How to Cook Homemade Mac & Cheese: Battle – Stovetop vs. Instant Pot!
It’s a cheesy love affair! But which cooking method will you fall in love with?! Learn the differences between cooking macaroni and cheese in the Instant Pot vs. Stovetop. However you cook it, you’ll end up with an elbow full of macaroni perfection!
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Video: How to cook homemade macaroni and cheese
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Recipe: Instant Pot Mac & Cheese
Forgive me while I drown myself in this bowl of mac and cheese. Please do not judge me. I will not judge you. 😉
Ingredients
- 1 Lb. small shell noodles
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 Cup Water
- 4 tablespoon butter
- 1 Cup whipped cream
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 cups grated mild cheddar cheese
- 1 Cup grated parmesan cheese
- ground pepper as a set
- Side salad or vegetables
instructions
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Whisk together the chicken broth and Dijon mustard in the Instant Pot. Add the noodles, then add water so the noodles are covered. Squeeze the noodles into the liquid. Add 1/2 cup more water if needed to cover all of the pasta.
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Set to seal.
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Manual high pressure cook for 6 minutes.
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Fast release.
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A little liquid may remain, but it will thicken as it evaporates and the cheese sauce is prepared.
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Stir in butter until melted. Pour in the cream and mix well. Add the grated cheese and grated Parmesan and gently stir in and incorporate until a creamy cheese sauce forms.
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Serve Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese with minced pepper and your favorite vegetable or salad.
Remarks
That makes 4 hearty portions of main course or 8 portions of side dish.
Recipe: Stovetop Mac & Cheese
Homemade Mac and Cheese is simply the BEST!
Costs: 3.72
Ingredients
- 3 cups Elbow or other small clam noodles
- 3 cups whole milk I wouldn’t use skim milk, but 2% would probably give a similar creaminess
- 1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- Few dashes of nutmeg
- salt and pepper
- 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 Cup parmesan cheese
- Parsley or basil for garnish
- Side dish: fresh fruit or vegetables
instructions
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In a medium saucepan, add pasta, milk, mustard, garlic powder, and nutmeg and turn heat on to medium-high. Bring the milk to a simmer (as soon as small bubbles form).
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Quickly turn it down to LOW. You don’t want the milk to heat up too quickly and boil over into a mess!
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Allow the macaroni to cook in the milk mixture over low heat, stirring frequently. And by often, I mean often… every 30 seconds. From this point it will take 6-8 minutes for the noodles to absorb all of the milk. You need to stir because you want the noodles on the bottom to absorb the liquid and you don’t want the noodles on the top to be chewy. So it has to be turned around. You’ll see what I mean when you try it! If you think it needs a little more liquid, add water 1/4 cup at a time. I didn’t need to…but you can if you need to. (This is cool to watch…and would be a great little “experiment” or cooking lesson for kids.)
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Once pasta is al dente, remove from heat and stir in shredded cheese and parmesan.
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Serve immediately with favorite side dishes… fresh vegetables or fruit!
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