Instant Pot Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

In these trying times, I've put together an easy to make, super comforting Instant Pot recipe. What's more comforting than mac and cheese? Using dried shell pasta from the pantry and frozen, blanched veggies from the freezer, this meal comes together lickety-split.

This meal is made in 3 stages:

-browning the roux

- pressure cooking the pasta

- warming the veggies while melting the cheese sauce

All of this is accomplished in an Instant Pot. Only one dirty dish and none of the hassle or mess associated with cooking pasta in a pot on the stove - super convenient! You know what I'm talking about, the pasta foaming up and boiling over the sides of the pot no matter how vigorously you try to stir it down. We've all been there, done that! Another bonus: this recipe avoids the need to drain the pasta after it's done cooking, the excess water is used up in the cheese sauce.

To get started, whisk together the butter and flour in the instant pot on the sauté setting. Keep whisking until it turns golden-brown; that's when you know it’s ready to go. The roux will act as a thickener for the final cheese sauce. If you don't have any butter, choose an equivalent amount of oil, like olive or vegetable.

Next, add the dried shell pasta, water and salt. Give it a good stir to mix it in with the roux. Set the pasta to cook on high pressure for 5-6 minutes. Quick Release (QR/QPR) the pressure valve as soon as it's done and proceed to the final stage of this recipe. For a firmer pasta texture, cook for 5 minutes; 6 minutes will result in a more tender texture.

Bonus: for extra protein, you can add 1/3 cup of rinsed split yellow peas at the same time as the dried pasta. If you choose to add these, make sure to cook on high pressure for 6 minutes. The split peas will be tender crisp, so as long as you like that texture, I highly recommend the additional protein.

Cheesy cauliflower is so comforting; which makes it a perfect veggie addition for this recipe. Hopefully, you have some blanched, frozen cauliflower and peas somewhere in your freezer. Make sure to stir these into the instant pot as soon as the pasta is done so that they have as much time as possible to cook while the pasta is still piping hot. Scrape along the bottom of the pot to unstick all the pasta shells. Broccoli can be substituted instead of cauliflower depending on what you have available.

Still working quickly, add the cheese, milk, yogurt and spices, give it all a quick stir and secure the lid back on the instant pot. Leave it on the warming option for 10 minutes. This will give the vegetables enough time to warm up and will make a sauce with the perfect ooey-gooey, cheesy consistency. The end result is a thick, cheesy sauce with a subtle amount of heat. No thin and bland cheese sauce in this kitchen! Open it up when the time is up and enjoy an easy to make, warm and comforting bowl of mac and cheese.

This instant pot recipe makes enough for 3-4 servings. Not enough food? No problem, it can easily be doubled for extra servings. Feel free to garnish with fresh parsley, shaved parmesan cheese and extra chili pepper flakes if you are feeling fancy. Fast, simple and delicious. Doesn't get much better than that.