Description

Back in the 1980’s I happened to be up in Boston for a trip and stopped in Boston Chicken for a little lunch. I got the mac and cheese for one of the sides and fell in love with it. Now I’m not sure how healthy their recipe was but I was really feeling it that day, mostly because I was extremely hungry! Well I came back to the idea years later when I had to make a side dish for a cookout and thought why not recreate the magic.

I thought I should use the instant pot because I wanted to keep it warm and didn’t feel like taking too much time to make it. As it were, I was able to throw some ingredients together and make what I believe was a great mac and cheese. This recipe goes great with any kind of barbecue or even at Thanksgiving!

This meal will only take you minutes to prepare and make due to the incredible cooking time of the instant pot and the fact that there are very few ingredients.

Ingredients

Scale

1 lb elbow macaroni
4 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
3 tbsp unsalted butter
12 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese (3 cups tightly packed)
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese (2 oz)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp yellow mustard
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions

Combine the macaroni, broth, and butter in the instant pot.
Secure the lid and set the pressure release to sealing.
Select the manual setting and set the cooking time for 6 minutes at high pressure.
Perform a quick release by moving the pressure release to venting.
Open the pot and stir in the cheeses, sour cream, mustard, and cayenne pepper.
Let sit for 5 minutes to thicken, then stir again and serve.

Notes

For a nice crispy topping, finish the macaroni and cheese under the broiler.
Transfer to a 3 quart flameproof baking dish, sprinkle evenly with 1 cup panko bread crumbs, and then broil for just a few minutes, until the bread crumbs are golden brown