The best ever Instant Pot mac and cheese with broccoli! This is one of the easiest dinners that you can make in your Instant Pot. It’s quick, easy, cheesy, and there’s broccoli in it!
Mac and cheese is probably my favorite comfort food. Nothing can be more comforting than a bowl of creamy and cheesy mac and cheese on a cold winter day!
But Mac and cheese is great at any time of the year, it’s one of these dishes that I can never say no to. But to make things more interesting, I like to make different variations of it. Classic Mac and cheese, Chicken Mac and cheese, pumpkin Mac and cheese, and broccoli Mac and cheese? YUM!
Things you need to make this Instant Pot Mac and cheese
- An Instant Pot, I have 3 and this is my newest and favorite Instant Pot!
- Wooden spoon
Ingredients you need to make this Instant Pot Mac and cheese
- Shell pasta – or any other kind of small pasta such as macaroni, penne, farfalle,
fussili etc - Vegetable stock – make it yourself, click for the recipe. Healthier, delicious and saves you a lot of money!
- Garlic, butter, dijon mustard, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
- Cream, broccoli, sharp cheddar cheese, and parsley
How to make Instant Pot Broccoli Mac and Cheese
- In the Instant Pot, add pasta of your choice, butter, dijon mustard, garlic, salt and pepper.
- Add the vegetable stock, make your own in the Instant Pot. Here’s an easy Instant Pot vegetable stock recipe that I make all the time. It’s healthier, cheaper and free of unnecessary/harmful ingredients and added sodium.
- Give the ingredients a quick stir and try to get all the pasta to be covered in liquid (add a little bit of water if necessary).
- Cover the pot with the lid, and set the vent to SEALING position.
- Click on MANUAL or PRESSURE COOKING (this depends on what model of Instant Pot you’re using). Set at 5 minutes, and let the Instant Pot come to pressure, and start cooking.
- Once it’s done with the cooking, quickly release the steam and carefully open the lid so that the steam doesn’t get in your face. It’s important to do a QR, otherwise, the pasta will be overcooked.
- Once you open the lid, give the pasta a quick stir and please check the amount of the liquid, it’s too much as in if the pasta is too covered in liquid then you can discard a small amount.
- Stir in the cream (if you don’t have cream, then you can use a smaller amount of full fat milk). Add the broccoli florets, and finally stir in the cheddar cheese. Keep stirring until the cheese has completely melted and the sauce is creamy.
- If for some reason your sauce is still too watery, just click on sauté and cook for a few minutes and this should solve the problem.
- Have a little taste, and see if you need to add more salt or black pepper.
Reasons why you will LOVE this Mac & Cheese
It’s SUPER creamy, cheesy, comforting, cozy, easy and quick to make!
There’s broccoli in it, and it stays crunchy and nice. No unusual ingredients, and you won’t be able to stop at just own bowl!
How to reheat the leftovers?
I add a little bit of water to the pot with the Mac and cheese, and click on SAUTE. Stir the pasta while it’s being heated until you get the desired consistency and the pasta is warmed up.
More great Instant Pot recipes that you must try
Instant Pot Fajitas
Instant Pot Mexican shredded chicken
Instant Pot steak fajitas
Instant Pot fajita rice
Instant Pot beef and broccoli
Instant Pot
If you make this recipe, please don’t forget to rate it and share a picture on social media. Tag #LittleSunnyKitchen in your posts as I would really love to see what you make!
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Instant Pot Broccoli Mac And Cheese
Ingredients
- 4 cups pasta dried
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 cups vegetable stock add more if needed to cover the pasta
- 1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream
- 1 head broccoli broken down into florets
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- In the Instant Pot, add pasta of your choice, butter, dijon mustard, garlic, salt and pepper.
- Add the vegetable stock, make your own in the Instant Pot. Here’s an easy Instant Pot vegetable stock recipe that I make all the time. It’s healthier, cheaper and free of unnecessary/harmful ingredients and added sodium.
- Give the ingredients a quick stir and try to get all the pasta to be covered in liquid (add a little bit of water if necessary).
- Cover the pot with the lid, and set the vent to SEALING position.
- Click on MANUAL or PRESSURE COOKING (this depends on what model of Instant Pot you’re using). Set at 5 minutes, and let the Instant Pot come to pressure, and start cooking.
- Once it’s done cooking, quickly release the steam and carefully open the lid so that the steam doesn’t get in your face. It’s important to do a QR, otherwise the pasta will be overcooked.
- Once you open the lid, give the pasta a quick stir and please check the amount of the liquid, it’s too much as in if the pasta is too covered in liquid then you can discard a small amount.
- Stir in the cream (if you don’t have cream, then you can use a smaller amount of full fat milk). Add the broccoli florets, and finally stir in the cheddar cheese. Keep stirring until the cheese has completely melted and the sauce is creamy.
- If for some reason your sauce is still too watery, just click on sauté and cook for a few minutes and this should solve the problem. Have a little taste, and see if you need to add more salt or black pepper.
Christina
Do you not cook the broccoli?
Diana
You can steam it if you like it tender. But I just add it at the end and cover with the lid so it steams but stays crunchy.