This Instant Pot Panera Copycat White Cheesy Shells recipe has that super rich, thick, and creamy cheese sauce.
Instant Pot pasta recipes make a simple pasta dinner even simpler.
You can make it all in one pot and no straining of the noodles!
Our kids even ask for this recipe by name because they love the macaroni from Panera Bread.
To add sides to this copycat macaroni recipe, I normally make up either our Apple Cranberry Walnut Green Chopped Salad Recipe, 30 Minute Homemade Rolls Recipe, or Slow Cooker Green Beans Recipe.
Need more easy Instant Pot recipes?
- Instant Pot Cheesy Beef Taco Pasta
- Homemade Bolognese in the Instant Pot
- The BEST Instant Pot Sloppy Joes
Ingredients Needed For Our Instant Pot Panera Copycat White Cheesy Shells:
- Macaroni noodles (uncooked)
- Chicken broth
- Butter (unsalted)
- Flour
- Milk
- Heavy cream
- Shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
- Shredded parmesan cheese
- Ground mustard
- Salt
- Pepper
How To Make Our Instant Pot Panera Copycat White Cheesy Shells:
Start by plugging in your Instant Pot and pour in the uncooked noodles and just enough chicken broth to cover the noodles.
Then, place the lid on the Instant Pot, turn the valve to the SEALING position and press the MANUAL button and set the timer to 4 minutes.
After the timer runs out, move the valve to the VENTING position and do a quick release of the pressure in the pot.
When all the pressure has been released, pour the pasta into a separate bowl and set it aside.
Then, press the SAUTE button and add the butter to the bottom of the Instant Pot and let it melt completely.
Once the butter is melted, slowly whisk in the flour until it is blended together.
Next, slowly add in the milk and heavy cream. Be sure to stir the mixture the whole time. This will make your Instant Pot Panera Copycat White Cheesy Shells recipe, really creamy!
Now, bring the mixture to a boil and continue stirring everything together until the flour mixture begins to thicken.
Once it has thickened, add in the white cheddar cheese, ground mustard, salt, and pepper and mix it all together until it is smooth and creamy.
Now that the cheese sauce has been made, add the pasta back into the Instant Pot and mix it all together until all the pasta is covered in the cheese sauce.
After you combine the sauce and the noodles together it is ready to serve and top it with the Parmesan cheese and ground pepper! Enjoy your homemade Instant Pot Panera Copycat White Cheesy Shells.
Items Needed to Make this Instant Pot Panera Copycat White Cheesy Shells:
- Instant Pot (THIS is a great one!)
- Wooden spoon
Tasty Homemade Chicken Broth
While chicken broth in a can or container from the store will do perfectly fine with this recipe, you can also make your own!
With this homemade chicken broth recipe from Taste of Home, add an extra special touch to this delicious copycat family dinner recipe!
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The Many Flavors of Macaroni! Our Fav are these Panera Copycat Cheesy Shells, But You Will Love These Ones! Try Them Now!
- Slow Cooker Creamy Macaroni and Cheese
- Instant Pot Creamy Macaroni and Cheese Recipe
- Cheeseburger Macaroni (My kids favorite meal!)
- Creamy Ground Beef and Macaroni Tomato Soup Recipe
- Cheesy Macaroni Casserole
Instant Pot Panera Copycat White Cheesy Shells Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound macaroni, uncooked
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 6 Tablespoons butter, unsalted
- 6 Tablespoons flour
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups shredded white sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Equipment
Instructions
- Place pasta in Instant Pot and pour enough chicken broth over the pasta that it just covers the pasta.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and secure in place. Turn the vent to SEALING. Press the MANUAL button and set the timer for 4 minutes.
- When cooking is finished, move the vent to VENTING and do a QUICK RELEASE of the pressure.
- Remove the pasta from the Instant Pot and set aside.
- Press the SAUTE button and add butter to the bottom of the pot and let the butter melt.
- Slowly whisk in the flour until blended, and then slowly add in the milk and cream, stirring the whole time.
- Bring mixture to a boil and continue stirring until it starts to thicken. Add in cheese, mustard, salt, and pepper and mix until smooth.
- Add cooked pasta back until the cheese sauce and stir until all pasta is covered in cheese sauce.
- Serve topped with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and ground pepper.
Notes
- While chicken broth in a can or container from the store will do perfectly fine with this recipe, you can also make your own!
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.This post was included in our 10 of the EASIEST side dishes for dinner video – for more inexpensive and delicious recipes like this one, click here to check it out!
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This is amazing! Everyone loved it! I was in a hurry and did it in a pan without instant pot… and it was wonderful.
How would you do this on the stove top or in the oven or as low cooker?
If I don’t have a scale, how many cups of macaroni would I use?
Macaroni usually comes in about 1 pound bags. Generally 8 ounces of short pasta (like macaroni) is about 2 cups. So a 1 pound box of dry pasta (16 ounces = 4 cups dry) cooks up to about 8 cups.
Are you supposed to dump out the chicken broth after the noodles are done cooking? The recipe says to remove the noodles, is there any broth left? Dump it or leave it in the pot? Thank you. Will def try this after getting direction re: broth
I made this recipe and removed the broth with a strainer, so when I sautéed the butter, the instapot was empty. The resulting Mac and cheese was amazing, so I’d recommend that way!
Drain any remaining broth.