Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Instant Pot Recipe

Can you make boxed or Kraft mac and cheese in the Instant Pot? Yep! This Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Instant Pot recipe makes Instant Pot mac and cheese easy!  If you prefer to make mac and cheese the old fashioned way, see our Instant Pot Bacon Mac and Cheese Recipe. 

How to Make Instant Pot Boxed Mac and Cheese

There are a couple of key tips to making boxed macaroni and cheese in the Instant Pot:

1. Use a good quality product.  I trust the old standard Kraft, so my recipe is specifically for Kraft mac and cheese in the Instant Pot. Your experience with other brands may vary.
2. Don’t skimp on the water. I have seen people report using just one cup of water for one box of mac and cheese. I also have seen reports of people getting burn notices with that amount. I used 1.5 cups. The mac and cheese will thicken after you stir the cheese in, so don’t worry it it seems like there is excess liquid before that step.     
3. After several experiments, I found that 4 minutes pressure and 3 minutes of natural release made the best macaroni and cheese.
4. Put the butter in with the water. This helps avoid sticking.  See the recipe for details on the amount.

By the way, the history of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, aka Kraft Dinner, is kind of interesting.  

Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in the Instant Pot

So, making my mac and cheese was super easy. This is truly a five ingredient Instant Pot Mac and cheese Recipe.   

I simply dumped the water in the pot, added 4 Tablespoons of butter, and dumped in the mac and cheese. Do not stir the pasta in, it is better if it isn’t all sitting on the bottom of the pot.  Sure most of it will be, but stirring almost assures that all of it is there with the potential to stick.

By using 1.5 cups of water, this recipe will be the same for any pot size as it meets the minimum required for any size. 

Pressure cook on manual high pressure for 4 minutes and give a three minute natural release, then quick release.  Do not be shocked if it looks like it has too much liquid as seen in the above photo. Go ahead and stir in 1/4 cup of milk and the contents of the Kraft cheese packet. Mix well and let it still on keep warm for a minute or two and it will thicken up.

Note: previously this recipe used 1/2 cup milk, but changed to 1/4 to match the current box instructions. I tested it with 1/4 cup and all was good! 

So there you go! Super easy Instant Pot Kraft macaroni and cheese!  

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Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in the Instant Pot

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 17 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 box Kraft Macaroni and Cheese
• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup milk

Instructions

1. Add water and butter to the Instant Pot
2. Pour in the macaroni, reserving the cheese packet, do not stir
3. Pressure cook on manual high pressure for four minutes
4. Natural release for three minutes followed by quick release
5. Stir in the milk and contents of the cheese packet
6. Mix well and let sit on keep warm setting for 1-2 minutes until the mixture thickens
7. Enjoy!

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 400Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 613mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 2gSugar: 6gProtein: 8g

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