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Everyone loves a good slow cooker recipe, and this crock pot mac and cheese is so simple, cheesy, and delicious!
Moms & Kids Approve!
If your family is like ours and could eat Homemade Mac and Cheese every night of the week, then you have to try this super easy slow cooker version!
Moms love this crock pot mac and cheese because it’s low-effort, and kids love it because it’s delicious! It’s great for busy nights, busy holidays and
It’s definitely a main dish favorite that everyone will love!
WHY WE LOVE IT:
- So delicious! Made with lots of cheese, butter, and sour cream, it’s very flavorful and the whole family loves the taste
- Great for holidays. It’s especially nice to have side dishes that can be made in the slow cooker on busy days like potlucks, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
- Quick prep. It preps in minutes and can be made the morning of for busy weeknights!
Ingredients
PREP TIME: 15 minutes
COOK TIME: 2 hours
- 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni – Elbow macaroni noodles are a mac and cheese classic, but you can use other similarly sized noodles like shells, cavatappi, penne, farfalle, fusilli, or rotini.
- 4 tablespoons butter – salted or unsalted butter both work for this recipe
- 2½ cups grated cheddar cheese – use any cheese that melts well, or add a flavor twist with manchego, muenster, provolone, Monterey jack, fontina, gruyere, or American cheese. Even Velveeta cheese works.
- ½ cup sour cream – or plain Greek yogurt
- 1 (10.75-ounce) can condensed cheddar cheese soup – or cream of chicken soup
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup whole milk – whole milk makes the creamiest sauce but a lower fat milk can be used.
- black pepper, to taste – for added flavor, use garlic salt with parsley flakes
How to Make Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
- PASTA. Bring water to a boil and cook 2 cups of macaroni for only 6 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- SAUCE. In a medium pan, mix 4 tablespoons butter and 2½ cups shredded cheese until cheese melts. Add ½ cup sour cream, 1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 cup whole milk, and season with black pepper. Stir until combined.
- SLOW COOK. Spray the crock pot with nonstick cooking spray. Add the cheese sauce to the slow cooker and the cooked macaroni. Mix until combined and cook on low for 2 hours stirring every once in a while.
Use at least a 6-quart crockpot for this recipe. To double this recipe, which we do all the time, we have been able to have everything fit in out 8-quart slow cooker.
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Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil and cook macaroni for 6 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- In a medium pan, mix butter and cheese until cheese melts. Add sour cream, soup, salt, milk, and pepper until combined.
- Add this mixture to the slow cooker along with the cooked macaroni. Mix until combined and cook on low for 2 hours stirring every once in awhile.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
> Remove the lid of the crock pot to allow for some liquid to evaporate
> Add in more cheese
> Cornstarch slurry. in a separate bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of COLD water with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Stir it into the Mac and Cheese and the dish will thicken as it continues to cook.
When there are about 30 minutes left in the cooking time, add in some of these suggestions:
– cooked bacon bits, diced cooked ham, grilled chicken, or cooked hamburger
– parmesan cheese
– broccoli or roasted red peppers
– garlic powder, dry mustard, onion powder, red pepper flakes, or paprika
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Reheat. The key is to reheat slowly on low heat. Adding in a bit more milk can help smooth out the texture. You can reheat in the slow cooker, covered in the oven, stovetop, or microwave.
This pasta dish can be frozen for 2-3 months. When you’re ready to use, thaw it in the fridge and reheat slowly over low heat.
We couldn’t love this any more. Mt son jsut requested it for his birthday dinner lol! We are definitely making it again.
Yay! So glad this recipe is a hit with your family. Happy birthday to your son!
Made for a family gather. Turned out great. Everyone loved it. I used an immersion blender to smooth out all the ingredients. Was super smooth. Will be making again.
I’m so glad to hear the mac and cheese was a hit! Thanks for giving it a try.
Can you make this a day or two ahead of time and just bake it when you’re ready?
HELLO !! I made the mac-n-cheese for Thanksgiving dinner. It was my side for the kids. Well, the adults loved loved loved it ALSO. Amazing thing is I haven’t made mac-n-cheese for 30 years & that came from a box 🙂 I didn’t have a very good grater so that took me longer ! I used the small elbow noodles from Trader Joe’s. I believe what ever size or style pasta used would be DEEEEELISH 😋 TY Steve
Oh I’m so happy to hear that the mac and cheese was a hit!!
So good! My college-age daughter went nuts over this. Will definitely be adding this to my list of staples! Thanks you for the recipe.
You’re welcome! So glad to hear she enjoyed the recipe!
I made this for a class of 6th graders who all gave it 5 stars! All the adults did as well! I will never make Mac n Cheese any other way!
I made this for a family function and the family loved it❣️❣️
They’ve asked me to make it again for another family gathering.
I think this will be the item I’ll be required to bring from now on! 😉
What can I use to substitute the cheddar soup? Couldn’t find it!
You could use another condensed soup that you enjoy. Cream of chicken perhaps.
Did a huge batch (x10 the recipe) for a graduation party of 100 people. Cooked it in a large roasting pan and it was a hit! I cut the salt in half since condensed soup mix is ultra salty and I’m glad I did….it probably could’ve gone without any salt added at all. This is much easy and holds up better with a better texture than making a traditional cheese base using a roux. Melting the cheese slowly is key to a smooth texture and slowly add milk to not chill the cheese sauce down too much. Look forward to making again in a normal batch size. That was a lot of cheese to shred!
Do you have any other options for the cream of cheddar soup?
You could do a different condensed soup… like cream of chicken. It would alter the flavor of the Mac and cheese alittle but should still taste yummy. You’ll have to let us know how you like it if you try it with a substitute soup.
I was wondering with your crock pot Mac and cheese, can I put macaroni in the crock pot uncooked? I’ve tried a recipe that you could and it came out amazing. Your recipe sounds even better, I just don’t wan to cook macaroni ahead of time. It seems to take the most time.