Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

AddInstant Pot Mac and Cheese is a game changer. Ready in less then 15 minutes with the same level of cheesy creaminess that we all love but with half the effort and time.

Making Mac and cheese is a favorite in our home! Try these delicious ways of creating a cheesy pasta with these fun recipes: Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese or Mac and Cheese Cups.

Best Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

Who else agrees that the Instant Pot is the future? Its hands down my favorite kitchen gadget especially when it comes to easy, one pot recipes like this mac and cheese. You won’t believe how hands free this recipe is. It’s literally dump and cook which is how I wish dinner would be every single day.

Everybody loves a good mac and cheese but every mac and cheese is not made the same. This one has everything right — pasta cooked to perfection, creamy cheese sauce without any floury aftertaste, flavor, flavor, flavor and its ready in less time than it takes to boil pasta!

Homemade Mac and Cheese

We have all the usual suspects for mac and cheese plus a little extra to make this taste really really good.

Here’s a complete list of what you’ll need:

• Dried Pasta: any small variety of pasta will do
• Stock and Water: For flavor and to cook the pasta
• Butter: to keep things from sticking to each other and to add flavor
• Paprika and Mustard Powder: to balance out the cheese
• Garlic and Onion Powder: both these are flavor bombs
• Heavy Cream: to create the creamy sauce
• Lots of Cheese of course!

Creamy Mac and Cheese

It starts with dumping everything except the cream and cheese in the Instant Pot. We want most of the pasta to be submerged in the liquid to help it cook well. And then the Instant Pot does its thing.

After a lot of testing, we’ve figured that short pasta takes 4 minutes to cook with immediate manual pressure release. Any longer and the pasta starts to over cook. I bet this is one dinner that’ll make everyone happy. Trust me when I say, you’ll never make mac and cheese any other way again!

Top Tips for Creamy Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

We’ve eaten a lot of mac and cheese in our time, and tested many many bowls in the Instant Pot, and here are our top tips for the best bowl of comfort food:

• Use the ratios we’ve listed in the recipe. For every 4 ounces of short pasta, you’ll need 1 cup of liquid
• Paprika and Mustard powder help balance the cheese and cut through the saltiness and the creaminess, so we highly recommend you use them
• There will be some extra liquid in the pot when you open it, and thats what will help create that nice silky sauce for the pasta so don’t be tempted to drain it. You’ll see how things come together as you mix in the heavy cream and cheese
• DO NOT use pre-shredded cheese because it usually contains a substance that prevents it from clumping and melting well. Its worth it to shred your own cheese for this recipe
• This is one of those dishes that is best served immediately. It doesn’t do very well as a leftover as the pasta keeps soaking up the sauce as it cools

More Instant Pot Recipes

• Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon
• Instant Pot Ribs
• Lemon Garlic Chicken
• Homemade Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
• Instant Pot Salsa erde Chicken Tacos

Print

Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

This Instant Pot Mac and Cheese is the best kind of comfort food. Incredibly easy and ready in less than 15 minutes!

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Keyword instant pot mac and cheese

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 563kcal

Author Richa Gupta

Ingredients

• 12 ounce dried Machheroni or Elbow Pasta
• 2 cups reduced sodium Chicken Broth
• 1 cup Water
• 3 Tablespoon Butter
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Onion Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Mustard powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground Black Pepper
• 3 cups shredded Cheddar
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream

Instructions

• Add pasta, chicken broth, water, butter, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder and black pepper to the inner pot of the Instant Pot. Press the pasta gently with a spoon to submerge it, but don't mix it.
• Secure the lid and set the valve to sealing. Manually set to pressure cook for 4 minutes.
• Once the timer goes off and beeps, release pressure immediately by carefully turning the valve from sealing to venting. Let all the pressure release and open the lid.
• You'll see a little residual liquid in the pot which is normal. Mix in heavy cream and cheese in batches till you get a smooth, creamy sauce. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 563kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 918mg | Potassium: 219mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1035IU | Calcium: 437mg | Iron: 1mg

 

from The Recipe Critic https://ift.tt/3lt9vpZ
https://ift.tt/32F5ZBt

White Chocolate Cranberry Macadamia Cookies

White Chocolate Cranberry Macadamia Cookies are the perfect combination, of chewy, crunchy, sweet and decadence all wrapped up in a cookie! These amazing cookies have great texture and flavor!

Macadamia nuts are the hidden gem in these cookies. For more recipes that are created at  them in these other recipes like this Chili Macadamia Crusted Tilapia, Macadamia Key Lime Pie and Pineapple Cheesecake Dessert Bars.

The Best Ever White Chocolate Cranberry Macadamia Nut Cookies

The cookie base itself is perfection! It is perfectly chewy. And surprisingly enough, I LOVED the cranberry! It wasn’t overpowering but gave the cookie enough cranberry flavor. My first bite was so amazing. The cookie was still warm and the chocolate was still melty. I had four! UGH. Why did these cookies have to be so incredible? All I want is another.

These scrumptious cookies have the holidays written all over them. The red from the cranberry, and white from the chocolate and then there’s the flavor! The sweetness of the white chocolate balances out perfectly with the tartness of the cranberries and the macadamia nuts add ideal crunch for impeccable taste and texture.

Delicious Cranberry Cookie Ingredients

These are just as easy as any cookie recipe, but they taste fancy! White Chocolate Cranberry Macadamia cookies will be the little darlings of all your Holiday festivities, cookie exchanges and anytime you are craving something delicious. Everyone is going to love this flavor combo.

• Flour: All purpose flour works great
• Baking Soda: This helps make the cookies be fluffy.
• Salt: Balances sweet
• White Sugar: Need the white sugar to help brown the cookies
• Brown Sugar: Use dark brown sugar for a deeper flavor
• Butter: You can use margarine here, soften either.
• Eggs: Large eggs, not medium
• Vanilla: Flavor enhancer
• White Chocolate Baking Chips: perfect size for perfect cookies
• Macadamia Nuts: chop the nuts for easier distribution
• Dried Cranberries: You can find these with the raisins in most stores.

Making These Scrumptious Cookies

Cranberry. Do you love it or hate it? I am personally on the fence with cranberries. It probably wouldn’t be the first thing I grab at a Thanksgiving dinner. But these cookies. BEST.COOKIES.EVER. And yes I just yelled that because I just got done eating four!

1. Sift: Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. Cream: In a separate bowl cream the butter and sugar together till nice and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
3. Stir: Stir in the flour mixture till just mixed. Then fold in the dried cranberries, white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.
4. Drop: Drop by rounded Tablespoons on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or just until set.

Tips for White Chocolate Cranberry and Macadamia Nut Cookies

Perfectly chewy cookies packed with white chocolate, cranberries, and macadamia nuts!

• White Chocolate: You can chop a white chocolate bar or white chocolate baking bar to give it a more rustic texture. Keep the chunks the same size as the nuts though.
• Even: You want the same amount of cranberries, chocolate and nuts for a good balance of taste.
• Cranberries: If you are not fond of cranberries or can’t find them, you can try dried tart cherries instead. I wouldn’t substitute with raisins though, they’re too sweet and it’ll over power the cookie.
• Nuts: I hear you! Macadamia nuts are expensive and sometimes hard to find. I will tell you they are totally worth the extra cost, however, you can substitute chopped pecans or walnuts instead.
• Underbake: To get that perfect soft chewy inside and barely crisp outside, you almost want to underbake them. Just cook them till barely set. You won’t regret it!

Freezing Macadamia Nut Cookies

These are so good, if you have leftovers you’re going to want to keep them around. These will stay soft and chewy when sealed in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. You can also store in an airtight ziplock, make sure to cool completely so they don’t sweat.

You can freeze these cookies two ways:

• Dough: Freeze the dough once you mix all the ingredients together. Drop by Tablespoons onto a cookie sheet close together. Freeze for 2 hours then transfer the dough to a freezer safe container or bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Bake straight from the freezer, they will need 2-3 min longer is all. Keep on eye on them so you don’t overcook them.
• Cookies: Once completely cooled place in a freezer safe, air tight container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

White Chocolate Recipes you Will Love

White chocolate is creamy and sweet and pairs so well in these dessert recipe!

• Sublime White Hot Chocolate
• White Chocolate Snickerdoodles
• Amazing White Chocolate Cranberry Blondies
• White Chocolate Oreo Cookies
• Easy White Chocolate Almond Truffles

Print

White Chocolate Cranberry Macadamia Cookies

White Chocolate Cranberry Macadamia Cookies are the perfect combination, of chewy, crunchy, sweet and decadence all wrapped up in a cookie! These amazing cookies have great texture and flavor! 

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword macadamia cookies, white chocolate cranberry macadamia cookies

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Total Time 22 minutes

Servings 36 servings

Calories 191kcal

Author Alyssa Rivers

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup butter softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup white chocolate baking chips
• 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
• 1 cup dried cranberries

Instructions

• Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together white sugar, brown sugar and softened butter. Add eggs and vanilla.
• Add flour mixture until just mixed. Stir in dried cranberries, white chocolate chips, and macadamia nuts.
• Drop cookies by rounded tablespoons on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until just set. Allow to cool and transfer to a wire rack.

Notes

Updated on November 11, 2020

Originally Posted on November 14, 2013

Nutrition

Calories: 191kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 127mg | Potassium: 54mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 172IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg

from The Recipe Critic https://ift.tt/35jkmgp
https://ift.tt/3klD9fp

Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes

Perfectly fluffy and tender on the inside, crispy on the outside, these Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes are going to rock your world! They are so creamy inside it’s amazing. Just add your favorite topping and you’ll have a new favorite way to eat these delicious sweet potatoes.

You can top them with just about anything you desire. Sweet potatoes go good with both sweet and spicy, try Honey Butter, Cinnamon Honey Butter or for a spicy treat Skillet Queso.

Baked Sweet Potatoes

Baking sweet potatoes just got easier with the use of an Air Fryer. Sweet potatoes come out perfectly and will be a great addition to any meal.

Cooking them in the Air Fryer allows the skin to get nice and crispy which is so good. You don’t have to peel them either. It’s so quick and easy. You can use this method of cooking to prep your sweet potatoes for just about any recipe you need.

Easy Sweet Potato Ingredients

Not very many ingredients for this flavorful side. It makes it an easy side dish to make with any meal.

• Sweet Potatoes: As many as will fit in your Air Fryer
• Olive Oil: just enough to rub them down.
• Salt:  To taste!

Making Sweet Potatoes in an Air Fryer

These are so easy, it doesn’t take much effort to serve up a healthy side dish.

• Scrub: Wash and dry the sweet potatoes
• Pierce: Using a fork pierce the potatoes a few times.
• Rub: Place in the fryer basket and rub with olive oil
• Bake: Cook the sweet potatoes at 400 for 30-40 min till fork tender.

 

Healthy Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are not only yummy they are good for you too!

• Vitamins: Sweet potatoes are rich in vitamin C and vitamin B6. these are important for your brain and nervous system. They also have potassium and magnesium which have been shown to improve heart health and regulate blood pressure.
• Benefits: Sweet potatoes are rich in dietary fiber, which can aid weight loss. This makes you feel fuller for longer so you less and you don’t overeat as well. . Fiber also promotes good gut bacteria.

Tips and Storing

These are really easy and hard to mess up!

• Potatoes: Make sure your potatoes are uniform in size so they all cook at the same rate.
• Prep: Clean thoroughly and pat dry before poking or puting the oil on.
• Toppings: Sweet potatoes can go with so many things. Sweet and savory. Try topping with chili, chipotle butter, mash up and place in a burrito with black beans and salsa, guacamole, marshmallows and so much more. Let your taste buds experiment.
• Storing: Leftover potatoes can be stored in airtight container or wrapped tightly and kept in the fridge for 3-4 days. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months.

More Amazing Sweet Potato Recipes

Sweet potatoes are so versatile, you can do so many things with these healthy tasty spuds.

• Maple Sweet Potato Pancakes
• Sweet Potato Hash
• Best Homemade Sweet Potato Fries
• Sweet Potato Casserole
• Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Print

Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes

Perfectly fluffy and tender on the inside, crispy on the outside, these Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes are going to rock your world! They are so creamy inside it's amazing. Just add your favorite topping and you'll have a new favorite way to eat these delicious sweet potatoes.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword air fryer sweet potatoes, sweet potatoes

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 3 Sweet Potatoes

Calories 236kcal

Author Alyssa Rivers

Ingredients

• 3 sweet potatoes
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• salt
• Cinnamon Butter for serving optional

Instructions

• Pierce the sweet potatoes all over with a fork. Place the sweet potatoes in the basket of your air fryer. Rub with olive oil.
• Turn the air fryer to 400 degrees and let the sweet potatoes cook for 35-40 minutes or until tender. Top with cinnamon butter if desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 236kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 124mg | Potassium: 762mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 32063IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 1mg

from The Recipe Critic https://ift.tt/3nbpyJo
https://ift.tt/3kaIVk4

Sweet Potato Pie

This Sweet Potato Pie is unlike any others you’ve eaten. The filling is made with cream cheese for a cheesecake like creaminess and texture you won’t be able to resist.

There are so many ways to incorporate sweet potatoes into your meal besides Sweet Potato Fries. You can make Maple Sweet Potato Pancakes for breakfast, Sweet Potato Cake for dessert, or Sweet Potato Rolls to pair with soup.

Homemade Sweet Potato Pie

Sweet potato pie is a traditional Southern dessert, and usually served during the holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. But between you and me, I will gladly eat this pie all year round. It is creamy with a cheesecake like quality and decadence. The filling is spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger for that holiday vibe. And let’s not forget about the buttery pie crust that encases this creamy filling.

For this particular recipe, you will need to par-bake the pie crust before adding the filling so it doesn’t get soggy since our pie filling is liquidy. I would par-bake both homemade and store bought pie crust, whichever one you decide to use.

How to Prepare the Pie Crust

The pie crust is made up of 5 ingredients if you want to count water, and is very simple to make. But you do have the option to use store bought pie crust to save some time.

• Flour: A MUST obviously!
• Sugar: Little more than a typical pie crust recipe because I like mine sweet.
• Salt: To enhance the flavor.
• Butter: For the best tasting pie crust. You could use shortening or a mixture of butter or shortening.
• Water: Just enough for the dough to bind.

Ingredients for Southern Sweet Potato Pie

The ingredients for the sweet potato pie filling are also quite simple.

• Sweet potatoes: This is the star of the recipe. The recipe calls for 15 oz by weight, so you can purchase about 1 pound of potato or 1 can of sweet potato. However, I highly recommend roasting your own sweet potato for that caramelized flavor from roasting.
• Cream cheese: The key to making a cheesecake like sweet potato pie.
• Condensed milk:  Use sweetened condensed milk for the sugar and added creaminess.
• Eggs: This is a custard base pie filling, so we use egg to thicken.
• Vanilla extract: For flavoring!
• Spices: I used a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger for a traditional holiday vibe. Feel free to substitute or add other spices that you love.

How to Make the Best Sweet Potato Pie

The recipe calls for roasting the sweet potato while par-baking the pie crust. But it will take longer for the potatoes to cook, 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on the size of your potatoes. If you want to cut down on waiting time while making the pie, you can roast the sweet potatoes ahead of time.

Once you have roasted and cooled the potatoes, making the pie filling is super easy. You don’t even need a stand mixer for this part.

1. First, peel the potatoes and mash them in a bowl with a potato masher until creamy.
2. Whisk together softened cream cheese and condensed milk, then the eggs, one at a time. Then beat in the mashed sweet potato, vanilla and spices until smooth.
3. Pour the filling into the par-baked pie crust.
4. Bake until the middle is still slightly jiggly, 35 – 40 minutes.

If you have excess batter, fill small ramekins and bake the ramekins along with the pie. Small ramekins filled half way will complete baking around 15 – 20 minutes.

Be patient and wait for the pie to cool completely, then chill it in the fridge, preferable overnight, before slicing to ensure the filling is set completely. Serve with plenty of whipped cream.

Storing Sweet Potato Pie

Be sure to store leftover pie in the refrigerator, it will last 3 to 4 days.

More Holiday Worthy Pies

• Perfect Apple Pie
• Grandma’s Famous Pumpkin Pie
• Pear Cranberry Pie
• Best Ever Dutch Apple Pie
• Banoffee Pie Recipe 

Print

Sweet Potato Pie

This Sweet Potato Pie is unlike any others you’ve eaten. The filling is made with cream cheese for a cheesecake like creaminess and texture you won’t be able to resist.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword sweet potato pie, sweet potato pie recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 40 minutes

Resting Time 2 hours

Total Time 4 hours 10 minutes

Servings 8 Slices

Calories 552kcal

Author Trang Doan

Ingredients

Pie Crust

• 1 and ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 rounded tablespoon granulated sugar
• ¼ rounded teaspoon kosher salt
• 5 ounce unsalted butter cold & cubed
• 2 to 3 tablespoon cold water

Sweet Potato Pie Filling

• 8 ounces cream cheese microwave 30 seconds to soften
• 1 14 ounce can condensed milk
• 3 large eggs
• 15 ounces sweet potato roasted & mashed, about 2 medium
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ginger

Instructions

Making the Pie Crust

• Add flour, sugar and salt in a small mixing bowl and mix thoroughly with a whisk. Transfer flour mixture to a food processor fitted with the dough blade. Add cubed cold butter to the flour mixture, pulse several times until butter is about pea and bean size. Variations in size are okay.
• Turn the food processor to “on” position and drizzle cold water over the dough mixture through the water hole, as soon as the dough starts to pull together turn the food processor off. You may need to stop the food processor in between and get a spatula to mix up the flour at the bottom.
• Turn the dough out on the counter or cutting board, and shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic and rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
• Take the disk of pie dough out of the fridge and roll into a circle about 2” larger than your pie dish. Use extra flour to keep the dough from sticking to the counter and roller.
• Carefully place the dough over the pie dish, lightly press the dough into the bottom and side of the pie dish, let the excess dough hang over the side. Trim the excess dough leaving just enough to fold under and create a fluted edge.
• Cover the pie dish with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated, or freeze (preferred), for 15 - 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Remove pie crust from the freezer and use a fork to poke steam vents on the bottom of the pie dough and on the sides.
• Place a large piece of parchment paper over the frozen pie dough, place pie weights on top or pour dry beans on top to fill the whole pie crust. Make sure the parchment is large enough to cover the edges of the crust entirely.
• Place the pie dish on a large baking sheet.
• Pierce the sweet potatoes with the tip of a paring knife and wrap them in foil, place them next to the pie dish on the baking sheet.
• Place the baking sheet with the pie crust and the sweet potatoes into the oven.
• Bake pie crust for 25 minutes with pie weights or beans, then carefully remove the parchment paper along with the pie weights and bake for another 5 minutes.
• Remove the pie crust from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack.

Baking Sweet Potoates

• Meanwhile, continue to bake the sweet potatoes for another 15 - 30 minutes until cooked through. Check the potatoes by piercing it with a paring knife or fork in the thickest part of the potato, if the knife or fork goes through easily, it is done.
• Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and allow to cool to the touch on a wire rack.
• Once the potatoes are cool enough to peel, preheat the oven to 350°F and make the pie filling.

Making the Pie Filling

• Peel the potatoes and mash it in a bowl with a potato masher.
• In a larger bowl, whisk together softened cream cheese and condensed milk. Beat in the eggs, one at a time until smooth. Add mashed sweet potato, vanilla and spices and beat until smooth.
• Place the pie dish with the par-baked crust on a baking sheet, pour filling into the crust. Cover the edge with a pie shield or thin strips of foil.
• Bake for 35 - 40 minutes until the middle is still slightly jiggly.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until the filling is completely set, preferably overnight, before slicing.

Notes

If you have excess batter, fill small ramekins and bake the ramekins along with the pie. Small ramekins filled half way will complete baking around 15 - 20 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 552kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Cholesterol: 148mg | Sodium: 282mg | Potassium: 450mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 8586IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 204mg | Iron: 2mg

from The Recipe Critic https://ift.tt/3eFMHRi
https://ift.tt/3ldxw4j