).
I have made this Mac n cheese MULTIPLE times. Sometimes I forget that this is the recipe I usually search and accidentally make a different one, and I am disappointed every time. I am never disappointed when I make this one.
Today I realized I was out of ground mustard, so I substituted spicy brown mustard and it was probably the best I’ve ever made. 10/10
My family loves this
do you have any tips for me..my power cooker steam valve came off. do you have a way to make it oven or stove top
Hi Jennifer, when we want to make Mac and Cheese in the oven, we follow this recipe. Enjoy!
This was so yummy! It’s my new go-to recipe for macaroni and cheese! I followed the recipe almost exactly as written. Only changes were: Had some small shells I wanted to use up and I got sidetracked and didn’t release the pressure right away. Still turned out perfect
The taste was amazing!! but way too watery – like soup. Any ideas what I can do to make it less watery next time. I adjusted the recipe to 6 servings and it was calling for 1.88c pasta and 2.25c water.
Will DEF make again –
Hmm, I’m sorry it didn’t quite turn out for you, Kristi. Other readers have doubled the recipe with no problems so I’m not sure what happened!
I have made multiple times with different pasta shapes. It works best with the elbow macaroni and I follow the recipe amounts. If I use a larger pasta shape like rotini (the spirals) I only use 1/4 cup milk because there’s more liquid left from cooking. It didn’t work well when I used penned pasta. Admittedly I measured pasta by measuring cup, not weight. I suggest you use a smaller pasta shape.
IS 2 1/2 CPS elbows = to 1/2 lb (8 oz)? Looks great and easy to make.
Hi Sybil, it is a little more than that at approximately 12 ounces.
I think with the extra 2 oz of pasta, mine may have turned out a little better. I used 2 1/2 c. Is that 10 oz as the recipe reads, or 12 oz as your comment reads?
I shredded my cheeses, but it turned out really cheese-clumpy. Used whole milk and real butter. It’s an easy enough recipe that I will attempt it again with a different brand of cheese. It just stuck to the silicone spatula.
Spot on with flavor,I’ve just gotta tweak the goopiness into smoothness.
I suggest using 12 ounces of dry pasta, Mary.
DELICIOUS!! I doubled this recipe and fed it to 17 teenagers. They went out of their way to tell me how delicious it was.
Here are the only changes I make (likely because I didn’t have what was needed or taste preferences):
-I used heavy cream instead of milk
-Omitted dry mustard powder and pepper, and added garlic powder
-Used less water (I eyeballed it and only put enough water to cover pasta by about an inch)
-Quick-released after only 4 minutes
-Added lots of fresh parmesan (not sure how much, but I was heavy-handed)
-Added generous amounts of salt to taste, once finished
It was gobbled up in no time. I was so happy to have this recipe to help me feed so many kids on a much cheaper budget than ordering 6 pizzas!
Thanks for sharing your recipe with us all!!
So happy it was a hit for you, Debra! Thanks for sharing your alterations, they sound great.
I was looking for something my 17 yr old daughter could eat after getting her new braces two days ago. She gets crazy hangry if she is not fed. Finding something )other than mashed potatoes and soup) that she didn’t have to chew a lot was a challenge. I looked at several recipes and came back to this one. It was an EXCELLENT choice. I made it “almost” exactly as written with the following “adjustments”: I6 oz of rigatoni w/ 4 cups of water; used more butter- 3 Tbls; added 1 tsp garlic powder; replaced the parmesan cheese with more sharp cheddar; and used cream instead of milk. I left out the seasoning salt because I was out of my Lawry’s. I followed the Insta Pot rule for cooking perfect pasta – divide the total suggested cooking time by 2 and subtract 1 min. Four mins in the insta pot gave me perfectly al dente rigatoni. This recipe blew my family away. It was soooo good! And my daughter with the new braces ate 3 servings of mashed-up mac and cheese. This will be my only pressure cooker mac and cheese recipe!
I am so happy to hear this recipe was a hit Mindy!
I make this all the time and love it. I did try it without cream cheese because I didn’t have any and replaced with goat cheese, thinking it might work. It did not.
Ooo, i love goat cheese, I would have thought that would be delicious. maybe a little less of it? or maybe mixed with another white cheese instead of cheddar? goat cheese has so much flavor!