Instant Pot Boxed Mac and Cheese: Creamy, cheesy, and so simple to make. Ready in under 15 minutes and with no hassle!
Table of contents
- Why Kraft mac and cheese in the Instant Pot!
- How to make box mac and cheese better:
- Ingredients:
- Ingredient substitutions:
- How to make Kraft mac and cheese in the Instant Pot:
- Recipe pro-tips:
- How to keep starchy pasta water from spraying out of the Instant Pot:
- Recipe mix-ins:
- Making any brand of boxed mac and cheese in the Instant Pot:
- How to double the recipe:
- Storage directions:
- Tools needed to make this recipe:
- More mac and cheese recipes:
Why Kraft mac and cheese in the Instant Pot!
As much as I love a bowl of homemade mac and cheese, I don't always have the ingredients on hand or the time or mental energy to make it (trust me, it happens to all of us!). So, it's often a box of Kraft Mac and Cheese or Annie's to the rescue!
When, a few months ago, I discovered how to make the boxed mac and cheese in the Instant Pot, this option became an even more of a go-to. No more waiting for water to boil or making a mess draining the pasta. All you have to do is mix the ingredients, program the pressure cooking feature, and the Instant Pot does the rest of the work for you!
Not only is kraft mac and cheese easy to make in the Instant Pot, but it's also so creamy and delicious, too. There are no clumps of cheese, the sauce is smooth and velvety, and the flavor is on point.
Save this Instant Pot Boxed mac and cheese recipe for later on Pinterest:
How to make box mac and cheese better:
- Salt the water: traditionally, I'm a true believer that salting the water before boiling pasta for mac and cheese makes a huge difference in the flavor of the finished dish. For this recipe, we add the salt to the Instant Pot with the liquids and mac and cheese since we won't be boiling the pasta separately.
- Boil the pasta in milk: imagine if you not only use milk to make the cheesy pasta sauce, but also simmer the pasta in it. Though we can't simmer the pasta in milk on the stovetop, we can do this in the pressure cooker! The results: a rich and comforting mac and cheese in a silky cheesy sauce!
Ingredients:
- Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner - any type of mac and cheese -- shapes, organic, different cheese combinations, etc., works. Just adjust the amount of liquids to the size of the box (recommended measurements are below), as the different variations of mac and cheese can come in different size boxes.
- Milk - 2% milk or whole milk are best for this recipe.
- Unsalted butter - cube the pieces into even sizes, as this helps them to melt well and distribute evenly throughout the pasta.
- Sea salt - All we need is a little bit to bring out all the flavor in this recipe.
Ingredient substitutions:
- Milk - skim milk can substitute for the 2% or whole milk, though the mac and cheese won’t be as creamy.
- Butter - salted butter can substitute for unsalted. Just decrease the added salt to ⅛ teaspoon if so. Vegan butter can also work in place of dairy butter (though the recipe will not be vegan because of the other dairy in the recipe).
How to make Kraft mac and cheese in the Instant Pot:
For the complete recipe and measurements, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Stir the water, milk, cubed butter, salt, and just the macaroni from the macaroni and cheese package together in the bowl of the Instant Pot until combined.
- Pressure cook the pasta mixture on high for 0 (zero) minutes. Natural-release pressure for 6 minutes then quick-release the rest of the way.
- Stir the cheese powder into the pasta until creamy. Serve hot!
What do to if the pasta looks too watery after pressure cooking:
When you stir the powdered cheese into the pasta mixture, the pasta may look too watery. Don't worry, though. Just stir the cheese in until combined and let the mac and cheese sit in the Instant Pot on the "warm" setting for 1-2 minutes, or until the pasta has absorbed the excess moisture.
How to keep starchy pasta water from spraying out of the Instant Pot:
You might have had it happen to you: you cook pasta in the Instant pot, only to have the starchy water spray out of the pressure release valve when releasing the pressure.
The way to get around this is to set the pressure cooker for just 0 (zero) minutes and hit start. This may sound like a weird time to set the pot for, but doing so will bring the pot just to pressure before it starts the natural release.
From here, natural release the pressure or 6 minutes and quick-release the remaining pressure.
When we give the pasta extra time to naturally de-pressurize before quick-releasing the pressure, it helps prevent spraying any starchy water.
If you still have issues with the water spraying with this method, just turn the release valve back to natural release for 1 minute before try quick-releasing the pressure again.
Recipe mix-ins:
Though this macaroni and cheese is delicious as-is, it's also tasty with any of the following mix-ins:
- Green peas
- Canned tuna
- Hot dogs
- Cooked and crumbled hamburger meat
- Grated parmesan cheese
- Steamed or sautéed spinach
- Flaked crab meat (imitation or real)
- Cooked chicken sausage
For best results, mix the mix-ins into the pasta after cooking according to the recipe directions.
Making any brand of boxed mac and cheese in the Instant Pot:
You can make any brand of boxed mac and cheese in the Instant Pot. Though, since different brands have different size boxes, you will need to adjust the water and milk measurements accordingly.
Here are the measurements needed for different size boxes:
- For 6.25 box: ¾ cup water + ¾ cup milk
- For 7.25 oz box: ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons water + 1 cup milk
How to double the recipe:
Thankfully, it is super simple double or triple the recipe. Just multiply the ingredients by the desired amount and follow the directions as listed. The cooking times do not need to be adjusted, as the Instant Pot will naturally adjust the time needed to bring the increased volume of food to pressure.
You only need to set the Instant Pot to cook for 0 (yes, zero) minutes in order to cook the boxed mac and cheese in the pressure cooker! Because the liquids and pasta boil while the pot comes to pressure and when the pressure releases, we don't actually need any additional time at pressure to sufficiently cook the pasta.
There are two ways to make extra creamy boxed mac and cheese in the pressure cooker. The first one is to add an extra 2 tablespoons of water to the pasta before pressure cooking. The second is to stir in 2 tablespoons of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt (full fat is best) in with the powdered cheese packet after the pasta has cooked.
Yes! You can set the Instant Pot for zero minutes. When setting it to zero minutes, as soon as the Instant Pot comes to pressure it will, the 0 minute "timer" will trigger, initiating the natural-release.
Storage directions:
Leftovers keep covered in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. They also can be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
Tools needed to make this recipe:
More mac and cheese recipes:
- Greek Yogurt Mac and Cheese
- Lactose-Free Mac and Cheese
- Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese
- Healthy Mac and Cheese
- Tuna Mac and Cheese
- Taco Mac and Cheese
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Instant Pot Kraft Mac and Cheese
Email FacebookIngredients
- ¾ cup water
- 1 cup 2% milk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter cubed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1, 7 oz box Kraft Macaroni & Cheese
Instructions
- Combine the water, milk, cubed butter, salt, and just the macaroni from the macaroni and cheese package in the bowl of the Instant Pot. Stir until combined.
- Lock on the Instant Pot lid. Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook for 0 (zero) minutes on high pressure and hit start. Once the pot has come to pressure and the Instant Pot beeps, natural-release pressure for 6 minutes then quick-release the rest of the way.
- Stir the cheese powder into the pasta until creamy. Serve hot!
Notes
- This recipe can also be made with 1% or whole milk. Though skim milk does technically work, the mac and cheese won’t be as creamy.
- To make the cheese sauce extra creamy and saucy, add an extra 2 tablespoons of water before pressure cooking.
- To double or triple the recipe, multiply the ingredients by the desired amount and follow the directions as listed. The cooking times do not need to be adjusted, as the Instant Pot will naturally adjust the time needed to bring the increased volume of food to pressure.
- Leftovers keep covered in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. They also can be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
- Water and milk ratios for different size boxes of mac and cheese (butter and salt stays constant):
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