Easy and fast instant pot creamy mac and cheese made with evaporated milk and Velveeta.
I finally took our instant pot out of the box and made instant pot mac and cheese! It’s cheesy (obviously), it’s creamy and it’s a quick recipe that’s done in 10 minutes because of the instant pot! Using Velveeta and sharp cheddar cheese it’s made with less ingredients than the very popular slow cooker version. It’s also made in less time. 🙌
Confession time. The instant pot has been in my basement in a box for months now. I bought it on sale in November and there it sat. I don’t know why it’s taken me this long to try it out and see what it can do for dinner in our home. Honestly, I was just plugging along enjoying life as usual, trying to stay sane with all the cold weather and snow days around here.
And then, one afternoon I had had enough. I was CRAVING the macaroni and cheese recipe. But two hours in the slower cooker was not going to cut it. No, I needed it NOW. Enter the instant pot. Sure, it’s a straight forward recipe but not having to wait for the water to boil for noodles was enough of a reason to get this baby out and give it a test run.
And it did not disappoint!
First things first. You can cook noodles in the instant pot. There’s nothing like watching a pot boil – and with the instant pot you don’t have to! Put 16 oz of pasta (in this case elbow noodles), the butter and water in the instant pot. Select “pressure cooker” on high pressure and then five minutes. Make sure your instant pot is sealed. Once the cycle is complete, quick release the steam. (Be careful and make sure to follow your manual.)
Open the lid and add the Velveeta, salt, evaporated milk and cheddar cheese. Stir until completely melted. I did turn on the saute for about one minute to help heat through the Velveeta while stirring the entire time.
So creeeeaaamy, guys! Just how I like it. If you like it creamier, add more evaporated milk. If you like it thicker, add less. It’s completely adaptable.
Serve immediately. It makes great leftovers, but like all mac and cheese, leftovers don’t have the same straight out of the instant pot creaminess. Still, just as good in flavor, though. I mean, I may be eating this instant pot mac and cheese for lunch today.
Enjoy!
Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 16 oz elbow pasta
- 4 TB melted butter
- 4 Cups water
- 1 1/4 cup evaporated milk
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 Cups Cheddar Cheese
- 8 oz Cup Velveeta Cheese cut into 1 inch squares
Instructions
- Combine pasta, water and butter in instant pot. Secure the lid, set to "pressure cooker" and high pressure for five minutes.
- Once complete, quick release the steam. Open the lid and stir.
- Add cheddar cheese, salt, evaporated milk and Velveeta cheese. Stir until the cheeses are completely melted. If you need to, turn on sauté to give it a little more heat. Make sure to stir constantly while on sauté.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Nutrition
Slow Cooker Baked Beans
Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese
Comments & Reviews
Excellent! I halved the recipe because I only had half a box of noodles. Good stuff. I’ll definitely make it again!
Fantastic! I used 16 ounces of Velveeta and 1 cup sharp cheddar (Velveeta melts brand), and 1.5 cup regular milk since I didn’t have evaporated milk. Sooooo good! Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it!
My family really enjoyed this recipe. I added a tsp of dried mustard too and it turned out perfectly. I’m going to attempt to triple this for a party and I hope it works out.
Can I use whole milk?
Yes, you can use whole milk!
Perfect just as written.
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
My family loves this recipe! Could I double this in a 6 quart? Would the cooking time remain the same? I’m also worried about having enough space to mix everything when it’s done. I’m making it for a baby shower so any help is appreciated. Thank you!
5 mins is too long. Mine was a pile of mush. 4 mins is perfect.
I’m sorry you had that experience. Five minutes has worked for me, but it’s good to know that others might need to lower the cook time. Thanks.
Good recipe! We are retired and full time RVers, so there is just two of us and our space is limited. We have the 3 quart Instant Pot, so we cut the recipe in half. We also grabbed a feature from another, similar recipe, and added ham cubes, and thawed frozen peas and carrots when the cheese was added. Wonderful! Thanks Lynette!
Thanks for sharing your additions! Sounds delicious!