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August 28, 2018

Healthy Instant Pot Mac and Cheese with Crispy Topping

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If you need a quick weeknight dinner, this Instant Pot Mac and Cheese is healthy and kid-friendly. It’s perfect comfort food for busy nights! 
Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

I was asked to participate in the Cabot Cheese campaign as a member of the Healthy Aperture Blogger Network. I was compensated for my time.

Great news: You are 15 minutes away from a bowl of macaroni and cheese, and there’s no cheese powder mix involved!

Back to school season calls for recipes like this–ones that come together in a handful of minutes and are comforting to big people and little people after a long day. I’ve paired bowlfuls of this with a green salad for dinner. I’ve also made it as a side dish to a larger meal. Either way, it’s been a crowd pleaser.

Instant Pot Mac and CheeseHow to Make Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

First, pulse a slice of whole grain bread in the food processor to make the breadcrumb topping. Then switch to the shredding blade and shred the whole block of Cabot cheese with the push of a button. (Thank you, handy kitchen machines!) If you don’t have a food processor, see the recipe notes below.

  You might also like: Whole Wheat No Kneed Bread (Using The Instant Pot!)

Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

Add the dry pasta, water, seasonings, and butter to the bowl of the Instant Pot and give it a quick stir.

Place the lid on the Instant Pot, making sure the lever on the lid is turned to SEALING. Set on MANUAL for 4 minutes.

Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
While it’s cooking, toast the breadcrumbs in a skillet, along with melted butter, until browned and crisp.

As soon as the four minutes are done, immediately turn off the Instant Pot and carefully release the pressure (I place a towel or pot holder over my hand when I switch the lever to VENTING).

Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

When the silver float valve has dropped, carefully open the lid of the Instant Pot, add the milk and shredded cheese, and stir well until combined.

Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

Let it sit for 2-3 minutes to thicken up, then serve, topping with sprinkled breadcrumbs if you want a crunchy topping.

Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

A few notes about this recipe:

  • I prefer using a block of cheese for homemade mac, but feel free to save time and use pre-shredded cheese. Cabot shredded cheese comes in many varieties, including Sharp and Seriously Sharp. All of Cabot’s cheddar cheeses are naturally lactose-free (and gluten-free).
  • If you don’t have a food processor, shred the cheese by hand with a grater. For the breadcrumbs, tear a piece of bread into pieces, place in a plastic baggie, and crush with a rolling pin into crumbs.
  • After testing this recipe many times, I settled on using a 50/50 mix of whole wheat and white macaroni noodles. I love the extra fiber and whole grains in whole wheat pasta. My family prefers the flavor of white noodles in mac and cheese. So we compromised. But if you’d prefer to use all whole wheat or all white noodles, both will work.
  • Be sure to stay close to your Instant Pot while this cooks. If you’re not paying attention and the Instant Pot continue to cook the noodles beyond four minutes, they will turn to mush and everyone will be sad.

About Cabot Cheese

Whether you already use Cabot products or have just seen it when grocery shopping, you may not know this: Cabot is a co-operative, owned and operated by 1,000 family farms throughout New England and New York–and 100 percent of their profits go back to the farmers. I love that. In addition to cheese, they also make Greek yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, butter, and whey protein. So look for them at the store next time!

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Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

Yield: 6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 4 minutes
Total Time: 14 minutes

If you need a quick weeknight dinner, this Instant Pot Mac and Cheese is healthy and kid-friendly. It's perfect comfort food for busy nights! 

Ingredients

  • 1 slice whole grain bread
  • 1 cup whole wheat elbow macaroni pasta
  • 1 cup enriched elbow macaroni pasta
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 8-ounce block Cabot Vermont Sharp Cheddar Cheese
  • 2 tablespoons 2% milk
  • 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley, optional

Instructions

  1. Tear slice in half and pulse bread in a food processor to make breadcrumbs. Place in a small bowl and set aside.
  2. Switch to the shredding attachment on the food processor and shred the cheese (you can also do this by hand if you prefer). Set aside. 
  3. Place both kinds of macaroni, water, one tablespoon butter, nutmeg, and salt in the Instant Pot and give it a stir. Place the lid on Instant Pot, and be sure lever is set to "sealing". Set on Manual for four minutes. 
  4.  While Instant Pot is going, melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium heat, then add bread crumbs, stirring frequently until browned. Remove from heat and set aside.  
  5. When the four minutes of cook time are up, turn Instant Pot off and release the pressure by carefully moving lever to "venting" (always keep hands and face away from the steam as it's releasing). When all of the pressure is released and the silver float valve has dropped, carefully remove the lid. Stir in the cheese and milk, stirring vigorously until fully incorporated and the cheese is completely melted. Allow it to sit for 2-3 minutes to thicken slightly.
  6. Portion macaroni and cheese into bowls and sprinkle with bread crumb topping and fresh parsley, if desired.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 bowl
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 292Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 570mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 2gSugar: 1gProtein: 13g
© Sally
Cuisine: American
Perfect for crazy-busy weeknights: Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

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Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

Hi! I'm Sally, a dietitian-mom.

I believe that EVERY mom can feel successful and confident about feeding her kids, lose the stress, and finally enjoy mealtime again.

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Filed Under: Dinner, Recipes Tagged With: dinner, instant pot, macaroni and cheese, recipes, weeknight meal

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Charla says

    May 24, 2019 at 8:18 pm

    Made this for dinner tonight. So easy and so yummy!

    Reply
    • Sally says

      May 25, 2019 at 6:19 pm

      So glad to hear that Charla!

      Reply
  2. Leslie says

    June 19, 2019 at 11:31 pm

    I just got an instant pot. I didn’t know that you can make macaroni in it! Would you make this recipe for the same amount of time if using gluten free pasta?

    Reply
    • Sally says

      June 20, 2019 at 7:39 am

      Hi Leslie–Congrats on your new Instant Pot! I hope you love it. I haven’t tried this recipe with gluten free pasta and I know they cook up different. I would google “gluten free pasta in the IP” and see if there are any recommendations on cooking times. I would hate for your mac-n-cheese to come out mushy! Good luck and happy cooking!

      Reply
  3. Jen says

    July 13, 2020 at 5:44 pm

    We love this recipe! Would I be able to double the recipe so we can have leftovers and if so, how long do I cook it? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Sally says

      July 14, 2020 at 1:54 pm

      Hi Jen–Yes, I tested it using four cups of noodles at the same time and it worked fine (4 minutes manual with quick release).

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. What I Love About The Instant Pot (And What I Don't) - Real Mom Nutrition says:
    November 19, 2018 at 5:10 pm

    […] There’s a learning curve. I’m pretty sure everyone has at least one IP Fail. Mine was macaroni and cheese, made when I still didn’t totally understand how all the settings work, and it turned to mush. Now I know it takes just a few minutes of cook time. Here’s my recipe: Instant Pot Macaroni & Cheese. […]

    Reply
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    June 5, 2019 at 3:53 pm

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    October 8, 2019 at 1:05 am

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    November 19, 2019 at 7:47 pm

    […] Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese […]

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  5. Before and After Eats to Balance Trick-or-Treat…2020 – Easy As Pineapple says:
    October 7, 2020 at 1:50 pm

    […] pepper. from food Network  If you have an Instant Pot, consider this ridiculously easy and fast mac and cheese recipe from Real Mom Nutrition (made even faster and easier if you omit the bread crumb part like I, the lazy chef, do). […]

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