Instant Pot Protein Mac and Cheese
Published 9/16/2022 • Updated 3/17/2024
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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.
This is so easy and yummy! I followed the recipe exactly, and it turned out perfect! My husband had a big second helping.
Subbed shells for elbow macaroni, which probably could’ve used some extra cook time. Sauce was super creamy and awesome. With so many ingredients containing salt, I wish I would’ve skipped the added salt and use low sodium broth. You can always add more salt later but you can never subtract it!
Idea – boost protein even more by using bone broth?? I’m gonna give it a try!
What is the best way to reheat it throughout the week? Its delicious!!
The key to reheating mac and cheese is to add a little moisture (milk works great!) since the noodles continue to absorb moisture even after it’s originally cooked, and to reheat low and slow to avoid the cheese breaking down and changing texture. Hope this helps! 😀
What is a serving size amount?
Has anyone ever tried this recipe with lentil pasta instead of traditional or whole wheat pasta? I’m looking for a way to add a bit more protein. Thanks!
I just made this with chickpea pasta and it’s not worth the extra protein for the effort lol. Just use bone broth instead of regular broth.
This was a straightforward recipe and easy to involve my 3 year old in its execution. True to rather distracted life with littles, I forgot to get cream/milk, but had everything else except cheddar cheese, subbing in pepper jack. I decided to double it at the last minute and doubled everything but the shredded cheese 😆 I didn’t realize until I was eating it. Honestly, it was fine with just the two cups. More of a drier noodle bake vibe, but that just means it’s less messy for the toddler to eat. My spouse and I weren’t mad about it. I’d say the Dijon mustard is a must for just the right depth of flavor. I served peas on the side, and ended up mixing those in. I’d definitely add tuna and this would take me back to childhood in the early 90s, for sure 💛 For reference, I used 4 cans of chicken broth and made up the slight difference to 8 cups with water. My noodles were the multiple variety pack from Costco, which are slightly over 17 oz each. I used two of those – one 9 minute boil and one 11 minute boil. I like better how the 11 minute boil noodles turned out with the 5 minute cook time.
I took the advice of other commenters and I blended my cottage cheese before adding it to my instant pot and it worked like a charm!! I also poured into a pan and added a thin layer of breadcrumbs to toast on top. This turned out so well and my fiancé couldn’t stop raving about it. Definitely will make again!
I love finding ways to add a little extra protein into meals and saw this recipe on Fit Foodie Finds’ Instagram and knew I had to try it. I used a hand mixer to get rid of some of the cottage cheese lumps while the instant pot did its thing. Not sure if that helped but only saw specks of cottage cheese in the final product and it tasted great. I also added an extra 1/4 cup of shredded cheese. We will definitely be making this again!
Can this be frozen?