Instant Pot Mac and Cheese with Smoked Sausage
Instant Pot mac and cheese with smoked sausage! This recipe is ready in just 15 minutes.
Servings 8
Calories 724kcal
Ingredients
- 1 pound smoked sausage
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 pound macaroni uncooked
- 4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt more to taste
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 12 ounces evaporated milk
- 1 tablespoon Frank's Red Hot Sauce
- 16 ounces mild cheddar shredded
- 4 ounces Monterey Jack shredded
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker to saute on high. Heat the oil in the pot.
- Slice the smoked sausage into 1/4 inch rounds and place in the pot, cooking until browned on each. Remove sausage from the pot and set aside.
- Add the macaroni, water, mustard powder, salt, and pepper to the pot.
- Place the lid on the pressure cooker and set to sealing.
- Cook on manual pressure for 3 minutes.
- Quick release the pressure and remove the lid. Do not drain the liquid.
- Turn the pressure cooker to saute and stir in the evaporate milk and hot sauce.
- Stir in the cheese, one handful at a time, until it's all melted and combined.
- Stir the sausage into the macaroni and cheese, taste and season with additional salt or pepper, if needed. Top with parsley, and serve.
Notes
Cheese: We mostly use cheddar + monterey jack for a classic mac and cheese, but feel free to mix things up. Smoked gouda, mozzarella, or gruyere all work in place of the monterey jack. Sharp cheddar will add a deeper flavor, if you're into that. White cheddar is also delicious.
Hot Sauce: I pretty much always add a few dashes of Frank's hot sauce to our mac and cheese. It doesn't make it spicy (not at all!!), but it adds a deeper, savory, salty punch to the cheese sauce. Give it a try!
Servings: Recipe serves 8 as a side dish or 4 as a main dish. Someone in the comments mentioned adding peas to this and I can confirm that it's a tasty little addition. We stir them in straight from the freezer about halfway into adding the cheese so they have time to warm up. Great way to make this a main dish and my kids don't mind it.
Nutrition
Calories: 724kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 121mg | Sodium: 923mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g