Have you made Kraft mac and cheese in a pressure cooker yet? It's easy! With no draining required we've figured out how to make boxed macaroni in our Instant Pot and Ninja Foodi!

Bowl of macaroni and cheese topped with green onions next to a box of Kraft mac and cheese, solid for making kraft mac and cheese in a pressure cooker.

Do you love boxed Kraft macaroni and cheese? Of course, we all do. But, making Kraft mac and cheese in a pressure cooker is a serious game changer we needed to share with you! One of our kids' favorite Instant Pot recipes for sure.

We grew up on these little blue boxes. Bet you did too and are wondering if you could make it in your new favorite machine without draining?? We was too so we got to experimenting this week and perfected here!

We're here to show you how it's done in any brand of pressure cooker you have. Instant Pot is most common but in Ninja Foodi you use the lid that isn't attached to get boxed Ninja Foodi macaroni and cheese done too, perfectly, every time.

You will need the same ingredients as you've made it for years. It's the water that was tricky to figure out. It's one of our favorite 5 ingredient Instant Pot recipes. Of course you can add a bunch of water, cook the noodles, drain the water, and add the rest of your ingredients. BUT then it isn't quite right.

We found that this method was messy since it required a strainer, and we didn't trust our younger daughter to do that step. All of our girls enjoy cooking “all by myself”. If we could solid the amount of water needed, so nothing needed to be drained, then they could make it without our assistance.

It make us feel safer eliminating that step for them. Of course our girls are older, 18-11 years old, so if yours are younger parental supervision would still be required. You'll get there someday though. We will explain how to cook each one. There is a difference of 1/4 c. of water between the two, that is all. Here is a peek of the basic steps.

Ingredient notes

You need the same things as if you were to make this on the stovetop. The measurements are a bit different because we wanted to figure out how much water was enough to cook the noodles to tender without the need to drain it at all!!

There are store brands that are basically the same as the name brand boxed Kraft macaroni and cheese boxes. All have the elbow macaroni pasta and a packet of dry cheese.

You will want some butterwe like more of that than milk because it makes this meal a lot creamier that way. Kerrygold salted is by far our favorite.

And last but not least yes you need milkwhole or 2% are the best because a bit of fat means it is creamier.

Wooden spoon stirring pasta and butter, pouring cheese powder, and finished Kraft Mac and Cheese in a pressure cooker, served in a bowl with green onions.

How Long to Cook Kraft Mac and Cheese in Instant Pot

This is faster than making it on the stovetop since it takes a while for the water to start boiling. You add your water and noodles together. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes and then you need to allow to naturally release for a few minutes because a quick release will cause a bit of water splatter to occur out of the steam valve and make a mes.

DO NOT drain the water. Leave that in, there won't be a lot, and add that butter once you stir it a bit. Take note that the noodles will stick a bit but they're easy to break up, use a wood spoon for that.

Made without Milk

Most times we add like half a stick of butter and the cheese, this is how to make mac and cheese without milk. This will make it cheesy and thick! We do this often because we appreciate the texture better this way (or if we forgot to buy some at the store).

Swaps

You could add a few tbsp of bacon bits, parmesan cheese sprinkled on the top is yummy and/or shredded cheese like cheddar amplifies the cheesiness. By all means add some hot sauce if you want some HEAT! Ketchup is a favorite amongst some kids. Sliced hot dogs as we stated below is a favorite. You could add diced up leftover ham to it too. Salt and pepper to taste is a given

Can you add hot dogs?

Yes you can. We like to slice them into bite size pieces so they boil in the hot water with the noodles to tender. We highly recommend a non stick pot if you don't already have one so it is easier to clean and you are less likely to trigger the burn notice on the screen.

If you don't want to use as much butter you can use milk instead. We prefer butter because we love it nice and thick. For a thinner soupier version then milk is great to thin it out.

Can you make 2 boxes of Kraft Mac and Cheese in Instant Pot?

NO Problem!! We do this all the time. You will want to double the amount of water added into the pot. Add your two boxes of noodles, close the lid and set to the SAME pressure cook time as 1 box. DO NOT double the cook time.

When it is done don't drain the water as stated in the recipe card below. Add twice the amount of butter, stir. Dump in both of your dry cheese packets from the 2 boxes. Stir and add milk to thin it out to the consistency and thickness you want. Serve with salt and pepper to taste!

Kraft Mac and Cheese in Pressure Cooker 2

Instant Pot Kraft Mac and Cheese Recipe

By Made Kraft mac and cheese in a pressure cooker yet? It's easy! With no draining required we've figured out how to make boxed macaroni in our Instant Pot! Prep: 10 minutes minsCook: 3 minutes minsTotal: 13 minutes minsServings: 4 Save Recipe Saved! Pin Recipe Comment Print Recipe

Equipment

Ingredients

1 box macaroni and cheese
1/4 cup milk, amount varies depending on how thick you want it
1 1/2 – 1 3/4 cup water, increased amount if you are adding hot dogs
4 tbsp butter

Instructions

Add 1 1/2 c water into your pressure cooker, 1 3/4 c if you are adding hot dogs.
Add the noodles from your box of boxed macaroni and cheese, stir well so the water becomes a bit murky meaning the slight powder on the noodles is washed off. Add 2 sliced hot dogs now if you want to add them. Stir again.
Close lid and steam valve and set to pressure high for 3 minutes.
Allow to naturally release for about 2 min. so water doesn't spray out a bit when you release the pressure. Release rest of steam and open lid. Turn pot off.
Stir and break up noodles with a spoon, do not drain. Add butter and allow it to melt.
Pour in your packet of dry cheese and stir until dissolved. If you want it thinner add some of your milk slowly until it's the consistency you want. Serve!!

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Entree, Main CourseCuisine: American Tried this recipe?Mention @thetypical_mom or tag #thetypicalmom!

How many does a box of Kraft mac and cheese serve? Well, that depends on how hungry y'all are really. Typically the popular blue box is supposed to provide 2.5 servings. Many people eat the entire box as a meal.

If you consume an entire box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (prepared with margarine & milk) you'll eat 875 calories, 32.5 grams of fat, and 25 grams of protein.

In our mom opinion (pretty accurate for most) we would say it feeds an average of 3 people. That is if you're eating it as an entire meal. Adding hot dogs or some protein will make it heartier. Serving it as a side dish with chicken let's say would feed closer to 5

Other easy Instant Pot recipes you'll love

Looking for more easy Instant Pot pasta recipes and other goodies? Try our Instant Pot taco casserole for the win! This too is creamy and good, and sure to please adult and kids pallets.

Instant Pot ground beef stroganoff is a family fave. This Instant Pot cheeseburger macaroni is delish. Sweet Instant Pot Hawaiian chicken has raving reviews, served with Instant Pot Rice a Roni too. Cheesy pressure cooker chili mac is always a winner of a dinner too.