So easy! Instant Pot Chicken Chipotle Mac and Cheese. Extra creamy with a special old-fashioned ingredient and cheesy with Pepper Jack and Velveeta. With just a five minute pressure cook in the Instant Pot, this is such an easy one pot meal.
I’m really enjoying my Instant Pot more and more every day now that I’m becoming comfortable with how it acts, how it works, and how it thinks.
I’ve been making hard boiled eggs every week, and I successfully cooked a whole rotisserie style chicken yesterday and was extremely pleased with the results. Purchasing a whole chicken at the store yields a bigger and meatier chicken and the texture soft and tender and the flavor superb.
I will now say goodby to my vice of grabbing a Rotisserie Chicken at the store. Yes, it’s that easy!
Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese
I’ve been wanting to make Instant Pot mac and cheese for quite some time now. Simply because I feel the Instant Pot cooks pasta better than what comes off the stove top.
The first Instant Pot pasta recipe I tried had me sold.
Cooking pasta in the Instant Pot returns an improved texture. I believe the superior texture is because you don’t pour that liquid gold pasta water down the drain. It’s used in finishing the pasta dish, adding important starchy flavor and texture to the final dish.
And man, oh man, did this mac and cheese turn out good. I studied many recipes before throwing together my Instant Pot Chicken Chipotle Mac and Cheese recipe idea.
Mac and Cheese with Evaporated Milk
First of all, I’ve always liked my mom’s stove top mac and cheese using Velveeta and evaporated milk, the special old-fashioned ingredient I alluded to above, and so wanted to keep them in the lineup.
Evaporated Milk is thickened milk, which results in a creamier liquid for pasta and makes for great consistency.
How to Make This Mac and Cheese in the Instant Pot
To make this a Southwestern entree version, I used a good quality Pepper Jack Cheese, Velveeta, and pre-cooked cubed chicken.
- It comes together quite easily by adding pasta to the Instant Pot.
- Pour in the water, butter, salt, chipotle chile, adobo sauce and dry mustard.
- Set the controls to high pressure for five minutes.
- When done, press the quick release.
- When the Instant Pot can be opened use a large wooden spoon to stir the pasta to loosen it up.
- Quickly pour in half the cubed cheese, chicken and the milk. Stir vigorously.
- When the cheese has melted, pour in the remainder of the cheese and stir.
- I put the lid back on the pot just for a couple of minutes (no cooking involved) and let everything steam together.
- Serve immediately.
This Chicken Chipotle Mac and Cheese has just the right hint of heat. Using canned Chipotle in Adobo sauce brings a beautiful flavor to this recipe. Chipotle peppers are smoked jalapeno peppers in which the veins and stems have not been removed.
This can cause a good amount of heat. I used one, but please feel free to kick it up a notch and add two peppers. Same goes with the adobo sauce.
Not crazy about Velveeta? A soft cheese is important to the creamy texture of this dish. Since Pepper Jack is a soft cheese, feel free to substitute Cheddar for the Velveeta.
I’d recommend mild or medium. Sharp will be to strong and will alter the intended flavor of this dish.
Recipe for Instant Pot Chicken Chipotle Mac and Cheese
I hope you give this instant pot mac and cheese with chicken a try. It’s crazy delicious. And if you love mac and cheese as much as we do, don’t miss this award winning Bechamel Sauce Macaroni and Cheese recipe. It’s mind blowing.
And if you have a favorite Instant Pot macaroni and cheese recipe, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.
More Instant Pot Recipes:
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Instant Pot Chicken Chipotle Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 pound dry pasta such as shells or elbow
- 4 cups water
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce fine chopped
- ½ teaspoons adobo sauce
- 10 ounce can evaporated milk
- 8 ounces pepper jack cheese cubed in advance, room temperature
- 8 ounces velveeta cubed in advance, room temperature
- 3 cups Cooked chicken cubed, room temperature
Instructions
- In the insert of an Instant Pot pressure cooker, add the macaroni, water, butter, kosher salt, ground mustard, chipotle chile and adobo sauce. Give it a quick stir. Secure the lid. Set the time to 5 minutes and set the pressure to high. Press start.
- When the Instant Pot has completed the 5 minute cooking time cycle, press the quick release. When you're able to open the lid, add the evaporated milk and half of the cheeses and the chicken. With a wooden spoon vigorously stir until the cheeses have melted. Repeat with the rest of the cheese, stirring until the sauce is creamy.
- Replace the lid on the Instant Pot and let it sit for a couple of minutes to help everything become even more steamy and cheesy. (no cooking here) Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Chipotle Mac and Cheese with Chicken … It’s Whats for Dinner
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
Great mac & cheese recipe!
I’m now gonna try to make it before my GF gets home (I’m in the dog house for forgetting our anniversary!!!) This is her favorite so hopefully it will do the trick.
Keep up the great work!
You may have just single-handedly convinced me jump on the IP bandwagon… This Mac and Cheese sounds wonderful! Great cheese variation suggestions, too!
Well, I hope that’s a good thing. 🙂 I look forward to reading how you like it.
Yum! Ever notice Mac and Cheese is considered a vegetable in the South? When you go to a restaurant with meat and 3 vegetables deal, Mac and Cheese is on the vegetables list! LOL Good stuff here!
Ooey Gooey Yummy!
I need an instant pot
That first pictures had me wanting to poke the computer screen with a fork, hoping that I could grab a bite or two. YUM! Looks like your truly embracing that InstataPot.
Delicious!
Whooooaaaaaaa!!! So delicious! And, this IP is really becoming mainstream!!
I don’t have the pot but this M&C sounds delicious – I forget many versions can be made.
Woooow!
Looking so much delicious! ???
I just made this for me and my husband here in Texas during our “Artic Blast”. It was so yummy. It was also a great soup for a cold day. Thank you for sharing.
Ha! I tease a friend of mine that she’s in the Instant Pot cult! This recipe makes me want to join up!