Instant Pot Protein Mac and Cheese
Published 9/16/2022 • Updated 9/30/2024
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This protein mac and cheese is made in the Instant Pot with whole wheat noodles, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, and a boost of protein from Greek yogurt!
Cottage Cheese Protein Mac and Cheese
Looking for a quick and protein-packed dinner idea? You will love our protein mac and cheese made right in your Instant Pot. It packs in 17g of protein per serving and you can even up that amount by serving it next to a protein!
We love this protein mac and cheese recipe because it’s made with cottage cheese and Greek yogurt for both extra protein and creaminess.
PS: there is no roux involved like classic mac and cheese!
Why you’ll love it!
Delicious mac and cheese recipe
Kid-friendly
17g protein/serving
Ready in 30 minutes
Featured Ingredients
- Noodles: we’re using a classic macaroni elbow noodle in this recipe, but you could also use a whole wheat noodle, too!
- Broth: broth is used in place of water to cook the noodles in the Instant Pot to add flavor.
- Spices: garlic powder, dijon, salt, and pepper are used to add flavor.
- Cheddar cheese: it wouldn’t be a mac and cheese without some freshly shredded cheddar cheese!
- Cottage cheese: cottage cheese adds a great texture along with more protein!
- Greek yogurt: Greek yogurt is our secret weapon for extra creaminess. Plus it adds a decent amount of protein.
- Heavy cream: this adds a bit of richness without going to crazy.
6 Qt.
Instant Pot Duo
Looking for a new pressure cooker? Check out 6 Qt. the Instant Pot Duo. It’s the one we use and love!
How to Make Protein Mac and Cheese in the Instant Pot
- Cook Noodles: add noodles, broth, butter, garlic, dijon, and salt into the Instant Pot and mix. Seal the Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Add cheeses and Greek yogurt: quick release the Instant Pot and then remove the lid. Immediately add the cheeses, heavy cream, and Greek yogurt.
- Mix: stir vigorously until the cheeses melt all the way.
Cottage cheese not melting?
We have some tips for you if your cottage cheese isn’t melting.
Add when hot: we recommend adding the cheeses, heavy cream, and Greek yogurt right after you open your Instant Pot so that the hot noodles can do their job and melt the cheese,
Put the lid back on: simply place the lid back on your Instant Pot so the steam can get trapped and melt the cheeses.
Use saute function: quickly turn the saute feature on so that the noodles get hot again to melt the cheese.
30-Minute Meals
Serving Suggestions
Mac and cheese not enough to float your boat? Here are some serving suggestions to pair with your mac!
- Chicken breast: pretty much any and all of our chicken recipes would be delicious with this mac. Try our grilled whole chicken, air fryer chicken nuggets, or baked chicken thighs.
- Salad: get your veggies in with a quick and simple salad: garden salad, strawberry broccoli salad, or Nicoise salad.
Storage
Store leftover protein mac and cheese in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Instant Pot Protein Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 16 oz. elbow macaroni, whole wheat pasta works too!
- 4 cups chicken broth, or any broth
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1.5 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup 2% cottage cheese
- 1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream or whole milk
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Place macaroni noodles, broth, butter, garlic powder, dijon mustard and salt into the Instant Pot and mix well.
- Set your Instant Pot by making sure the pressure valve is turned to seal. Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
- When the time on the instant pot runs out, quick release the pressure by turning the pressure valve to vent. Be careful, the steam is hot!
- Remove the Instant Pot lid and give the noodles a quick stir. Add the cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, and heavy cream. Stir constantly until all the cheese has melted. It might take some time for the cottage cheese to melt.
- Remove the mac and cheese from the Instant Pot and top with freshly ground black pepper.
Tips & Notes
- All of the cheese (including the cottage cheese) should melt easily IF you add all of the ingredients while the macaroni is HOT. Do not wait to add the cheese, Greek, and milk because then it may become grainy.
- If the cottage cheese isn’t melting, turn on the saute function on your instant pot and stir.
- This recipe was slightly modified on September 15, 2022. Click HERE for the original recipe.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Photography: photos taken in this post are by Ashley McGlaughlin from The Edible Perspective.
LOVE THIS! I’m always trying to get more protein into my husband who tends to want to eat like a 5 year old. 🙂 I loves this Mac and cheese more than normal recipes.
I used sour cream instead of yogurt and added a teaspoon of Saracha.
Do you think I could substitute with gluten free pasta??
Looking forward to trying this!
Hey Kaitlyn! We haven’t tried this with anything other than white pasta and whole wheat. Not sure how the g-free will react in the IP!
My 9 year old thought this The best mac & cheese ever and asked for it in regular rotation! This was even after I put the yogurt and at the same time I cooked the noodles thinking it would be a total fail!
Any suggestions on how to cut the recipe in half? Would the amount of time in the Instant Pot be the same?
The amount of time in the IP would stay the same! Just half the ingredients <3
This recipe created a mess. I use my instant pot 3-4x a week, and this is my first food failure. The original Mac and Cheese was like others said: a brown soup with chunks of white cottage cheese in it. So I followed instructions and put it on saute (just 3 min). Then I had actual yellow MC and it looked pretty good, but a lot was burned to the bottom of the pot. I’m STILL soaking it. My kids said it tasted fine but the texture was weird and maybe I shouldn’t make it again.
Sorry but this ended up a total fail. I don’t know what went wrong but the mix was WAY too soupy – – it was like macaroni soup when I opened the lid. Then the cheese wouldn’t melt and combine with the mac it just melted into stringy blobs all over the pot and solidified instead of covering the mac; if I tried to stir it, it just blobbed onto whatever I stirred it with and trying to reduce the liquid via using the saute just ended up triggering the “burn” notice. Although . . . I probably reduced my fat intake since like the previous commenter, Mindy, noted, the cheese took on a bubblegum consistency that I was able to constantly spit out instead of swallowing so I ended up ingesting a lot less cheese. : – )
Re: on the stovetop… it failed miserably! I don’t think I did anything wrong, I cook and bake a lot. The cheese became this awful bubblegum texture, beyond salvaging, and I had to throw everything out, including a dishscrub brush! 🙁 I wanted it to work so badly! I need this in my life!
I love your recipes. I’m a huge fan of the accessibility to so many different kinds of foods that most people feel they can’t enjoy while trying to start healthy. That said, I’m a bit disappointed that your instant pot recipes don’t come with variations for a stovetop.
My husband and I share a kitchen that’s under 300 square feet. In lieu of a dining room table, we had to buy a restaurant-quality rolling rack with tiered shelves just to have storage for food in our kitchen. I mistakenly bought a crockpot 2 years ago. I’ve used it twice, and it’s otherwise just taking up space. I can’t afford to buy another expensive piece that will be just equipment to sit in my corner at some point. I value traditional cooking — just getting in the kitchen and making it all happen is sort of mediation for me at the end of my day. Is it possible for you to share variations of your instant pot recipes, if only in the comments? I still want to feel like I can enjoy your site and your delicious eats!
I think you are looking at this the wrong way, Charlotte. My wife and I must cook out of a kitchen around 80 square feet! We used to cook for our family of six out of a kitchen the size of your’s. I see the Instant Pot as a precious space-saver, because it replaces other appliances. Sell or give your crockpot away, and do some re-thinking. The recipes here should help guide you toward using all that space more efficiently. I am a serious cook, and wish I had just another 50 sq ft. We’re using the broom closet for some canned goods right now.
I love this idea so much. I think we often forget about fast and easy food when we start talking about health. But honestly, there will always be some days where fast and easy is absolutely essential. The Instant Pot is a fun idea for achieving that and your finished dish looks simply fantastic.
YES! Thank you Vince!
Would I be able to make this in a crockpot or just over the stove top?
We haven’t tried it in the crockpot yet! But for sure the stove top!