Instant Pot Mac 'n Cheese

Creamy, cheesy and really easy to make.

Sep 07, 2023

One of the items I toss into my cart every time I’m at Trader Joe’s is their frozen mac ‘n cheese. My kids love it and I have to admit it’s pretty darn good.

It is the standard from which my kids judge all other mac ‘n cheese and very few measure up, including most of the homemade macaroni & cheese that I lovingly make for them.

It’s good to have kids tasting your food when you’re a recipe developer because they keep you humble.

While Trader Joe’s mac ‘n cheese is a great after-school snack or quick addition to dinner, the package is barely enough to satisfy my two kids. When I need to make a larger portion of macaroni I usually turn to my recipe for Instant Pot mac ‘n cheese.

It’s creamy and cheesy and really easy to make. If you have a group of kids over for dinner, this is a go-to recipe that never fails.

The Recipe

For detailed instructions and measurements, check out the recipe on my blog, Kitchen Skip.

Here’s a quick summary:

Step 1: Combine elbow macaroni, water, butter and salt in your Instant Pot.
Step 2: Cook the pasta 4 minutes on high pressure. The pasta cooks perfectly and absorbs all of the water.
Step 3: Mix in grated cheese and milk. If you want a tiny bit of tanginess, add a dollop of sour cream.
Step 4: Set the lid loosely on top and let the mac ‘n cheese sit for about 3 minutes before serving. It will probably need a pinch of salt to boost the flavor.

More Details…

Cheese: For the most flavor, use two different types of cheese. I always use Cheddar and the second cheese can be parmesan or something more melty and creamy like Gruyere, Fontina, Monterey Jack or Gouda.

Pre-shredded cheese is fine in a pinch but can be stringy and less creamy when it melts. The preservatives that keep it from clumping together in the bag also prevent it from melting well into a cheese sauce.

Milk: Use whole or 2% milk for best results. I add more milk than most recipes because I think it prevents a grainy or stringy texture and makes the macaroni creamier.

Quantity: The recipe uses 1 pound of pasta, which is about 6 servings. If you don’t need that much consider halving the recipe. Instant Pot mac and cheese tastes best right after it’s made and leftovers are never as creamy and luscious.

Dinner Last Week

I’m always curious about what other families are eating. Aren’t you? Here’s what my crew ate last week.

Last week didn’t go as planned. As I mentioned in last week’s newsletter, dinners were all over the place.

I had bought chicken for Monday night but ended up putting it in the freezer. The elementary school that Josie now attends has an amazing garden and very cute chickens. On Monday she got to hold the fluffy chickens and now she no longer wants to eat chicken.

“Mom,” she said, “I’m friends with chickens and you want me to eat chicken for dinner? That’s dark.”

My 12 year old is joining her in solidarity. I get it, but their chicken strike is throwing a wrench into my meal planning.

So on Monday night, we had a light dinner of homemade hummus plus pita bread with feta, cucumbers and olives.

On Tuesday, I had planned to make pizza from store-bought pizza dough, but it was 95 degrees that day. Cranking my oven up to 450F and eating cheesy, gooey pizza wasn’t appealing.

So on Tuesday we ended up eating pasta with jarred marinara sauce, which only took about 15 minutes to make.

On Wednesday, the hot weather continued so the kids and I went to our local Rec center swimming pool from 5-7pm. It felt so great to swim at the end of hot, busy day!

When we got home, Josie ate Greek yogurt with strawberries and Rice Krispies sprinkled on top. The rest of us ate leftover hummus and pita bread and I threw together a quick Greek salad.

Thursday: Have you seen all the recipes lately for sushi bakes? It’s essentially a California sushi roll turned into a baked casserole. I tried a sushi bake recipe from the NYTimes food section, made with canned salmon. It was pretty good and fun to eat something new.

Friday: One of my kids didn’t have school (will there ever be a week with 5 full days of school??) which made the day a little hectic. We ate dinner late out on our back patio, which was a nice end to the week. I grilled a pork tenderloin and served it with ravioli and green beans.

Reading

After working through several more serious, slower books (The All of It, The Swimmers, Mouth to Mouth, The Wonder) I’m sinking into Rosamunde Pilcher’s September like a warm bath.

This is a companion to The Shell Seekers, which you should read first so you can get to know some of the characters. Both books are charming and easy to read and feel a bit dated in a comforting way.

The description says, “September...when the heather is in full flower, the first chill of autumn cools the air, and the countryside stirs with the hunt, balls, dinner parties, and dance…”

Could there be a more perfect book to kick off autumn?

Join My Chat

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I’ll be using the Kitchen Skip chat feed to occasionally post extra content like photos, life updates and what I’m cooking in real time.

You can comment on what I post, ask questions, whatever. I hope to see you there!

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On your computer, go to the Substack homepage for the Kitchen Skip Newsletter. Across the top of the page you’ll see a link for “Chat”.
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