Name: Creamy Instant Pot Mac and Cheese with Cream Cheese
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 Pound of Pasta (your preferred shape - shells, elbows, bowtie, etc.); 4 Cups Water; 4 Ounces Cream Cheese; 2 Tablespoons Butter; 1/2 Teaspoon Salt +more to taste if needed; 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper +more to taste if needed; 16 Ounces Cheese - shredded (see notes for cheese instructions); 1/4-1/2 Cup Milk

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You can whip up a creamy, delicious mac and cheese in just 10 minutes with this easy Instant Pot recipe! Using only 8 ingredients, including cream cheese and shredded cheddar cheese, you'll have a comforting, cheesy dish that's perfect for any meal that everyone will love! Recipe yields enough for 6-8 people.

a hand scooping a bite out of a bowl of Mac and cheese.

Heather's Thoughts on Mac and Cheese

Listen. We all need a little carb-and-cheese action in our lives every now and then. It comforts the heart and soul in ways most things can't 😉 When this is the case in life 2 Minute Cream Cheese and Pepper Jelly Dip, 20-Minute Baked Cream Cheese & Chili Dip, and this creamy instant pot mac and cheese do just the trick!

I am not sure I know anyone who doesn't like mac and cheese. It is like the ULTIMATE comfort food! The king of them all. As a Southern cook, my mom made the best mac and cheese growing up hands down! I am picky about how I like mine - no baking this dish and drying it out or topping it with bread crumbs. NO THANK YOU! I want it warm, creamy, and almost like soup. 😂

Can we also count how many times I may say mac and cheese in this post lol. Sorry, not sorry!

We are making one of my favorite dishes so easily today by making it in the instant pot. It's almost illegal how easy it is. Just add water and pasta to an instant pot. Cook for 5 minutes, release the pressure, and add in cream cheese, salt, pepper, and butter - give a good stir. Then add in shredded cheddar cheese and milk and stir until everything comes together in this simple but luscious cheese sauce!

No more making a roux
No more boiling the noodles separately
Fewer pans
Less mess
Less clean up
Made in 10 minutes
WIN-WIN!!

Welcome to My Kitchen, Let's Cook!

‼️Note before starting - Using pre-shredded cheese for mac and cheese is not recommended. The bags of pre-shredded cheese have a powder coating on them that does not melt well in a sauce. The sauce will turn grainy and have a weird texture to it. I tried it while recipe testing and it was a no-go! It is much better to just take the extra 2 minutes (while the noodles are cooking) and grate your own.

A stick of butter, block of cream cheese, milk, shredded cheddar and white cheddar, salt, pepper, and a box of pasta shells on a white table. — **STEP 1** - Place your box of pasta and 4 cups of water in the instant pot. Place the lid on set the custom pressure cooking time to 5 minutes and press start. (*Note, that it will take about 5 or so minutes to come to pressure before the cooking time starts.*) While this is cooking shred your cheese.

NOTE - you can use any shape of pasta shells you have on hand. Doesn't matter - shells, elbows, bow ties, penne...heck if "worse comes to worse" use spaghetti noodles. Just a pound of any dried pasta you have on hand. Make it easy.

Cooked noodles in an instant pot with butter and cream cheese on top melting. — **STEP 2** - Once the 5 minutes are up, manually release the steam **immediately**. If you wait any time the noodles will continue to cook and be overcooked and potentially fall apart. Add in the butter, cream cheese, salt, and pepper. Begin to stir to break up the noodles that are stuck together and start melting the butter and cream cheese.

Shredded cheese on top of cooked noodles in an instant pot. — **STEP 3** - Add in all of your grated cheese and stir. The heat from the bowl and noodles will slowly start to melt everything together into a luscious creamy sauce. This takes a little while to melt. At first, you will think you have ruined it and it won't work. You haven't! Keep stirring....it will come together!

A wooden spoon stirring together Mac and cheese in and instant pot. — **STEP 4** - Once the cheese is almost completely melted *(after 2-3 minutes of stirring)* then add in ¼ cup of milk. This will help loosen everything up and complete the creamy sauce this dish has. If the mac and cheese is still too thick you can add an additional ¼ cup of milk until it is the consistency you prefer. I love mine ultra-creamy and more on the saucy soupy side!

Reader Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"Just made this and loved it! Left everything to sit for a few minutes after I added the milk which thickened the sauce and softened the pasta to my liking. Thank you!"

- Jennifer

NOTE - as the mac and cheese sits for a while (or when it is stored for leftovers) it will absorb the liquid. If at any time it seems to be thicker, just add a splash of milk to loosen everything back up.

2 bowls of Mac and cheese with an instant pot in the background.

There are some options for what kind of cheese you use. You can use almost any combo of cheese you would like. In this recipe, I used 8 ounces of mild cheddar and 8 ounces of white cheddar. You can use different types of cheese or just one kind. Use whatever you have or like.

Note, if you use mozzarella or provolone you will get a stringy cheese sauce which is totally great if you like that!

Cheese combos to try:

All Cheddar
Mild Cheddar and White Cheddar
Mild Cheddar and Gruyere
Cheddar and Colby Jack
Cheddar and Pepper Jack (for a bit of a kick)
Cheddar, Mozzarella, Parmesan
Goat cheese would be a STELLAR addition too and add even more of a creamy bite to this

3 bowls of Creamy Instant Pot Mac and Cheese with spoons in them and a thing of salt in the background.

Recipe

Creamy Instant Pot Mac and Cheese with Cream Cheese

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

Author: Heather Bilyeu
Total Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 6-8 1x

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Description

Ingredients

Scale

1 Pound of Pasta (your preferred shape - shells, elbows, bowtie, etc.)
4 Cups Water
4 Ounces Cream Cheese
2 Tablespoons Butter
½ Teaspoon Salt +more to taste if needed
½ Teaspoon Pepper +more to taste if needed
16 Ounces Cheese - shredded (see notes for cheese instructions)
¼-½ Cup Milk

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Instructions

In an instant pot, add your noodles and water. Place the lid on and seal.
Set to a custom pressure cook time of 5 minutes (note that it will also take 5-7 minutes to come to pressure before cooking times begin).
While the pasta is cooking shred your cheese.
When the 5-minute cooking time is up, manually release the steam. You want to do this right away and not wait so that the noodles don't overcook.
Remove the lid and add cream cheese, butter, salt, and pepper. Gently stir to start melting.
Add in the shredded cheese. Stir for 1-2 minutes. As you stir, the heat of the noodles and pot will begin to melt the cheese. It will turn into a luscious, thick, and creamy sauce.
Add ¼ cup of milk and stir—taste to see if more salt is needed. Add if so. Feel free to add more milk if preferred or needed to loosen and make it more creamy and "soupy". Keep stirring until all melted together.
This will be ready when all of the cheese is melted into a creamy sauce.

Notes

You can use any combo of cheese you would like. In this recipe video, I used 8 ounces of mild cheddar and 8 ounces of white cheddar. You can use different types of cheese or just all one kind. Use whatever you have or like. Note, if you use mozzarella or provolone you will get a stringy cheese sauce which is totally great if you like that! Cheese combos to try
- All Cheddar
- Mild Cheddar and White Cheddar
- Mild Cheddar and Gruyere
- Cheddar and Colby Jack
- Cheddar and Pepper Jack (for a bit of a kick)
- Cheddar, Mozzarella, Parmesan
Any shape noodle can be used that you have. I usually use shells, bowties, cavatappi, radiatori, etc.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Category: Dinner
Method: Instant Pot
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 scoop
Calories: 525
Sugar: 3.9 g
Sodium: 436.1 mg
Fat: 27.5 g
Carbohydrates: 46.4 g
Fiber: 1.8 g
Protein: 22.3 g
Cholesterol: 78.7 mg

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