This Instant Pot Chili Mac and Cheese makes the perfect hearty comfort food meal for any day of the week. It is a one pot dish that is easily made in under 30 minutes. The delicious combination of pasta, chili, beans, and cheese will have you going back for seconds. You will want to cook this recipe again and again.
Chili Mac and Cheese- A Childhood favorite
I never get tired of cooking in my Instant Pot. It keeps cleaning the dishes down to a minimum and cooks everything so fast. As a child, chili mac and cheese was a staple meal in my mother’s home. It is easy and inexpensive to make, fed a crowd, and tasty. Recreating my mother’s version in the Instant Pot brings back so many memories of my mother making it over the stove in her little kitchen. I absolutely loved it and I hope you will too.
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How to Make Instant Pot Chili Mac and Cheese
Making Chili Mac and Cheese in the Instant Pot is so easy!!!!
- Brown your meat with garlic on the saute setting.
- Add in the spices, onions, bell pepper, and celery.
- Once cooked, add the remaining ingredients and cook on the High Manual setting for 4 minutes.
- Quick release, you stir in the cheese… That is it. How easy is that?
*Note: When cooking the ground beef, I use this ChopStir Original Ground Meat Chopper, Frozen Juice Concentrate Stirrer, Heat-Resistant Nylon, Made in the USA, Black
. It grinds the meat into tiny pieces while cooking.
Can you freeze chili Mac and cheese?
Chili mac and cheese is easy to freeze. Seal chili mac and cheese in freezer safe containers, date, and label. You can freeze it up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator or quickly in the microwave. You can reheat in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or in the microwave. I like to make a big batch and freeze half for a meal to eat on a busy night that I don’t have time to cook.
If you like this recipe, check out some of my other Instant Pot Recipes. Some favorites are Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup, Instant Pot Country Style Steak, and Instant Pot Mac and Cheese.
Instant Pot Chili Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1 chopped bell pepper
- 1 chopped onion
- 2 tbs chili powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp seasoned salt
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 30 oz kidney beans (2 cans)
- 20 oz rotel with green chili (2 cans)
- 15 oz tomato sauce
- 8 oz elbow macaroni uncooked
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Turn on Saute setting. Brown ground beef and garlic until fully cooked.
- Add in bell pepper, celery, onion, chili powder, cumin, and seasoned salt. Cook until all vegetables are softened.
- Add broth, kidney beans, rotel, tomato sauce, and macaroni. Stir. Close and lock lid. Cook on Manual High Pressure for 4 minutes.
- Quick release. Stir the pasta and chili.
- Add in cheese and stir. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
Nutrition
Elana McClure says
Delicious!! You do not have to cook the vegetables tender, they will be tender when itās done, also add the pasta in dry and save yourself another pot to clean. We like to add about a cup of frozen corn to it as well. Great recipe!
Katie says
Yes. You would make it the same with ground turkey.
Grace says
Would you use the same directions with ground turkey?
Ana says
This was easy and delicious!! Used the same seasonings as I would in my crockpot for chili but this had a lot more flavor.
Katie says
I use dry pasta. It will cook in the liquids in the Instant Pot.
Nanci says
Do you use pre-boiled pasta or is it cooked in the IP?
Katie says
Thanks for sharing Sheila your gluten free tip! I am glad you liked it.
Sheila says
Someone posted this on an IP FB group and I tried it out tonight. It was delicious! The only thing I did different was used gluten free pasta and cooked on high for 3 min. Thanks for the recipe.
Katie says
Thank you for sharing. I am so glad you enjoyed it!
Christine says
This is wonderful! Thank you!!
Katie says
No.
Kyle Kenworthy says
Do you cook noodles before?
Katie says
I drained mine… I didn’t rinse them. I don’t think it will hurt the recipe either way though.
Mary Beth says
Do you drain & rinse the beans?
Aleta says
Yummy!!!! This looks incredible! An easy recipe the whole family will love? Perfect. Thanks for sharing š