Instant Pot Pumpkin Mac and Cheese

This creamy Instant Pot Pumpkin Mac and Cheese is the perfect savory fall comfort food and a one-pot meal. Top with crispy bacon.

This recipe is for pumpkin lovers and non-pumpkin lovers alike. The pumpkin flavor isn't overpowering, it just adds a nice, thick and creamy texture to the cheese sauce.

Serve this as your main dish alongside roasted veggies or a side salad, or serve as a side dish with Pesto Ranch Chicken Breasts.

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For a vegan pumpkin macaroni and cheese recipe, try this Instant Pot recipe from My Heart Beets.

Another great Instant Pot pasta recipe is my Cheeseburger Macaroni. Discover more Instant Pot recipes with bacon.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Equipment
• Burn Error Tips
• 📖 Recipe
• Safety tips
• 💬 Comments

Ingredients

I usually have the basic ingredients for pressure cooker macaroni and cheese on hand. Pumpkin mac and cheese just calls for a few additional ingredients.

• bacon (optional)
• elbow macaroni
• chicken broth
• unsalted butter
• hot sauce
• Worcestershire sauce
• garlic powder
• salt
• ground black pepper
• shredded cheddar cheese
• shredded mozzarella cheese
• half and half
• pure pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

See the recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

If adding the bacon (optional) cut or slice the bacon horizontally into thick chunks.

Using the sauté setting on the Instant Pot, add the bacon to a hot pot and cook until crisped to your liking. Cancel the sauté and remove the bacon (I use a slotted spoon to do so), setting it aside on a paper towel to drain.

Leave any remaining bacon grease in the bottom of the pot. Carefully deglaze with a small splash of broth, scraping the bottom of the pan thoroughly with a spatula. This will help you avoid a burn error.

Add the uncooked elbow macaroni, chicken broth, butter, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to the Instant Pot and stir.

Close the lid and set it to sealing. Pressure cook on HIGH for 5 minutes. It will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure before the cooking time begins. After the cooking time is complete, follow by a quick release.

Tip: Do not be alarmed by the amount of liquid left after cooking. This is normal (see photo below) and will help create the cheese sauce.

Add half of the half and half and half of the cheddar and mozzarella cheeses, stirring until the cheese is melted.

Next, stir in the remaining cheese along with the pumpkin puree and cooked bacon chunks, reserving some of the bacon bits for topping. Slowly add the remaining half and half until you reach your desired consistency.

Top with the remaining bacon bits and serve.

Hint: Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon bits after frying but use a flat spatula for deglazing the pot.

Substitutions

There's a lot of flexibility with this Instant Pot Pumpkin Mac and Cheese with Bacon recipe (or any macaroni and cheese recipe for that matter). Make it your own!

• Bacon - Use your favorite bacon (e.g., thick cut bacon or turkey bacon) or skip the bacon altogether.
• Pasta - I use elbow macaroni but I have also tested this with rotini and had good results.
• Broth - I like the chicken broth in this recipe, I think it adds good flavor. Beef broth would be another good option. Water will work perfectly fine in a pinch.
• Hot sauce - I use Cholula or Franks. It does not make the mac and cheese spicy, so do not worry if you're not a hot sauce fan.
• Worcestershire sauce - I would say, if you don't already have this in your fridge, you can skip it and the recipe will still be tasty. It just adds a certain je ne sais quoi.
• Half and half - This recipe would work well with milk or cream. Half and half is the perfect middle ground.
• Cheese - Cheddar and mozzarella is my favorite mix, but you could go all-cheddar. You could also add in some shredded parmesan. Smoked gouda would be amazing.

Equipment

I use a 6-quart Instant Pot Duo. I also recommend using a slotted spoon and a flat spatula for this recipe.

I love using the Instant Pot for this recipe because it's a one-pot dinner. You can fry the bacon in a separate pan (or even bake it in the oven) while your macaroni is cooking instead, it just comes down to how much time you have and how many dishes you want to dirty.

Burn Error Tips

So here's the deal. With this recipe, you cook the bacon prior to pressure cooking the noodles, so there's a chance you will get a burn error if you don't properly deglaze the pan.

See my step-by-step instructions with photos (above) for tips on deglazing. But, if you've done your best deglazing job and you still run into a burn error your dish might be okay!

When the burn error beeps, give the Instant Pot a minute or so to sort itself out before you cancel the cooking time. Sometimes the error will go away and the pot will keep cooking.

If the burn error does not go away after a minute or so, hit cancel on your pressure cooker and release the steam. Your pasta may already be cooked al dente anyway.

📖 Recipe

Safety tips

Always use caution when cooking raw meat. According to USDA.gov, it's difficult to determine the temperature of bacon, but if it is cooked crisp, it should have reached a safe temperature.

• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
• Wash hands after touching raw meat
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods

And of course, follow the user manual for your Instant Pot.