• Home
  • Recipes
    • Recipe Index
    • VIDEO SERIES: Learn to Cook on a Budget
    • How-To & Cooking Tutorials
    • Popular Recipes
  • Meal Plans
    • Weekly Meal Plans
    • Freezer Meal Plans
    • The ORIGINAL 20 Meals for $150 Plans
  • Classes
    • Grocery Savings 101 Workshop
    • Freezer Cooking 101 Workshop
    • Meal Planning 101 Workshop
    • Instant Pot Cooking 101 Course
    • My Efficient Kitchen Course
  • Store
    • COOKBOOK: Feeding Teenage Boys on a Budget
    • COOKBOOK: Learn to Cook on a Budget
    • COOKBOOKS & PREP KITS: MyFreezEasy Freezer Meals
    • Whis-Kid Cooking Lessons
    • Erin’s Favorite Gadgets
  • Blog
  • Contact
    • About
    • Press
  • Login

$5 Dinners | Budget Recipes, Meal Plans, Freezer Meals

Budget Recipes, Meal Plans, Freezer Meals and Cooking Tutorials for the Busy Home Chef

Save on Groceries in 2025

VIDEO: How to Cook Homemade Mac & Cheese

April 12, 2023 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom Leave a Comment

33 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Sign up to receive FREE weekly emails with recipes, coupons and other money saving tips right into your inbox. Become a friend on Facebook too AND/OR join the $5 Meal Plan Family and get meal plans delivered to you each week!

How to Cook Homemade Mac & Cheese: Battle – Stovetop vs. Instant Pot!

It’s a cheesy love affair! But which cooking method will you fall in love with?! Learn the differences between cooking macaroni and cheese in the Instant Pot vs. Stovetop. Either way you cook it, you’ll end up with an elbow of macaroni perfection!

New cooking videos are released weekly, so please Like this Video & Subscribe to the $5 Dinners YT Channel!

how to make homemade mac and cheese

Video: How to Cook Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Featured Products: How to Cook Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Recipe: Instant Pot Mac & Cheese

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Recipe Saved!

Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese

Pardon me while I drown myself in this bowl of Mac and Cheese. Like, please don't judge me. I won't judge you. 😉
Prep Time5 minutes minutes
Cook Time6 minutes minutes
Servings - 4 servings

Ingredients 

  • 1 lb. small shell pasta noodles
  • 3 cups chicken stock
  • 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 4 Tbsp butter
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
  • 2 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • Cracked pepper as garnish
  • Side salad or veggies

Instructions

  • Whisk together the chicken stock and Dijon mustard in the Instant Pot insert. Add the pasta noodles, then add water so that the pasta noodles are covered. Press the noodles into the liquid. If needed, add 1/2 cup more water to cover all the noodles.
  • Set to Sealing.
  • Cook on Manual, High Pressure for 6 minutes.
  • Quick Release.
  • There might be a little liquid remaining, but it will thicken up as it evaporates and as the cheese sauce is made.
  • Stir in the butter, until melted. Pour in the heavy cream and mix it well. Add the shredded cheeses and grated Parmesan cheese and gently stir it in and incorporate, until creamy cheese sauce forms.
  • Serve Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese with cracked pepper on top and favorite veggies or salad.

Notes

This makes 4 hefty main course servings, or 8 side dish servings.

Recipe: Stovetop Mac & Cheese

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Recipe Saved!

Stovetop Mac n Cheese

Homemade mac and cheese is just simply the BEST!
Prep Time4 minutes minutes
Cook Time20 minutes minutes
Servings - 4 servings
Cost: 3.72

Ingredients 

  • 3 cups elbow or other small shell pasta
  • 3 cups whole milk I wouldn’t use skim, but 2% would probably give similar creaminess
  • 1 Tbsp spicy brown mustard
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • Couple dashes of nutmeg
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
  • Parsley or basil for garnish
  • Side: fresh fruit or veggies

Instructions

  • In a medium saucepan, add the pasta, milk, mustard, garlic powder and nutmeg and turn on the heat on medium-high. Bring the milk to a simmer (just as you start seeing little bubbles form).
  • Quickly turn it down to LOW. You don’t want the milk to heat too fast and boil over into a mess!
  • Let the macaroni cook in the milk mixture over the low heat…stirring often. And by often, I mean often…every 30 seconds. It will take 6-8 minutes from this point for the pasta to soak up all the milk. You need to stir because the pasta on the bottom will absorb the liquid, and you don’t want the pasta on the top to be chewy. So it needs to be turned over. You’ll see what I mean when you try it! If you think it needs a little more liquid, add water 1/4 cup at a time. I didn’t need any…but you can if you need it. (This is cool to watch…and would be a great little “experiment” or cooking science lesson for kids.)
  • Once the pasta is al dente, remove it from the heat and stir in the shredded cheese and Parmesan cheese.
  • Serve immediately with favorite side dishes…fresh veggies or fruit!

 

33 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

Filed Under: Budget Friendly Recipes, How To Cook, Instant Pot Recipes, Learn to Cook on a Budget, Pasta Recipes

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Search $5 Dinners

Favorite Meal Planning & Cooking Resources

Whis-Kid Cooking Lessons Grocery Budget Makeover My Freezeasy Erin Chase Store 5DD Freebie Library 20 Meals for $150 Plans

© 2025 5 Dollar Dinners | Disclosure Policy | Copyright Information | Terms of Service/Privacy Policy | Accessibility | Design & Tech Support by Klong Designs



Copyright © 2025 · 5 Dollar Dinners Genesis Child Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in