This crock pot mac and cheese is a beloved family dish! It involves simmering elbow macaroni in a creamy, cheesy sauce.
With minimal prep time, this one-pot dinner recipe always turns out perfectly in the slow cooker!
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Why It Is The Best Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
- Only simple ingredients and no velveeta or flour added.
- Slow cooker offers portability, and the dish stays moist.
- Consistency is flawlessly achieved each time, ensuring the pasta maintains its ideal texture without turning mushy.
🛒Ingredients
- Pasta - I prefer elbow macaroni as it's a classic choice, but feel free to use any pasta shapes you like! Cavatappi, fusilli, shells, are all great alternative choices.
- Butter - salted butter or use unsalted and adjust the added salt in the recipe accordingly.
- Half and Half - this plays a key role in traditional mac and cheese recipes as it blends nicely with the cheese, ensuring it sticks well to the macaroni noodles. If half and half isn't available, you can substitute equal parts of heavy cream and whole milk for a similar effect.
- Cheddar Cheese - I suggest avoiding pre-packaged shredded cheese. Opt for a block of cheese and shred it yourself; this results in better melting and a creamier cheese sauce. If you prefer a cheese blend, you can swap all or part of it with Colby-jack cheese.
For the full list of ingredients, please scroll down to where you'll find the recipe card.
If you haven't tried making this before, consider doing a trial run before the holiday or event! Every slow cooker behaves differently, so it's essential to test it out beforehand.
🥘 Instructions
Cook the pasta. Prepare the elbow macaroni following the package instructions, but aim to cook it for 1-2 minutes less than the recommended time to maintain a slightly al dente texture.
Rinse under cold water, then drain and set it aside.
Add pasta to crock pot. In a 4-6 quart crockpot, blend the cooked macaroni, half and half, and cubed butter thoroughly.
Ensure an even mixture.
Add cheese. Stir in the shredded medium cheddar, sharp cheddar, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese into the crockpot.
Blend until the cheeses evenly disperse throughout the macaroni and milk.
Seasonings. Introduce the Dijon mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper.
Adjust the spices to suit your taste preferences.
Cook on low. Cover the crockpot with its lid and set it to cook on low heat for 2-3 hours.
Stir the mixture every 30 minutes during this period to ensure the cheese melts uniformly and the pasta cooks properly.
Keep an eye on it. Check the consistency after 2 hours of cooking.
Should the mac and cheese seem too dry, incorporate a splash of milk and stir.
Conversely, if it appears excessively liquid, extend the cooking time for another 30 minutes with the lid partially open to allow moisture to evaporate.
Serve. Once the macaroni reaches tenderness and the cheese sauce achieves a creamy, fully melted state, the dish is ready to serve.
We love to serve it with cucumber salad, taco salad, chicken patties and bacon wrapped smokies.
Can You Cook the Noodles in the Slow Cooker, Too?
This recipe requires boiling the noodles separately until they're al dente before adding them to the slow cooker with the rest of the ingredients.
Cooking the pasta with other ingredients in this case might result in overly mushy pasta due to the longer cooking time.
Recipe Troubleshoot
Why was my mac and cheese gritty?
Opt for deli-purchased cheese and shred it at home to avoid the grittiness caused by anti-caking agents in prepackaged shredded cheese.
Why was my mac and cheese mushy?
- To prevent mushiness, watch the cooking time, especially for thinner noodles like Barilla. Choose thicker noodles with ridges for better texture.
- An older slow cooker may cook hotter, even on low. Keep the lid on for an hour at low heat, avoiding the high setting. Stir after an hour and check every 15 minutes, stirring if needed.
- Using gluten-free macaroni noodles can also result in mushiness as they don't hold up as well.
📋Tips
- Pasta - Avoid overcooking the pasta; it should be firm after boiling. Rinsing the pasta halts the cooking process.
- Pre-cooking the pasta ensures consistent perfection. Unlike "no-boil" recipes using uncooked pasta, which may result in mushiness or stickiness depending on the brand, par-boiling the macaroni for about 2 minutes less than instructed prevents this issue and maintains a firm texture.
- Customize the spices to your preference. Add more cayenne pepper, or adjust garlic and onion powder quantities.
- Cheese - Use shredded cheese from a block for better results; pre-shredded cheeses may not work as effectively.
- Cooking time - Keep an eye on the pasta early on since slow cookers can vary in their cooking times.
- Doubling the recipe - A single batch of this slow-cooker mac fits a 4 or 5 quart slow cooker. To double it, use a 6QT crockpot. Cooking time should remain the same.
- Related: Baked Pasta With Pepperoni
Serve this creamy macaroni and cheese as a tasty accompaniment to dishes like slow cooker chicken thighs, slow cooker beef stew, or slow cooker pulled beef.
Storage Instructions
- 🍱To Store. Let the mac and cheese cool to room temperature (to prevent condensation), then store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
- To reheat add some milk to make it creamier while warming. It's best to prepare it just before serving. When ready to reheat, stir it and add milk if needed to adjust the consistency.
- Make ahead - Mix all ingredients except the pasta. Cook the pasta ahead, rinse, and let it cool. Combine the pasta and sauce ingredients in the crockpot just before cooking.
Slow cookers can differ in cooking times! You might need to make slight adjustments according to your slow cooker.
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📖Recipe
Best Crockpot Mac and Cheese (Without Flour, No Velveeta)
Ingredients
- 12 ounces dry elbow macaroni noodles, about 3 cups
- 2 cups half and half
- ½ cup butter, cut into small cubes
- 1 cup medium cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, optional, for smokiness
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional, for a bit of heat
- salt and pepper, to taste
- chopped fresh parsley or chives for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Prepare the elbow macaroni following the package instructions, but aim to cook it for 1-2 minutes less than the recommended time to maintain a slightly al dente texture. Rinse under cold water, then drain and set it aside.
- Add pasta to crock pot. In a 4-6 quart crockpot, blend the cooked macaroni, half and half, and cubed butter thoroughly. Ensure an even mixture.
- Add cheese. Stir in the shredded medium cheddar, sharp cheddar, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese into the crockpot. Blend until the cheeses evenly disperse throughout the macaroni and milk.
- Seasonings. Introduce the Dijon mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Adjust the spices to suit your taste preferences.
- Cook on low. Cover the crockpot with its lid and set it to cook on low heat for 2-3 hours. Stir the mixture every 30 minutes during this period to ensure the cheese melts uniformly and the pasta cooks properly.
- Keep an eye on it. Check the consistency after 2 hours of cooking. Should the mac and cheese seem too dry, incorporate a splash of milk and stir. Conversely, if it appears excessively liquid, extend the cooking time for another 30 minutes with the lid partially open to allow moisture to evaporate.
- Serve. Once the macaroni reaches tenderness and the cheese sauce achieves a creamy, fully melted state, the dish is ready to serve.
Notes
- This recipe serves 6-8 people.
- Can you cook the noodles in slow cooker? This recipe requires boiling the noodles separately until they're al dente before adding them to the slow cooker with the rest of the ingredients. Cooking the pasta with other ingredients in this case might result in overly mushy pasta due to the longer cooking time.
- Why was my mac and cheese gritty? Prepackaged shredded cheese often has an anti-caking agent that might make your dish taste gritty. It's better to buy cheese from the deli and shred it at home. Some cheaper cheeses, even when shredded at home, can be gritty initially, but the grittiness usually disappears after the mac and cheese sits for a while.
- To Store. Let the mac and cheese cool to room temperature (to prevent condensation), then store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 days. Typically I don't recommend reheating mac and cheese because it might change the taste and texture. However, if you need to reheat it, add some milk to make it creamier while warming. It's best to prepare it just before serving. When ready to reheat, stir it and add milk if needed to adjust the consistency.
Nutrition
More Crock Pot Recipes
For all one-pot dinners, scroll through our recipe archives.
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- Easy Chicken Pasta Bake With Alfredo Sauce
- Creamy Tomato Shrimp and Sausage Pasta
🤷Frequently Asked Questions
While possible, it's recommended to cook on low heat to ensure even cooking and avoid burning the cheese.
Yes, you can experiment with different cheese combinations, but ensure they are cheeses that melt well. A few great options might be Gruyere, smoked Gouda, Asiago, Monterey Jack, etc.
You can double this recipe if your slow cooker has enough capacity. The cooking time will remain the same.
delicious creamy crock pot mac and cheese for perfect supper dinner