Instant Pot Chicken Chipotle Mac and Cheese

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. My Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup has made a couple of appearances. And I successfully cooked a whole chicken yesterday and was extremely pleased with the results. The chicken was bigger and meatier, 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!

I’ve been wanting to make Instant Pot mac and cheese for quite some time now. Simply because I feel the IP cooks pasta better than what comes off the stove pot. 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. 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.

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

Creamy and luscious I hope you give this one a try.

More Instant Pot Recipes:

• Instant Pot Easy Mushroom Risotto
• Instant Pot Sausage and Beans
• Instant Pot Mexican Chicken Soup
• Mexican Chorizo Instant Pot Pinto Beans

5 from 4 votes

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Instant Pot Chicken Chipotle Mac and Cheese

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

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.

Course: Main Course Pasta

Cuisine: Southwestern

Servings: 10

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
• 1/2 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

1. 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. Add the lid, make sure the pressure release valve is on vent. Press the Pressure Cook Button, set the time to 5 minutes and set the pressure to high. Press start. 

2. 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 set for a couple of minutes to help everything become even more steamy and cheesy. (no cooking here)  Serve immediately.
   

Recipe Notes

This Chicken Chipotle Mac and Cheese has just the right hint of heat. Chipotle peppers are smoked jalapeno peppers and the veins and stems have not 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? Since Pepper Jack is a soft cheese, feel free to switch Velveeta to a Cheddar of your choice. I'd recommend mild or medium. Sharp with alter the intended flavor of this dish.

Love using canned Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce, and want to keep it easy? You won’t want to miss:

Easy Chipotle Chicken Soup

And if you’re looking to try a new Instant Pot Recipe for sliders, this is easy-peasy:

Instant Pot Glazed Corned Beef Sliders