Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
The absolute easiest meal to make, guaranteed to please! This is comfort food at its best. You can even make it gluten and/or dairy free using the modifications in the recipe. The perfect meal for an easy lunch or last minute guests!
Ingredients
- 500 g dried pasta (any shape as long as it is not a quick cooking type of pasta like spaghetti, angel hair, etc.) sub gluten free pasta for GF*
- 4 1/2 cups water room temp or colder
- 3 tbsp butter sub ghee or vegan butter for dairy free
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup heavy cream sub full fat coconut milk or cashew cream for dairy free
- 2 cups grated aged cheddar cheese (or cheese of choice) sub your favourite dairy free cheese and/or 1/2 cup nutritional yeast for dairy free
- 1 cup frozen peas or chopped baby spinach optional
Instructions
- Add the pasta, water, salt, and butter to the Instant Pot. Secure lid and pressure cook for 4 minutes** with a quick pressure release. Remove the lid and stir. It will look a bit watery at first; don't worry, the pasta will absorb a lot of liquid as it sits and it makes a nice creamy sauce!*If using gluten free pasta, increase water to 5 1/2 cups and set pressure cooker to "0" minutes. Allow natural pressure release for 8 minutes before quick releasing the remaining pressure.
- Add the cream and cheese and stir until cheese is fully melted.
- Stir in the frozen peas/spinach, if using, and put the lid back on.
- Let it sit for 2-3 minutes to allow the peas/spinach to cook and the pasta to absorb the extra liquid/thicken up the sauce.
- Give it another stir, taste and adjust seasoning as necessasry and serve!
Notes
**I find the 4 minute time works for most shapes of pasta, however if your pasta has a cook time of less than 10 minutes you may want to decrease the time. The typical formula for instant pot pasta cook time is half of the pasta package cooking time, minus 2 minutes.
You can also make this recipe on the stovetop! Cook the pasta (with salt) to al dente, according to the instructions on the package. Drain the cooked pasta, reserving 1 cup of cooking water. Add the cooking liquid, butter, and remaining ingredients to the pot and finish the recipe as directed!