Instant Pot Tuna Mac
Create this quick Instant Pot tuna mac in as little as 15-minutes. With added veggies, this simple recipe makes a filling meal for the whole family!
Over the years Kim and I have mastered the art of making quick meals that even picky kiddos will eat.
This tuna mac is one of those recipes. Let’s face it, most children love mac and cheese. Our son is no different.
When he was little, it was tough to get him to eat vegetables. However, our Instant Pot tuna mac combined his favorite pasta with a meat and veggies.
Best of all, it’s quick to prepare and it uses pantry staples that most people have.
All you need is a pressure cooker, canned tuna, and a box of mac and cheese. The vegetables are optional.
How to make tuna mac in an Instant Pot?
First, start by placing the stainless steel liner into the machine.
Next, add in the water, macaroni noodles, peas, and corn.
After that, place the lid on the machine and make sure everything is sealed. Press the manual cook or high pressure button.
Now, set the timer for 3 minutes. When the timer goes off, carefully open the valve to complete a quick release.
Then, remove the lid and set it aside. Drain the noodles and stir in the milk, butter, drained tuna, and cheese powder.
Last, once it’s mixed together, serve the Instant Pot tuna mac while it’s hot.
That’s it, the recipe is done! Kim and I hope you enjoy it and wish you all the best 🙂
Recipe Tips:
- It might be a good idea to drain the pasta noodles and veggies before stirring in the butter, milk, tuna, and cheese powder. Sometimes there’s extra liquid left from the cooking process and that can mess up the, “cheese sauce.”
- The pasta noodles may clump up during the cooking process. If that happens, don’t sweat it. They’ll break apart once you stir everything together.
- The frozen veggies in the mac and cheese are optional. Furthermore, if you don’t care for corn and peas, try different frozen veggies instead.
Ingredients
- 7 ¼ ounces macaroni and cheese, 1 box
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup frozen peas
- ¼ cup frozen corn
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup milk
- 5 ounces tuna, 1 can, drained
- Packet of cheese powder, from the box of macaroni and cheese
Instructions
- Pour macaroni noodles, peas, corn, and water in the stainless steel liner of the Instant Pot.7 ¼ ounces macaroni and cheese1 cup water¼ cup frozen peas¼ cup frozen corn
- Close the lid, ensure the valve is set to “sealing,” and press the manual (pressure cook) button. Adjust the time to 3 minutes (4 minutes if you want the noodles cooked a little more).
- After the time is up, open the valve for a quick release of pressure. Remove the lid, add the butter, milk, tuna, and mac and cheese powder. Stir until creamy.4 tablespoons unsalted butter¼ cup milk5 ounces tunaPacket of cheese powder
- Serve hot. Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container, in your fridge for up to 3 days.