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:
- 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.
- 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.
- After several experiments, I found that 4 minutes pressure and 3 minutes of natural release made the best macaroni and cheese.
- 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!
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in the Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 box Kraft Macaroni and Cheese
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup milk
Instructions
- Add water and butter to the Instant Pot
- Pour in the macaroni, reserving the cheese packet, do not stir
- Pressure cook on manual high pressure for four minutes
- Natural release for three minutes followed by quick release
- Stir in the milk and contents of the cheese packet
- Mix well and let sit on keep warm setting for 1-2 minutes until the mixture thickens
- Enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 400Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 613mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 2gSugar: 6gProtein: 8g
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Have you tried a 2 boxes? If so, outcome?
I have not tried two boxes, but I imagine it should work fine by simply doubling the recipe. If you try it, let us know how it works out!
I have since made a double recipe and it worked fine!
I double the recipe and use a little more than a 1/4 cup of milk. If you follow the instructions it comes out perfect. This is the only way I make box Mac n cheese. Reseal the vent and it stays hot for a bit. I don’t even use the warm option on the instant pot. It looks like a lot of liquid at first but let the keep warm stay on while your mixing everything and eye out the milk. Like I said I use a tad more than a 1/4 cup and I double the recipe. Easy simple munchies if your stoned.
I made it with 3 boxes. Just tripled the recipe and used the same cook time. It turned out great!
I will never make Mac and Cheese on the stove again! This recipe is perfect! I double the recipe with no issues,
When you say “cup”, do you mean a normal 8 ounce cup or an Instant Pot “cup”?
A normal 8 ounce cup.
Thank you for this! I am going to use this method but add my own little twist. I am going to add ground beef to make a cheesy mac and cheese “hamburger helper” meal! Should be glorious or catastrophic!
Sounds awesome! I predict it will be glorious!
If you work out a way to cook the hamburger with the mac and cheese, even partially, I’d love to hear it. That would infuse more flavor but right now I cook the hamburger separately in a pan while the mac and cheese cooks in the IP then mix them together at the end.
I just cooked a pound of ground beef on sauté with my seasonings.
Added the macaroni recipe used here and it worked out just fine.
I made two boxes yesterday for the first time in my IP following the 4 min high, 3 min natural release and then milk and warm- this is the best mac and cheese I’ve had. I’ll never go back to stove top cooking. Thanks so much. 😀
I cook Kraft Mac & Cheese noodles bit less than the box says on the stove top. This IP recipe was close to perfect, but next time I will try 3 mins on high, 3 mins slow release, then instant release. Figured I would share for others who also prefer their noodles al dente.
I tried this exact method and next time I would stir it before cooking. It was all stuck in a big clump and not cooked through in some places.
I tried this but even after letting it sit on keep warm there was still too much liquid. I would suggest may 1/4 cup less of water or milk
If lowering the liquid, definitely lower the milk. Otherwise there might not be enough liquid to cook the pasta without getting a burn notice. You can also substitute cream in a lower amount for the milk to keep the richness and that sometimes is thicker as well.
I am trying this method today with 3 boxes of Kraft Mac and Cheese. However, the boxes I have are from Frozen 2 and the pasta pieces are shapes, not regular elbows. Do you think I should change anything?
I’m thinking the shape shouldn’t matter, but be sure to triple the recipe amounts.
We did Annie’s and two boxes so just doubled it all, added some shredded cheese vey that’s how I roll, and some salt/pepper and hotdogs delicious!!
Why so much butter? Stovetop is only 1 tablespoon. Butter is a lot of calories. Is 4 tablespoons really needed for IP?
This was made using the amounts listed on the box which calls for four tablespoons, not one. I just double checked a box in my pantry to confirm this. You could try using less, but it might not come out as smooth.
You’re right. I just checked. How strange. I’ve been making it on the stovetop for a good 30 years and always used just one teaspoon of butter. i guess I’ve been doing it wrong for decades!
Well, I guess now we know that it still comes out fine using less butter! I think I’ll try it with less next time as a comparison. Certainly can’t complain about cutting some calories if it still comes out good!
Maybe the instructions were different 30 years ago? You could have memorized it correctly then and just not noticed when the instructions changed! 😀
Well, you were not wrong to recommend using Kraft. I tried this twice. The first time I used Walmart Great Value original mac & cheese, the one that costs $.34/box. And it was adequate. Certainly good enough for some cheap lunches, but not great. In fairness though, it generally doesn’t turn out better than adequate on the stovetop either.
The Kraft original, however ($.98/box) turned out pretty darn good, again, comparable to the stovetop results. I wouldn’t hesitate to serve it to company. Thank you.
Yeah, I’m definitely a Kraft girl all the way! Well worth the extra money. 🙂
Does the butter you in after the water or on top of the macaroni?
You can do it either way. I often put the butter in, pour the water on top, and then add the macaroni.
Has anyone tried this with the liquid cheese pack macaronis? Curious if there’s any differences?
I just did. Omitted the milk and butter. Added the cheese sauce after the noodles were cooked.
Came out fine.
This was great. I this to 1 3/4 cup of water and 5 sliced hot dogs to the recipe. It was great.
I added several slices of crumbled up cooked bacon to the two box recipe. Not as good as I thought it would be. The Mac and cheese is nice and creamy, next time I will add the bacon to the cooked product instead of adding to the pot before cooking.
Yes, definitely add bacon after cooking. That way the bacon stays crispy.
If I am tripling the recipe should i also triple the cook time?
Just got my insta pot and not real confident using it yet
Hi! No, the cook time remains the same. The pot just might take a bit longer to get to pressure is all. If you feel that the pasta is too firm when it is finished, just go ahead and stick the lid back on on warm (not pressure cook) for a minute or two and that will finish it off.
Thank you for this recipe. Its the only way I’ve made mac n cheese for the past 2 years. I’m in an RV and love that I’m using less water, and don’t have to drain and waste any, plus I don’t have to use propane for stove cooking. I always double the recipe (but use half the butter) and its always perfect.
Excellent recipe – thank you! Though I too am starting to think stirring would be a better idea. I’ve made this without a hitch five times (one time exactly as directed and four times doubling the recipe), but tonight when I opened the Foodi (I have a Ninja Foodi) the macaroni that had been sitting on top of a mound of butter (Country Crock, to be more exact) was somehow still elevated above the rest (and the water) and looked as if it hadn’t cooked at all. I finished the process, hoping for the best (and that I wouldn’t lose any teeth crunching down on still-hard pasta), and I was lucky – that pasta didn’t look cooked but it was almost as soft as the rest – but the less-cooked pasta was a little bit noticeable. I’ve also never had any of the noodles stick to the bottom of the pan – maybe the Foodi has a more awesome non-stick coating than the Instant Pot? Don’t know. At any rate, I think I’m going to stir it from now on to make sure all the pasta’s below the waterline before I start it cooking.
Regardless, it’s a fantastic recipe that’s changed my Kraft-mac-and-cheese-cooking life, and I’m grateful.
Will doing 4 boxes at once be ok ?
As long as your Pot is large enough to handle all the liquid plus the other ingredients.
This recipe is spot on. So simple and I made it with 2 boxes because who doesn’t like Mac and cheese!
Thanks SO much!! We took our Instant Pot to our family get-together at a hotel with suite rooms – perfect thing to go with sandwiches for kids for lunch (and for adults – doubled recipe on 2nd day!)
Didn’t have the same flavor as draining the water like on the stove
Wow this is the easiest and ONLY way one should make instant man n cheese.
Curious if anyone has made this with margarine in place of butter?
I haven’t made it with margarine, but I think it would probably work just fine.
I made this for lunch and thought it turned out really good. I will definitely make this again
This was so easy! I wish I’d been doing this every time! I made three boxes and tripled the recipe and it came out perfect! So easy and so delicious!