Instant Pot Italian Mac and Cheese is a tasty cross between mac & cheese and spaghetti. It’s cheesy, creamy, saucy goodness that takes less than 30 minutes total to make!
If you’ve ever had trouble deciding whether to eat mac and cheese or spaghetti, then this pasta is for you! Instant Pot Italian Mac and Cheese is a delicious cross between mac and cheese and spaghetti.
This recipe doesn’t take much prep to make and is made entirely in the Instant Pot inner pot. It’s cheesy, creamy, saucy goodness that takes less than 30 minutes total!
How to make Instant Pot Italian mac and cheese
Step 1: Cook Italian sausage until browned. Drain grease and return to inner pot.
Step 2: Add onion and red pepper. Cook until softened. Stir in garlic.
Step 3: Add chicken broth, noodles, and marinara. Don’t stir.
Step 4: Cook and then quickly release pressure.
Step 5: Remove the lid and stir in cream, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Tips
- Italian Sausage: You can use mild or hot depending on how hot you like your pasta to be.
- Cellentani Noodles: Cellentani noodles are also called cavatappi. They are a corkscrew-type noodle.
- Marinara: Pick a pasta sauce that you like. I like to use a roasted garlic pasta sauce in this recipe.
- Cheese: I use a combination of mozzarella and Parmesan. You could also use another blend like an Italian cheese blend.
Instant Pot Italian Mac and Cheese
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage
- 1 cup diced white or yellow onion
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 16 ounces cellentani noodles
- 24 ounce jar marinara
- 32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth
- ¼ cup half-and-half or heavy cream
- 2-3 cups shredded mozzarella depending on desired cheesiness
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Press SAUTE.
- When the Instant Pot is hot, cook the ground Italian sausage until browned.
- Drain grease, if necessary, and return ground sausage to the inner pot.
- Stir in onion and red bell pepper and cook, stirring regularly, until onion has softened, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add garlic and stir to combine.
- Add noodles, marinara, and chicken broth. Do not stir.
- Press CANCEL.
- Close and lock lid.
- Turn pressure release valve to SEALING.
- Press MANUAL and adjust pressure to HIGH and time to 4 minutes.
- When finished cooking, carefully turn the pressure release valve to VENTING to quickly release the pressure.
- Unlock and remove the lid.
- Stir in cream, mozzarella, and Parmesan.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
- Italian Sausage: You can use mild or hot depending on how spicy you like your pasta to be.
- Cellentani Noodles: Cellentani noodles are also called cavatapi. They are a corkscrew-type noodle.
- Marinara: Pick a pasta sauce that you like. I like to use a roasted garlic pasta sauce in this recipe.
- Cheese: I use a combination of mozzarella and Parmesan. You could also use another blend like an Italian cheese blend.
- Nutrition values are estimates.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional values were calculated using a third-party tool and are provided as an estimation only.
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A new family favorite! My kids loved this recipe.
Thank you!