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4.72 from 7 votes

Instant Pot Chicken Mac And Cheese

The best ever Instant Pot chicken mac and cheese made creamy and delicious in just 20 minutes from start to finish!
Author Diana
Servings 6
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

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.

Video

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

Calories: 657kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 26g | Cholesterol: 167mg | Sodium: 1142mg | Potassium: 500mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1363IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 384mg | Iron: 1mg
Find it online: https://littlesunnykitchen.com/instant-pot-chicken-mac-and-cheese/