Instant Pot Butternut Mac and Cheese

Step 1: Gather the ingredients for Butternut Mac and Cheese

This pasta dish uses simple and delicious ingredients. Finely chopped butternut squash and onions are sautéed in butter, spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg and then cooked with elbow pasta. Cheddar cheese and heavy cream are added after cooking to make this pasta so deliciously rich and creamy.

• Butter: Sautéing the butternut squash and onion in butter adds a creamy sweetness to this dish.
• Butternut Squash & Yellow Onion: The flavor of the yellow onion adds to the gentle sweetness of the butternut squash which really makes this pasta dish stand out.
• Cinnamon & Nutmeg: These traditional fall spices turn this pasta dish into the perfect fall side dish.
• Chicken Stock: To get the full flavor of homemade chicken stock without having to make it myself, I use Kitchen Basics unsalted chicken stock.
• Elbow Pasta: Small elbow macaroni pasta is perfect for this dish.
• Sharp Cheddar Cheese: I chose sharp cheddar over mild or extra-sharp because it adds a bit more tang and a deeper cheddar flavor than mild cheddar but is creamier and melts easier than extra-sharp. It turned out to be the perfect cheddar for this dish.
• Heavy Cream: The heavy cream makes this butternut mac so smooth and creamy.

Step 2: Prepare the butternut squash and onion

First, peel, seed and cube the butternut squash and rough cut the yellow onion. Purchasing precut butternut squash can save you a few minutes of peeling and chopping. Next, add the butternut squash and onion to a food processor and pulse until they are broken down into tiny pieces. The pieces should be no larger than a grain of rice. I will usually pulse for a couple of seconds and then stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor bowl and then pulse again. I’ll repeat this so that all of the butternut squash and onion get chopped.

Step 3: Set the Instant Pot to Sauté

Now, set the Instant Pot to ‘Sauté’ and then use the ‘Adjust’ button to adjust the heat level to ‘Normal’. Allow the pot to warm up until it reads ‘Hot’.

Step 4: Add the butter

Once the pot is ‘Hot’, add the butter and allow it to melt. Continually moving the butter around the bottom of the hot pot using a spoon or spatula will help it melt more quickly and prevent any of the butter from burning.

Step 5: Sauté the butternut squash and onion

Once the butter has melted, add the chopped butternut squash and onion to the pot and toss them in the melted butter. Sauté the vegetables in the butter, tossing periodically until the squash begins to get soft. This will take 4 to 5 minutes.

Step 6: Add the spices

Once the squash has started to soften, add the cinnamon and nutmeg to the pot. Mix the spices into the squash and onion mixture and then allow them to cook into the vegetables for a minute or two. This will give the spices a chance to release their wonderful flavors and aromas.

Step 7: Add the stock and pasta

Now, turn the’Sauté’ function off, add the chicken stock and salt to the pot and then mix all of the ingredients together. Next, gently stir the elbow pasta into the chicken stock.

Step 8: Close and set the cook time

Close the Instant Pot and set the pressure release valve to ‘Sealing’. Set the pot to cook on ‘Manual’ / ‘Pressure Cook’, ‘High Pressure’ for 2 minutes. Once the cooking time has completed, allow for a 2-minute natural pressure release. This will let the pasta continue cooking while also allowing any built up foam inside the pot to settle. Giving the foam a chance to settle will help minimize any possibility of making a mess when releasing the remaining pressure.

Step 9: Add the cream and cheese

Once the 2-minute natural pressure release has completed, release the remaining pressure, open the pot and add the heavy whipping cream to the pasta and mix it in. Then add the shredded cheese to the pasta and mix it in until the cheese fully melts.