This healthy Instant Pot Broccoli Mac and Cheese is the perfect quick and easy kid-friendly dinner! It’s creamy, dreamy and loaded with hidden (and unhidden) veggie goodness!
Hey guys! How’s it hangin’?! I’ve been slowly (so, so slowly) easing back into normal life after our crazy-fun 10-day vacation at Walt Disney World. For anyone who’s been there, you know just how exhausting of a trip it is (not that that takes away from the fun – unless you’re my 7-year-old, but we don’t need to get into that right now). If you’ve watched any of my quasi-recent Insta stories, you know that when we got there we found out that Epcot’s Festival of Arts was going on and it was really great! PLUS the food was amazing and beautiful, two things that I particularly appreciate.
We also went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios and ate and drank all of the magical things, it was freaking glorious. And I mean, we rode some rides and stuff, too (which were seriously great), but I was mostly there for the butterbeer, meat pasties, fire whiskey, and fizzing whizbees. And of course to pretend that I could cast spells on my enemies. So come at me bro, because I’m ready to Levicorpus the shit out of someone.
You get me, Potter heads, I know you do. 😉
Butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks!
Anyway, I’m officially back (mostly), so on with the show!
Let’s talk about this Instant Pot Broccoli Mac and Cheese. It’s so freaking good, my friends. It’s just amazingly creamy and dreamy and I love that it’s packed with veggies, some hidden, some not so hidden.
Hiding veggies in a cheesy pasta dish (like this one! Oh, and like in my friend Nancylynn’s chili mac, so good!) is one of the best ways to sneak ’em into your kids (or your husband)!
And I’m telling you, if you already love the stovetop version of this dish and have an Instant Pot, you’ll never make it that way again. It’s SO quick and SO easy in the IP, it’s practically a sin. Check it out! ↓
How to make healthy Instant Pot Mac and Cheese:
Put the dry whole wheat pasta and the water in the bottom of your Instant Pot.
Put your steamer basket on top, then put the frozen cauliflower florets into the basket. Pressure cook for 3 minutes with a quick release.
Once finished, remove the cauliflower from the steamer basket and blend with the broth. No need to drain the pasta, btw!
Add the cauliflower puree to the pasta in the Instant Pot.
Add the cheeses and stir until melty and delicious, then add the broccoli!
Hello lover!
Hot tip!: I usually just steam my broccoli in the microwave at the same time everything else is cooking away in the Instant Pot. I’m seriously obsessed with how quickly this one comes together!
I hope you guys love this one as much as we do!
Just FYI – this recipe has only been tested in the Instant Pot 6 quart duo (which you can check out here! <- affiliate link) – If you have an 8 qt, you may need to add more liquid.
If you make this Instant Pot Broccoli Mac and Cheese recipe be sure to snap a pic and tag me @thefoodieandthefix or use #thefoodieandthefix on Instagram so I can check it out! I love watching your stories! It makes me ridiculously happy to see what you guys are making 🙂
Instant Pot Broccoli Mac and Cheese {21 Day Fix | Weight Watchers}
Ingredients
- 4 cups (16 oz) fresh or frozen broccoli florets, steamed and chopped smaller if they're in large pieces
- 3 cups (11 1/2 oz) dry whole wheat elbow macaroni (Barilla brand is my fave!)
- 3 1/2 cups water
- 16 oz frozen cauliflower (or 4 cups of roughly chopped fresh cauliflower)
- 1 1/4 cups low sodium chicken broth (1/2 cup only if using fresh cauliflower)
- 2/3 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese (freshly shredded is best for both cheeses, but you can also use pre-shredded)
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/8 - 1/4 tsp salt (start with 1/8th of a teaspoon and add another if necessary
- optional: some black pepper if you like!
Instructions
- To your Instant Pot liner add you dry pasta and 3 1/2 cups water. Place a steamer basket on top of everything and put 16 oz (or 4 cups) of cauliflower in the steamer basket. Put lid on and cook on manual for 3 minutes with a quick release afterwards.
- Remove the cauliflower and put it in a blender with 1 1/4 cups broth and puree.
- Return the cauliflower mixture to the pot, stir in the cheeses, salt and pepper. Check seasonings and then stir in the cooked broccoli florets and serve!
Notes
You can either cook your broccoli in the microwave or in your Instant Pot ( in a steamer basket with a cup of water underneath, manual, zero minutes) beforehand. If you cook it in the microwave, you can do that while everything else is cooking in the IP.
21 Day Fix Container Counts: 1 1/2 YELLOW, 1 BLUE, 1 GREEN
Weight Watchers Freestyle Points: 9
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 1/4 cupsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 334Total Fat: 13g
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If using fresh chopped cauliflower, do you still steam it in the instant pot with the pasta before blending with the 1/2 cup of broth? It’s not clear how to change the recipe if you use fresh chopped. Thanks!
Yep, you still steam it in the IP with the pasta. Sorry for the confusion!
How does this recipe freeze?
It freezes really well!
How long can you freeze it for? And how do you warm it up after you remove from freezer?
Hi! The general rule of thumb for homemade mac and cheese is about 2 months. I usually use the defrost setting on my microwave until it’s defrosted and then heat normally in the microwave until hot. 🙂
Hi! I made this exactly as it said and it turned out super watery and we couldn’t eat it! Whyyyy?
Oh no! I’m not sure! Did you use a different type of pasta than the whole wheat? This has never happened to me before and I’ve never heard of that happening to anyone else, so sorry that it didn’t work out for you!
There was a lot of water for me, too. Using the Duo 6, whole wheat pasta and cauliflower weighed to the ounce, and exact amount of water as stated. I’m sooo glad I read this comment. I drained the excess water and put the pasta back in. I only used about a cup of cheese, total, and it came out pretty good. Next time, I think I’ll use the same amount of water and just drain it, again. The pasta was perfectly done and that’s what important. We can’t be the only two that had watery results!
Hi! I’m curious, did you use fresh or frozen cauliflower?
What’s the serving size? I see that there’s 8 servings. This looks amazing and I want to try it, but keep my portions right for 21df. 😊
Hi Valerie! The serving sizes are at the very bottom of my recipe cards, it’s 1 1/4 cups for this recipe 🙂
This is my favorite mac and cheese recipe to make! I love that it feels like a cheat!
Ah! That makes me so happy!!
Could I possibly do this with brown rice pasta? Also how do I know if I have a 6 qt or 8 qt instant pot? I don’t remember what the box said when I bought it.
Hi! You can definitely do it with brown rice pasta, but you may want to take the cook time down to 2 minutes. On the inside of the Instant Pot liners there are measurements, the largest cup measurement on the 6 quart is 10 cups. I’m sure the 8 quart is higher. Hope that helps!