The best ever chicken mac and cheese cooked entirely in the Instant Pot. This family-friendly recipe makes perfect dinner on busy mid-week nights as it’s ready in under 30 minutes. Creamy, cheesy, and delicious!
Everyone in my family adores mac and cheese! I mean, who can resist creamy and cheesy pasta? To that, I add flavorful well-seasoned chicken to take my mac and cheese to the next level!
Adding protein makes it more filling, and taste amazing. If I’m making a vegetarian version, I like to add broccoli to make Instant Pot broccoli Mac and cheese. And to plain classic mac and cheese, I usually add a variety of different cheeses and more flavorings so make sure to check out my Instant Pot Mac and Cheese recipe here. There are so many different Mac and cheese versions out there, what’s your favorite?
Reasons why you will love this!
- It’s SUPER creamy, cheesy, and comforting.
- Easy and quick to make, ready in just 20 minutes.
- And you won’t be able to stop at just one
bowl !
How to make chicken mac and cheese in the Instant Pot
What you’ll need:
- Chicken – use boneless chicken breast cut into cubes.
- Pasta – any medium-sized pasta works. I usually use macaroni, fusilli, penne, shells, or farfalle (bow-tie). They all work!
- Vegetable stock – you can easily make it yourself in the Instant Pot, click on the link for the recipe. Healthier than store-bought stock, tastes better, and saves you a lot of money!
- Onion, garlic, butter, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
- Whipping cream, and sharp cheddar cheese.
To make the chicken mac and cheese:
- Press on the SAUTE button on the Instant Pot. Heat the oil, and saute the onion until it’s soft and translucent. Add the garlic, and cook for a minute or until it’s fragrant.
- Add the diced chicken, season it with salt and pepper and lightly saute it for a few minutes. Don’t brown it, as this might overcook the chicken (remember, it will be pressure cooked later).
- If there are bits stuck to the bottom of your pot, deglaze with a splash of water. I didn’t have to do this, but you might need to do it to avoid a BURN message.
- Once that’s done, switch off the SAUTE setting and add pasta, butter, and ground nutmeg. Then add the vegetable stock.
- Give the ingredients a quick stir and try to get all of the pasta to be almost covered in liquid (add a little bit of water if necessary, and it’s okay if a few pieces of pasta are not fully covered).
- Secure the lid and set the vent to SEALING. Select the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL setting and set the cooking time for 5 minutes at high pressure. The Instant Pot will take around 10 minutes to come to pressure and start cooking. When the cooking program ends, quickly release the steam. Do not do a natural release as that will overcook the pasta and the chicken.
- Carefully open the lid so that the steam doesn’t get in your face.
- Give the pasta a quick stir then mix in the cream.
- Finally, stir in the cheese. Keep stirring until the cheese is completely melted and the sauce is creamy.
Tip: If for some reason your sauce is still not thick enough, just press on sauté and cook for a few minutes. This should solve the problem.
How to reheat the leftovers?
Just add a splash of water to the pot, and press on the SAUTE setting. Stir the pasta while it’s being heated until you get the desired consistency and the pasta is warmed up. Once it’s ready, remove the inner stainless steel pot from the IP to avoid any pasta sticking to the pot, and serve.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Instant Pot Chicken Mac And Cheese
Recipe Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups (400 grams) pasta dried
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound (500 grams) chicken breasts boneless and skinless, cubed
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cups (475 ml) vegetable stock add more if needed to cover the pasta
- 1 cup (236 ml) heavy cream
- 2½ cups (250 grams) sharp cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Press on the SAUTE button on the Instant Pot. Heat the oil, and saute the onion until it's soft and translucent. Add the garlic, and cook for a minute or until it's fragrant. Add the diced chicken, season it with salt and pepper and lightly saute it for a few minutes.
- If there are bits stuck to the bottom of your pot, deglaze with a splash of water.
- Once that's done, switch off the SAUTE setting and add pasta, butter, and ground nutmeg. Then add the vegetable stock.
- Give the ingredients a quick stir and try to get all of the pasta to be covered in liquid (add a little bit of water if necessary).
- Secure the lid and set the vent to SEALING. Select the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL setting and set the cooking time for 5 minutes at high pressure. The Instant Pot will take around 10 minutes to come to pressure and start cooking. When the cooking program ends, quickly release the steam.
- Carefully open the lid so that the steam doesn’t get in your face. It’s important to quickly release the steam, otherwise, the pasta will be overcooked.
- Give the pasta a quick stir then mix in the heavy cream.
- Finally, stir in the cheese. Keep stirring until the cheese is completely melted and the sauce is creamy.
Notes:
- If for some reason your sauce is still not thick enough after you stir in the cheese, just press on sauté and cook for a few minutes and this should solve the problem.
- Depending on how salty your cheese is, your Mac and cheese may and may not need more salt. So at the end just have a taste, and see if you need to add more salt or black pepper.
- Feel free to add broccoli to the mac and cheese at the end. Or check out my Instant Pot broccoli mac and cheese recipe.
- If you have leftovers for the next day, reheat in the Instant Pot by adding a little bit of water and press on SAUTE. Let it heat up while stirring with a wooden spoon. Once it’s warm enough, remove the IP inner pot from the IP to avoid burning the mac and cheese at the bottom of the pot.
- If you like spice, you can add a little bit of cajun to the mac and cheese.
- If you don’t have cream, then you can use a smaller amount of full-fat milk or evaporated milk.
- I recommend buying a block of cheddar and shred it yourself rather than buying shredded cheese as it will melt better.
- To get some stringy cheese, I sometimes add about 1/2-3/4 of a cup of shredded mozzarella cheese.
- You can add more chicken to the recipe if you like, this won’t change the cooking instructions.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Kyle says
Pasta and cheese sauce were mighty creamy and tasty. Chicken breast was a bit dry/bland, but that was likely my fault. Would substitute chicken thighs next time, although my son thought some spicy Italian sausage would also be nice.
I will absolutely be using the base of this recipe as a starting point in the future.