Creamy Instant Pot Mac And Cheese - Easy, 5-Ingredient Recipe - Miss Wish (2024)

Mac and cheese is such a classic, well-known recipe so it goes without saying there are also tons of recipe adaptations out there. Mine however, has to do with the instant pot so keep reading if you love this nifty appliance as much as I do. This recipe is for a perfectly creamy instant pot mac and cheese that adults and kids alike will go crazy for. It ticks all the boxes of our favorite comfort food and best of all, it only takes one pot.

Classic Style Mac and Cheese From Scratch – In Less Than 10 Minutes

Perhaps my favorite thing about owning an instant pot is how easy it makes whipping up some of my favorite dishes from scratch. That’s definitely the case with this mac and cheese recipe as you can have it ready from start to finish in less than 10 minutes.

You’ll first need to add one pound of elbow macaroni into your instant pot, along with four cups of water and just a pinch of salt. Stir everything until combined and then seal up the instant pot, setting the venting knob to ‘SEALING’.

Next, press the ‘PRESSURE COOK’ button and double check to make sure that pressure level is reading as ‘high’. Set the timer for approximately four minutes and then give the instant pot about 10 minutes for the pressure to come down on its own.

Open the lid of your instant pot and mix in 12 ounces of shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, ⅓ cup of cream cheese, and a single teaspoon of dry mustard (you can feel free to add more or less for your preferred taste).

Stir everything until it’s well combined, add a bit of salt and black pepper for seasoning, and then you’ll be all set to enjoy this deliciously creamy instant pot mac and cheese!

Can You Suggest Any Other Instant Pot Mac and Cheese Recipes?

Once again, when you stop to consider the fact that mac and cheese is such a classic meal, it should come as no surprise to anyone reading this that there are so many different ways to make it. That also extends to instant pot recipes, as there’s quite a few other tasty ways to make your own homemade mac and cheese. As a matter of fact, here are five more great recipes for you to try out next from some of my favorite blogs around the web:

• Loaded Instant Pot Mac and Cheese (Pressure Cook Recipes)
• Instant Pot 3-Cheese Macaroni and Cheese (365 Days of Slow Cooking)
• Instant Pot Mac and Cheese – 5 Ways (Recipes From A Pantry)
• Instant Pot Mac and Cheese with Garlic and Parmesan (Foodie and Wine)
• Instant Pot Irish Cheddar Bacon Mac and Cheese (Half Baked Harvest)

What Other Ingredients Pair Well with Mac and Cheese?

In spite of the fact that mac and cheese is such a classic dish, sometimes it pays off to mix things up a little bit. That definitely applies to this instant pot mac and cheese – there are actually a few different suggestions I would make if you want to switch things up:

• Add in sliced hot dogs – this is a great option for kids!
• Add a can of tuna along with some peas for a deliciously cheesy seafood dish
• Add in your choice of either ketchup or hot sauce to spice things up a bit
• Add in your choice of either sliced bacon strips or bacon crumble
• Add in different types of cheese – Parmesan cheese in particular gives this mac and cheese recipe quite a distinctive taste!

How to Freeze Mac and Cheese

Yes, it’s definitely possible to freeze your instant pot mac and cheese to enjoy later. You can simply freeze your mac and cheese as soon as it comes out of the instant pot, reheating it whenever you’re ready to enjoy it.

Just be sure to store it in an airtight container when you put it in the freezer. So long as the mac and cheese is properly stored, you can expect it to last in the freezer for up to three months. Alternatively, you can store this instant pot mac and cheese in the fridge, following the same basic idea. In the fridge, you can expect this dish to last for 3-4 days.

Of course, this all assumes you don’t want to enjoy this mac and cheese as soon as it’s done cooking in the instant pot. However, I’m willing to bet that as soon as you try this recipe for the first time, your mac and cheese won’t last anywhere near that long.

My Mac and Cheese Is Too Soft/Mushy

Just in case your mac and cheese ends up being a little too soft/mushy, you can set the time for 3 minutes instead of 4 minutes. This way, you have a bit of a buffer with the cooking time since the Instant Pot will still need 10 minutes to release the sealed pressure.

(You may also like: Quick and Easy Make-Ahead Mac and Cheese)

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