Instant Pot Creamy Broccoli Mac and Cheese
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Making mac and cheese in the Instant Pot is definitely the way to go! It’s unbelievably easy, it’s made in one single pot (hello, easiest clean up ever), and the mac and cheese comes out amazingly creamy! You can’t beat that!
Guys.
We’re going on a cruise to Italy in two months.
Which means I should be getting “bikini-ready”.
But I don’t see that happening any time soon.
Because this broccoli mac and cheese is E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G.
It’s the mac and cheese we all dream of.
The one that’s creamy but not too heavy.
The one that just melts in your mouth.
And basically the one that you can’t stop eating.
I mean, it’s such a shame you can make this in the Instant Pot so easily.
That just means you’ll be making it every day this week.
Hey, at least we have broccoli in it, right?
Instant Pot Creamy Broccoli Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 pound fusilli pasta
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 cups broccoli florets
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 (5-ounce) can evaporated milk
- 1 cup half and half*
- 12 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Instructions
- Add pasta, butter and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to a 6-qt Instant Pot®. Stir in 4 1/2 cups water.
- Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 5 minutes. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions.
- Select high sauté setting. Stir in broccoli and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and liquid has reduced, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in Dijon and garlic powder.
- Select warm setting. Stir in milk and half and half until warmed, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in cheese until melted, about 3 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Excellent, easy, and oh-so-creamy!!! I do have to thank the other reviewer who provided the warning that it’s an absolute buttery MESS when you do the quick release! Steamy butter was spewing everywhere and got all over the Instant Pot and counter. But it was worth it. Thank you for yet another great recipe.
I’ve made many Damn Delicious recipes & this one wins the prize for fast, easy and delicious. I agree with one reviewer that it could use an extra “oomph” so next time I’ll add a bit more garlic powder and a 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of onion powder. It was a savior to sit down to a savory dinner within 20 minutes with just one (Instant) pot to wash! Thank you.
I haven’t made this yet but was wondering how important it is to serve immediately. I have a party tomorrow and this looks like an amazing dish for it but I doubt I’d be able to make it right before people want to eat (since they’d prefer to just meander in and out of the kitchen and serve themselves). Will it be ruined if I don’t?
It looks great! I don’t have Instant Pot but Can I make it on the stove?
Hi Joha! We have a stovetop mac and cheese recipe that is very similar to this. 🙂
This dish seriously is damn delicious!! My family commented this tasted better than restaurant quality. Incredibly easy to make with a very rewarding end product! Every recipe I’ve made from your website (about a dozen) has been a hit. Thank you!
So I’m really sad. I totally picked up a condensed milk instead of evaporated milk. I’m in early pregnancy and my baby-affected brain just didnt even realize the mistake until I had finished the dish. Any chance theres something I can do to redeem it?
Here are some possible substitutes. Hopefully these options will save you a trip to the store! 🙂
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/cooking-tips-techniques/substitute-for-evaporated-milk%3Famp%3Dtrue
We LOVE this Mac & Cheese! I’ve made it so many times and I love how quick and easy this is. I keep some chopped broccoli in the freezer with the other ingredients in my pantry so I can make this on days we don’t have much time for dinner. I omit the butter and it still tastes amazing! Thanks for a great recipe!
Very tasty. Next time I will put my instant pot on my stove to hopefully to keep the mess from the instant release to a minimum as it spewed lots of buttery liquid steam everywhere. I’m also thinking about maybe adding some pieces of bacon to it next time because who doesn’t like bacon. But overall the directions were easy to follow, the ingredients were inexpensive and easy to work with. The taste was so good. Will be a remake for sure.
Deelish! Such good comfort food. I loved the extra sharp cheddar and may play around with other cheese combinations next time!
I used various cheeses I happened to have on hand, including extra sharp cheddar. I used rotini noodles because the grocery store I went to didn’t carry fusilli. I also used the 3/4 cup whole milk + 1/4 cup heavy cream as the half and half substitute. It was excellent. I will definitely make again.
Just made this and it is Yummy! Only adjustment was to half for a 3qt. IP and added a sprig of Rosemary to water while cooking pasta, and butter at the end.
The rosemary sprig in the pasta water is a great idea, Louise!
I can’t really give a review since I did it a little bit differently, but I will make this again. I wanted to skip a step by putting the veggies in with the pasta. I used frozen broccoli and came up a little bit short so I added a few frozen peas as well. I dumped it in on top of the uncooked pasta and water and set the timer for 5 minutes. No problems with the quick release – maybe the veggies on top helped prevent foaming? I was worried that there might be excess water due to the frozen veggies so I drained the pasta and veggies in a colander, but it didn’t turn out to be that much water after all. Put it all back in the instant pot, turned it to saute and added the dairy, garlic powder, and I used dry mustard. Got it bubbling before adding the cheese, bit by bit. I used extra sharp cheddar because that’s what I had on hand, but I don’t really recommend it. It doesn’t melt very well (kind of grainy) and the flavor gets kind of strong when melted. All in all, it was pretty good, I learned a few things, and will make it again.
So easy and so amazingly good! The creamy goodness is unbelievable. Great recipe!!!!
Awesome!
This was delicious! But when I did the quick release, it spewed buttery liquid all over my kitchen. First time that’s ever happened and I’ve cooked pasta before. I think it must be the butter. Would it be okay to add the butter after the pasta is done? Ugh, what a mess! But as I said, very tasty, creamy, and yummy!
Mine did the same thing … buttery puddle on the countertop and spray on the cabinets, counter and stovetop. I was worried about the loss of the butter so I added more to the pasta and completed the recipe as written. I’m not sure why it happened but then again I’ve never cooked pasta in the IP on its own.
Delicious, quick and oh so easy! My kids and I absolutely loved it! Next time, I will add more broccoli. Thanks for the fantastic recipe!
Thanks for sharing!
This recipe is delicious my husband loved it too! Definitely a make again. Thank you for sharing.
My non-eater, 12 year old said “This is REALLY good, Mom!” Fast for after church and loved by all. Thanks for a great recipe!
Awesome!
This looks amazing!
Unfortunately, we have a household full of Dijon (or any kind of mustard) avoiders that can pick out that flavor in the smallest of quantities. We do like a little kick to our food though. Do you have any substitution recommendations for the Dijon?
Thank you!!
You can omit since it’s such a small amount! 🙂
I made this last night – followed the recipe exactly and OH. MY. GOSH. it was so yummy! It was my first time using my Instant Pot (and my first time making a successful mac and cheese.) I have the recipe posted on my fridge now!
Will this freeze well? I need to prepare a lot of meals ahead of Thanksgiving. How would I warm this up?
This looks great. Is it spicy at all? I am making it for my 4 year old son.